Update and Self Test not working

[The Engineer]

Not sure what's going on. Manual and Auto Update search says Network Error, Request failed. This has been working perfectly since 2.3m came out. Might be coincidental with latest Win10 update. Firewall and router checked. External access to Server function works. What port does Update search use? Also Self Test says test is unavailable at the moment.
cheers

[Thamiel]

Same reason I came to dig around the forum to see if anyone else had the same issue

[Thamiel]

Having the same issue

[bmartino1]

update should be fixed - there was a known post about the update not working --possibly fixed with next update
See: http://rejetto.com/forum/index.php?topic=13175.msg1064809#msg1064809

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the self test is also a known issue, that doesn't always work. even with proper port forwarding, it has been known to error even with proper port forwarding...
Double check your forwarding with this post and try the hfs self test again. if it works, great, if it doen't it propaly a hops error again or you portforwarding:
http://rejetto.com/forum/index.php?topic=11540.msg1059914#msg1059914

See also:
https://www.rejetto.com/wiki/index.php/First_time_configuration#Self%20Test
http://rejetto.com/forum/index.php?topic=8596.0
https://rejetto.com/forum/index.php?topic=10205.msg1055764#msg1055764
http://rejetto.com/forum/index.php?pretty;board=hfs-~-http-file-server;topic=self-test-not-working.0

[rejetto]

sorry guys, the update check was broken because of change i made in the distribution server.
I noticed that the self-test sometimes says "unavailable", but didn't understand  yet

[rejetto]

ok, i've found what the self-test problem was: the list of services for external IP.
Now that's fixed you should get rid of the problem in max 24 hours.

[rejetto]

please read here
https://rejetto.com/forum/index.php?topic=13234

[rejetto]

hi danny, did you follow the procedure i suggested?
the "hosts" and the "dynamic dns" should not be helpful, actually.
The problem is not in the current list (that i fixed), and it's not in the hard-coded list, it's in the cached list (inside hfs.ini).

[Mars]

Hi boss

there is a simpler solution to modify the configuration especially when it is saved in the registry

Menu >> debug >> runscript ...

this create a temporary file that you just have to fill with the new values to modify

{.set ini|external-ip-server=.}
{.set ini | ip-services-time = .}
{.set ini | ip-services =.}

as a reminder, if in the script dialog box, the "auto run" box is checked, it follows the execution of the script each time the temporary file is saved

then just perform an external ip address search to retrieve new server addresses

[LeoNeeson]

How do we lock in the setting, or block the updates backdoor/phonehome? 

HFS doesn't have any backdoor/phonehome (neither anything malicious), but that reminds me that it would be nice if Rejetto also publish (and includes along the source code files) the PHP Script file that runs on "hfstest.rejetto.com" (which runs the 'Self test'), because that could be also useful just in case one day the website is down (I know changing the 'SELF_TEST_URL' needs recompiling). It's not something I need, so don't take this as a request, it's just a suggestion.

[LeoNeeson]

I suppose that it was not malicious.  However, backdoor has costs, which was me.  I do not support using a server which can have settings changed by remote control!
NO!!!!

Hi Danny! Relax, there is no need to panic (I've sent you a PM with more details). It's not that "HFS takes control of your settings". If you delete "ip-services=" line from "hfs.ini" (like Rejetto said to do), HFS automatically recreates that line again, reading it from: http://hfsservice.rejetto.com/ipservices.php (but this only happens if you delete that "ip-services=" line from "hfs.ini"). Those 'freezing' you experienced, were because a URL contained on "ip-services=" (from your local "hfs.ini"), started to make a redirection from HTTP to HTTPS (and because HFS can't handle HTTPS, it just freeze). Just as simple as that. Rejetto or Mars could explain this better than me.
Cheers,
Leo.-

[danny]

Hi Danny! Relax, there is no need to panic (I've sent you a PM with more details). It's not that "HFS takes control of your settings". If you delete "ip-services=" line from "hfs.ini" (like Rejetto said to do), HFS automatically recreates that line again, reading it from: http://hfsservice.rejetto.com/ipservices.php (but this only happens if you delete that "ip-services=" line from "hfs.ini"). Those 'freezing' you experienced, were because a URL contained on "ip-services=" (from your local "hfs.ini"), started to make a redirection from HTTP to HTTPS (and because HFS can't handle HTTPS, it just freeze). Just as simple as that. Rejetto or Mars could explain this better than me. Cheers, Leo.-

Thanks for your help.  I thought that the matter wasn't malicious.  Unfortunately, settings altered by remote, isn't going to work for me.

[rejetto]

I suppose that it was not malicious.  However, backdoor has costs, which was me.  I do not support using a server which can have settings changed by remote control! NO!!!! 

those 2 lines, while inside the "settings" files, are not settings. You can tell it by the fact that you never set them
It's just a way to save such information, i couldn't find a better place.

Nonetheless, the same feature can actually be controlled by the user using the "external-ip-server".
This is a real "setting" despite the fact that HFS offers no GUI for it and you have to set it in the file yourself. Indeed, HFS is not going to change that line like the others I pointed.

This being said, I want to point the fact that this problem was caused not by my changes, but it's a bug in HFS, all versions, that will be fixed in next release.
My change in the updated list was correct, but triggered the bug.
So, blame the bug, and let's fix the bug. Anyone can decide to not use the feature, if necessary.
And well, even when I fix this bug, I won't put the problematic list online again, because some people will still use old versions, and I don't want them to have these problems.
But it's good to fix it anyway.

The term "backdoor" doesn't apply to this situation, and it would hardly make sense in an open source project anyway.
Most software uses a central server for updates and possibly other things.
HFS needs a central server for few optional features, that you can not use or disable.

Sorry if I was long here but I hope I've been clear at least.

[rejetto]

Despite innocent intentions, the solution for a mattress full of spiders is a lit match. 

There are much more elegant solutions here, but I was not able to provide because I don't remember every piece of HFS after so many years.
For example, I didn't remember that the "external-ip-server" line totally overrides the other 2 lines, and thus it's one way to workaround the bug.
Of course you are free to set fire to your mattress, it's yours.

[rejetto]

in case someone was wondering why this specific list is updated regularly:
the "external ip" feature requires (necessarily) an external service,
and i didn't want HFS to be bound to a specific service "forever",
so the list can change in time, for example when I find that a service prevents the feature from working.
Indeed I made this (problematic) change after someone told me there was a problem.