[tom.jakob85]

Dear community,

I am sitting now in a beautiful public libary in Germany with beautiful and fast internet, the only problem: I cannot make updates or upgrades via apt-get or install anything. When I try to do so the bash gets stuck at:

Code:

0% [Connecting to archive.ubuntu.com (91.189.88.152)] [Connecting to repo.linux

First I thought it would be a problem of my computer dealing with Ipv4 so I tried out different things like

- creating the file /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/99force-ipv4 and writing Acquire::ForceIPv4 false;
- uncommenting in  /etc/gai.conf the line 54 (precedence ::ffff:0:0/96  100)

but none seemed to work. Silly enough, when I turn my mobile phone into a mobile hotspot and connect my pc,  apt-get works normally. Thats why I think the public wifi is blocking somewhat apt-get and other services or data traffic...another hint is that evolution does not work neither.

I am no professional, however I have never heard about public hotspots blocking certain services, in particular apt-get... I don't know whether there is a solution but I wanted to ask here, maybe someone nows how to get apt-get and evolution running under such circumstances.  8) Working with LaTeX, R and some other programs often requires updating or installing of special packages, so it would be quite useful for me to be able to do so in many physical environments ;)

Thank you :)
Tom

[WytWun]

You don't mention whether you have any problem accessing websites with a browser using this wifi network.  If you can, check whether the browser is picking up proxy settings.  If you can't access websites, then proxy settings would seem to be required for both browser and software updates.

If proxy settings are required, you'll need to add statements to /etc/apt/apt.conf like these:

Code:

Acquire::http::Proxy "http://proxy.host.name:port/";
Acquire::https::Proxy "http://proxy.host.name:port/";

where the "proxy.host.name" and "port" should be replaced with the appropriate values.  You may also need to add authentication information.

You may also need to add HTTP_PROXY (and maybe http_proxy) environment variables with similar information.

You will of course then need to remove or comment out these settings when using a different network  ::)

Proxy handling is one thing I've found not well supported by just about all free desktop O/Ses :(

[WytWun]

Sorry, an even simpler question: do you need to go through some sort of authorisation process on this wifi network before you can actually start using it?

My limited experience of a "public" wifi setup is with a system that requires an authorisation process which is initiated by the first web site access after basic wifi connection - you have to follow the instructions on the web page that the system displays to get authorised before you can do anything.

[trinidad]

Interesting question. Usually a library will have workstations on a network as well (tables of computers that librabry card holders can log in to with their library cards). Those particular workstations often have certain download restrictions put on them via the servers firewall, virus system, bandwidth, etc. It is not necessarily true that a wifi hotspot provided by the same server will have those restrictions but it is possible that it does have some depending on the network administrators whim or skill level. You may have to have a library card in some situations. Just because the hotspot is broadcasting does not mean it's unrestricted at the server level even if it requires no authorization to connect, and chances are if it requires no authorization to connect it is restricted and logged.

TC

[tom.jakob85]

Dear WytWun, dear trinidad,

you are completely right, my post was incomplete, sorry about that!  ;)

First: Yes, there is a kind of authorization process. After having connected with the wifi network, a small window pops up asking for the member card number and the password. As a registered user I do have both and use them; I do not have any problems accessing the network.

Second: The browser works perfectly. Checking E-Mails with a browser works. Downloading files from the Internet works.

What does not work is any kind of package management neither in the bash nor the GUI. And Evolution as mentioned above. And, a new insight, whois used in the bash works neither.


Concerning the proxies: Yes there seem to be some, unfortunately I do not know how to get the address (sorry about my incapability) What I did is to check it on a "what is my proxy dot com" and it sais:

[...]

Best guess: Germany, Sachsen, Dresden

A proxy or proxies has been detected.



The HTTP_CACHE_CONTROL header exists, and is non zero. This may indicate a caching proxy.
The header HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR may include an IP address other than the one you are coming from: 10.219.254.240, 10.219.254.101, 10.219.254.100, 10.166.253.138
In addition, the header HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR seems to be leaking a private IP address: 10.219.254.240, 10.219.254.101, 10.219.254.100, 10.166.253.138
The header: HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR is present with the value:10.219.254.240, 10.219.254.101, 10.219.254.100, 10.166.253.138.
The header: HTTP_VIA is present with the value:1.1 WLAN-Gate (squid), 1.1 InetGate2:3128 (squid/2.7.STABLE5), 1.0 proxy-rhu16 (squid/3.5.12), 1.1 localhost (squid/3.1.19).

So uhm...how do I find what I have to insert to

Code:

Acquire::http::Proxy "http://proxy.host.name:port

:-[
Thanks! :)

[ralphy]

Hi,


archive.ubuntu.com (91.189.88.152) - this IP resolves to United Kingdom and it might be possible that there are temporary network or routing issues to it from Germany. While the public hotspots may actually be filtering out mirrors to manage load that's not usually the case.


You could try using a closer mirror and that should take care of the issue. To do so, open Software & Updates and select a mirror hosted in Germany, there are many there... else use the Select Best Server button (see screenshot below)





Cheers!

[WytWun]

It seems that trying to get at the automatically configured proxy details is messy - see this Wikipedia article :(

You may be able to manually try retrieving the PAC file according to the approach outlined in that article, using wget or curl.

I also found a Python module for dealing with this (pypac) bit it would still require some fiddling in Python as it isn't really designed for debugging the protocol.  There are probably other tools around too.

[tom.jakob85]

Hi Ralphy,

thanks for your reply,
I already changed the servers, same result:

Code:

0% [Connecting to ftp.fu-berlin.de (130.133.3.130)]

By the way, it is even not possible to change the server inside the network in the library:

It sais,"no suitable download server was found".

So, I indeed think it has something to do with proxies and/or firewall settings. I'll try what I can do with wget and report here. Tanks Wyt for the input. Till then, I am still open for explanations, ideas and conspirancy theories. Mates...this place here would be perfect for studying if the package management worked... :)

[valtam]

Have you tried using a VPN?

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