Frequently Asked Questions - SurfPass 5

Install / uninstall

Impossible to launch the administration console of SurfPass (Windows error or "Cannot open the database")

Check that the framework .Net v3.5 is installed on the administration computer. If it is not the case, you can install it from Windows Update / Optional updates, or from the links given at the download page, or from the SurfPass cd-rom. The framework .Net v3.5 is already build-in in Windows 7 and Windows 2008 R2, and must be activated in 2008 R2.

The filtering lists are not downloaded

The framework .Net v3.5 must be installed on the server computer (see previous §).
The Internet access passes through a proxy. In this case, configure SurfPass with the proxy settings in "Global" / "Filtering lists" / "Download proxy", but also in the computer profiles (see proxy §).

The clients cannot get connected to the sever

Check that the server address in the configuration account of the clients is correct, and that TCP ports 3050 and 5030 are open on the server if a firewall is active.

Conflict with antivirus / viruses / spyware

The anti-virus must be deactivated or uninstalled. No anti-virus should be active during the install and the uninstall of SurfPass. At the install /uninstall time, an anti-virus could freeze some SurfPass modules, which could make Windows unstable and block the network. Example of problems caused by an antivirus not deactivated such as for example that from Computer Associates:
- At the installation time: filtering is completely inoperative, SurfPass is not present in the list of the applications of Windows. In this case to uninstall by the command line explained in the manual, then to reinstall it after the Windows reboot.
- At the uninstall time: the access to Internet remains blocked after the removing of SurfPass. In command line under a Windows administrator account to enter: netsh winsock reset <enter>

How to reinstall / update SurfPass

It is possible to mix versions of which only the last digit changes (for example 5.0.1 and 5.0.2) on the same network. In other cases it is necessary to install the same version everywhere, starting with the server.
Always begin an update by uninstalling the previous version by the normal procedure of Windows without deleting the files manually. After restarting the system, simply install the new version. SurfPass detects when a previous configuration is already present and proposes to recover it, thus preserving the full data and settings in the new installation. In case of server switching, you must uninstall SurfPass on the old server, copy the directory c:\Program Files\Cogilab from the old to the new server and then install SurfPass to the new server, and accept the existing parameters recovery.

Error "SurfPass is already installed on this computer" during re-install

Uninstall the previous version and reboot the computer before installing / re-installing.

The language of SurfPass is not the expected one

There is only one version of SurfPass. If SurfPass is installed on a French version of Windows, it will run in French, in all other cases SurfPass will run in English.

Using Firebird SQL with a different port than the default port (3050)

If Firebird should be used with another port than the default port (e.g. 3052 instead of 3050), you must change the port number in the SurfPass configuration account on the server, button "Database". You also must change the line : RemoteServicePort = 3050 in the file c:\Program File\Cogilab\SurfPass5\Firebird\firebird.conf on the server and the administrator computers.

Configuration

How to enter in the administrator mode the first time?

From the Windows desktop : Start -> All programs -> Cogilab ->SurfPass5 -> SPAdmin, enter "admin" in the login field and "cogilab" in the password field.

When changed settings are they taken into account?

The changes of parameters are taken into account after validation of the form by the green button "Validate" in the upper right, and in the forthcoming opening of a SurfPass user session (just press the button disconnect and then connect in the client identification dialog box to open a new session, leaving the fields name and password blank if sync with the Windows account).

What are the differences between user profile and computer profile?

The computer profile is used when SurfPass is in idle mode, the user profile is used starting from the beginning of a SurfPass user session. Only one is active at the same time.

Manual or automatic user identification

SurfPass offers two types of user identification: automatic or manual.
- In automatic mode (default mode at the installation) SurfPass uses the owner’s name of the current Windows session as SurfPass username. The SurfPass session begins at the same time that the opening of the Windows session. This is the mode to use when Windows users are connected to an Active Directory server. This method has the advantage of being transparent to the users and to avoid the double creation of accounts in SurfPass and Active Directory for the administrator.
- The manual mode requires users to enter their name and password in a window of identification to start a SurfPass session. This is the way to choose when there is no Active Directory server and possibly for public access to the Internet, such as libraries.
The tab "Computers profiles" / "generic" / "General" contains the parameters for the mode of identification. If the "identification with Winlogon" option is checked, identification is automatic, if not it is done manually. In the latter case, it is advisable to check the option "Always display identification box in idle" in display options. Changes must be validated with the green button "Apply" in the upper right. The change will take effect after the reopening of a user session.
In automatic mode, SurfPass automatically creates users when they get connected for the first time. The choice of the user group, and hence the user profile determining the rights is done as follows: SurfPass tries to find a correspondence between an Active Directory group and a SurfPass users group. In case of failure, SurfPass uses a default users group.

How to change the administrator's password? (and others)

Enter in administrator mode, "Users" tab. Select the user account, then over-write the previous password with a new one. The previous password cannot be read, but only replaced by a new one.

Filtering

Filtering level too high / too low: the level of the content filtering can be modified in each user user profile, "Filtering" tab. It is recommended to fit the level to the age of users, for example 8-10 for children, 4-7 for teenagers, 1-3 for adults. It is also possible to completely bypass the filtering by moving some users in the user group "Unlimited - Not filtered".
Blacklist: tab "Global" / "Filtering lists" / "Lists editing". For blocking sites like YouTube or Dailymotion, simply disable the audio-video or filehosting list. Facebook is in the blog list, Myspace is in the audio-video and filehosting lists. It is advisable to not display the blocking with rules using the audio-video and filehosting lists, otherwise any valid web page containing for example a video will display a blocking popup.
To enable/disable a list, just select it on the left, then check the option "List deactivated" on the right and finally validate with the green button "Apply" in the upper right. The disabled lists appear on a gray background to the left. The change will take effect after the reopening of a user session.
If filtering or blocking does not work, check if the Internet access passes through a proxy. If it is the case, it is necessary to edit the corresponding computer profile, tab "Proxy", and to add an HTTP entry with the proxy parameters. If the configuration is correct, the log of the visited sites is coherent. If not, it is always the address of the proxy which is instead displayed.
Difference between domain and URL filtering: Domain is dedicated to a whole domain, for instance cogilab.com. URL means only one Web page such as cogilab.com/index.htm.
Domain name : the name may or may not be starting with www. It is recommended to enter domain.com instead of www.domain.com, such as cogilab.com.
How to prevent downloads: SurfPass filters by TCP/IP port. You can block the corresponding port, 21 for FTP. To prevent files downloading, you can add filtering rules like this: full site, denied, with address such as *.mp3, or *.zip, *.exe.
Filtering by TCP/UDP ports: For applications like chat or instant messaging, it is possible to block at the same time the port and the application. Many ports are predefined in the list, but it is also possible to enter directly the port number.
If you wish to authorize a site blocked by a black list, you have to add an authorization rule for this site with a priority of medium or above in the "Filtering" tab in the corresponding user profile. The same for authorizing a site blocked by the content analysis.

Proxy

If clients are connected to a proxy server, parameters must be added to the proxy tab in the computer profile. The proxy settings (protocol, addresses, port) are identical to those of a browser operating in the same environment. So just duplicate these parameters in SurfPass. If the download of the lists also passes through the proxy, the tab "Proxy" of the computer profile related to the server machine must be properly configured in "Global" / "Filtering lists" / "Download proxy".

Timetable

To completely prohibit the access to certain hours, you just have to add corresponding prohibition time slots . It is not necessary to add ranges when the access is not completely prohibited; it is the behavior by default.
Crossing midnight: If a time slot starts before midnight and finishes afterwards, it should be broken up into two. A first range finishes at 23h59 and the following one starts at 00h00.

Use

The connection to the SurfPass server is very slow, frequent disconnection of clients

The networks addresses are dynamic (DHCP). In this case modify at least the server to static IP, and if the problem persists also convert clients into static IP.
Static IP addressing is preferable to a DHCP addressing for performance and reliability reasons. In the case of use of DHCP, DNS of computers must point to a local DNS server (the DHCP server, often the router itself) and not directly to the DNS of the ISP, because in this case the name resolution of local computers will fail, and SurfPass clients cannot connect to SurfPass server or very slowly. In general, it is advisable to leave the DNS setting as automatic in the case of a DHCP address.

The "Connect" button is always grayed

Conflict with other programs (security suite, antivirus, viruses, spyware...)
Windows makes a significant number of updates, such as after a return from vacation. Simply restarting the computer after all updates completed.

Impossible to reach a Web site

Blank page or proxy error: See Proxy configuration.

The filtering doesn't work

Are you sure to test with the same user profile?
If you use a black list, did you push the "Import" button after the selection of the black list file?
Does Internet pass through a proxy? (see proxy §)
See § Configuration / Filtering.

The speed of Web browsing seems slower

SurfPass makes frequent calls to the DNS (Domain Name Service) for auditing tasks. The DNS provided by ISPs is sometimes a bit slow, which causes a feeling of slowing down. If so, it is recommended to use the Google's DNS instead of ISP's DNS: the primary DNS is 8.8.8.8, secondary is 8.8.4.4.

The access to Internet is authorized permanently without a SurfPass user connected to

See § configuration / filtering. Maybe the filtering in the computer profile is not correctly configured.

The value of a limited in time user account is inconsistent

If automatic reloading is used, verify that in the user profile "General" tab the option "Add residual balance" is not checked, otherwise the reloaded et not used time is added to the account, cumulatively.
This can also come from time slots with a ratio other than 100%.

The client cannot connect to the server and displays "Error 3" or "Computer group forbidden"

Most often this error is caused by a network problem between the client and the server which caused a sudden disconnection of the client. The fastest is to restart the Windows service "SurfPass" on the server. Without intervention the situation will be back to normal, but the period can vary from a few minutes to several hours. The causes may be network saturation, the saturation of the server, the switch, cabling, network drivers...

Maintenance

The log file remains very large even after the deletion

The file c:\Program Files\Cogilab\SurfPass5\Data\splog.fdb on the server contains the log of SurfPass. When you remove part or all historical data, often the size of the file does not change. The reason is that the released pages are marked as deleted but are not physically removed from the data base for performance optimization. The only way to force compaction is to make a backup and restore it with the GBAK utility, as indicated in the user manual chapter "Maintenance".

Where to find the user's manual pdf?

After the archive download

The archive is a self-extractible file. After decompression, the user manual is located in the "doc" sub-directory of the decompression folder.

When SurfPass is already installed

The user manual is located in the folder c:\program files\cogilab\SurfPass5\doc.