I think ports are blocked--any way of getting around?

Hi,

So I had an issue as my university wi-fi doesn't seem to allow me to connect to all sorts of telnet related things. For example: webclients, Pidgin IM client, and MUSHclient.

So I want to connect to a MUSH while at school, and I first noticed it didn't work on my phone client (blowtorch and I also tried Muckluk). I tried a flash client (that always worked) on my phone using a flash-browser and I had it connect and everything, but due to the nature of the applet I was using I couldn't use it.

I suspect the ports are blocked, and I was wondering if there were any way to getting around it.

I doubt it unless you can use a proxy server.

By proxy server, what exactly do you mean?

Do you mean a proxy at MUSHclient level? As in through the settings in MUSHclient?

Thanks for the response, though.

Uh. Both, sort of. You use an "outside" server that acts as an intermediary, so.. basically, Mushclient talks to it via a port that isn't blocked, like port 80 (html), then the proxy repeats that back to the place you are connecting to, on the correct port, and and data sent from the mud to your client first goes to the proxy server, and is repeated back to you. Basically, the server you use is what is actually "connected" to the game. Your own computer/device is connected to the proxy server.

Not sure what servers there are out there at the moment though, I have never been behind a wall, where I needed to use one. The closest I came to using one was setting up a local proxy on my own machine, which I used to fiddle with some ideas, but which wouldn't have worked for what you need (since being "local" it would still have had to try to connect through the school network, on a blocked ports.

Hmm. A Google on them:

https://www.google.com/search?q=online+proxy+sites&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

I an sure you can find one, someplace, in that which can do the job.

It depends on how obsessive the university is. A proxy server won't help if they lock down virtually every port and use a HTTP proxy for web access. An HTTP proxy expects HTTP protocol and would not recognize MUD commands.

If you can get Tor to work, conceivably you can get out via a Tor proxy. I've had that work in the past. But the Uni may block Tor ports.

https://www.torproject.org/

I tried Tor browser and it wouldn't work for some reason. But I don't know how to set up Tor in any other way than through the browser.



Alright I am checking today to see if online proxies can take the flash client I use. I will get back to you on how it goes.


To both of you, thank you for trying to help so far!

EDIT: so I tried the online proxies with the flash client and they didn't work.

Have you actually tried to use the SOCKS PROXIES under mushclient to connect? You just said you tried connecting through mushclient. trying different clients wont get you around the port that is blocked unless you use a proxy.

You can google for free socks 4 and 5 proxies, and download a checker to see if they are alive or not. Usually you have to try to connect a few times to them go through. If works and have a spare bit of cash might be worth looking for a premium sock. So you dont always have to look for new proxies or worry about them kicking you and such.

But as others have said your UNI could have a strict lockdown on the ports. You could proba do a type of scan to see what ports can send and receive out of on some of he more commonly used ports.

If you have issues finding SOCKS or a checker let me know and ill post some links up.

Yes. To no avail.

However I have found something that works as a solution:

I will document my steps here:

1. Get FreeCap: http://www.freecap.ru/eng/
2. Install FreeCap.
3. Open FreeCap, File > Settings > Proxy Settings
4. Make the following changes:
   
   i) Set "Server" to 127.0.0.1 (this is the localhost, yes?).
   ii) Set "Port" to 1080.
   iii) Select SOCKS v5, and leave everything under that blank.
   Note: it should look sort of like this:
   http://oi44.tinypic.com/287q00g.jpg
   
   After that you click O.K..
5. Still in FreeCap, click "New Application", then browse for the MUSHclient .exe .
   Once found just click O.K.. FreeCap is now set up.
   
6. Get HTTP Tunnel: http://www.http-tunnel.com/html/
7. Install HTTP Tunnel.
8. Open HTTP Tunnel, "Use Free Service".
9. Go to "Configure" and make sure "No Proxy, only a Firewall" is checked.
10. Test, then O.K., then Free Service again.

Go back to FreeCap, open MUSHclient. It should work.

Voila. Hopefully this helps someone.

127.0.0.1 is localhost, yes.

I had a page about tunneling a while back:

http://www.gammon.com.au/mushclient/stunnel.htm

Is this Stunnel similar to HTTP Tunnel? Because I tried to find a gnu version of an HTTP tunnel and GNUtunnel works differently than the program I described before.

It seems like it requires more work and I am not sure where to start, or if it will work the same way.

I'm not sure, but if what you have works, go with it.

Just stumbled on this thread and was trying to get stunnel to work. However, I'm getting the follow error with the latest version of stunnel and OpenSSL 1.0E:

2013.12.04 17:45:53 LOG3[1000:5376]: SSL_connect: 1408F10B: error:1408F10B:SSL routines:SSL3_GET_RECORD:wrong version number
2013.12.04 17:45:53 LOG5[1000:5376]: Connection reset: 0 byte(s) sent to SSL, 0 byte(s) sent to socket

Anyone have any ideas what went wrong?

Sounds like something you installed is not compatible with something else.

As I recall you had to get downloads from a couple of places when I wrote that a few years ago.