Connection to SHU Internet - Mac Version

for Macintosh System 7 Version

VERSION: NOVEMBER 28, 1995
AUTHOR: Center for Academic Technology (bgw)

This document is under continuous development. If you find any errors, please
contact the CAT by sending email to internet:cat@sciris.shu.edu

Contents

Introduction

You can connect your home computer to the Internet for free, using Seton Hall's dialup Internet connection. You can then attach to Seton Hall's Campus-Wide Information System or the World-Wide-Web using Netscape, simultaneously connect to other computers via Telnet, run multiple connections to Seton Hall's mainframe systems, or download programs, images, movies, or other files from the Internet to your computer via Ftp.

At this time, you can not access your network files that you have saved on your network account on campus, or use any of the programs on your network account. You can only access the Internet (Netscape, Telnet, Ftp, Gopher, Archie, etc). A mechanism to access your network files is currently being developed, but no date has been set for its availability.

This dialup service is provided free of charge to faculty, students, and staff of Seton Hall. However, you need to dial a phone number in the (201) area code, and long distance phone charges may apply. You might want to contact your long distance phone company about special rates to frequently accessed phone numbers, or use another Internet provider of your choice.

Requirements

To use the Internet dialup connection, you will need the following:

Seton Hall's Dialup Account

A dialup account is different from your regular network account. Since not everyone will need such an account, you need to specifically apply for it before you can dialup the Internet. To apply for a dialup account at Seton Hall, please fill out the Dialup Account form by clicking on the link below. Note that you can only access that form from Seton Hall computers. Since the resources of the CAT are limited, you must use the above on-line form to apply for a Dialup account. After you filled out that form you will receive a mail message to your LAN mail account that Before you can use your dialup account, you must read that electronic mail message.

How does it work and what software do I need ?

Access to the Internet is provided using a PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol) connection between your computer and a bank of modems at Seton Hall. You use your computer to establish a PPP connection, providing your dialup account name. Then you can use a variety of software products to surf the net, such as Netscape, Telnet, Gopher, Ftp, etc.

You can use any PPP compatible dialup software that you like, but Seton Hall will provide you with a PPP dialup software free of charge called MacPPP. MacPPP in turn needs a program called MacTCP. MacTCP is Apple's control panel device that provides a standard network interface for Internet applications.

You must have MacTCP version 2 or higher already before you can use MacPPP

MacTCP is copyright by Apple. You can obtain it from an authorized Apple dealer, or directly from Apple (it costs around $20). MacTCP is included in System 7.5, so rather than purchasing MacTCP separately you might want to consider upgrading to System 7.5 if you do not have MacTCP. Seton Hall can not provide you with MacTCP because it is Apple proprietary software.

In addition to dialup software, you need at least an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) program. Seton Hall will provide you with such a program for your computer. Once you have installed that FTP program, you can download any other program that you need directly to your computer (including Netscape).

The rest of this document will explain how to obtain and setup all of the necessary software (except for MacTCP, as explained above).

Where to get the Dialup and FTP Software

You can get the PPP dialup software and the FTP software at the Center for Academic Technology (CAT) in the basement of Alfieri Hall. Because of licensing issues you can not download the software; you must stop by the CAT and pick it up in person. Please bring one high density floppy disk (or we will have to charge you for a disk). Make sure you bring your valid Seton Hall ID along as well when picking up the software.

How to install the Dialup Software

Make sure that: Here are basic instructions for installing the MacPPP dialup software. If you need further information about the PPP software, please refer to the document in the PPP folder on your diskette. If you have any questions, please send email to "internet:cat@sciris.shu.edu", or check the CAT page on the campus info system.

Usually you do not have to enter anything for the modem initialization string if your modem is 100% Hayes compatible.

A safe try is 9600 or 14400. You can select speeds up to a maximum of 57600. First, try 9600, and if everything works at that speed, try higher speeds later. Don't forget to try higher speeds if you selected 9600 baud initially.

The only information you need to enter in the Authentication dialog box is your authorization ID. Enter your dialup account name (and password, if applicable) that you were given when you applied for a dialup account; click on Okay.

Don't forgot to restart your computer now !

Once you have finished installing and configuring MacPPP, as described above, your dial-in sessions will be handled automatically. You can connect to the Internet in two ways:

In either case, your modem will dial and connect you after a few second. Try it now - since you don't have any Internet software yet, open the ConfigPPP Control Panel and click on Open PPP. Wait a few seconds. A dialog box will pop up to enter your username and password. Your username should already be entered, and there is usually no password necessary. Just hit Okay.

You should now be connected to the Internet. Nothing else will happen ! Remember, if you start any Internet program (such as Netscape or Fetch) the ConfigPPP program will automatically establish a connection for you, if you are not already connected.

To disconnect, select ConfigPPP from the control panels and click on Soft Close or Hard Close. Your modem should disconnect and hang up.

WARNING: You will be automatically connected to the Internet when necessary, but not automatically disconnected. Make sure you disconnect manually when done using the Internet as described above, otherwise your modem will stay on-line unnecessarily. (Actually, your Internet connection will terminate if it is inactive for more than approximately 5 minutes - but why waste those 5 minutes if it is not necessary).

How to install the FTP Software

On your diskette is a second folder labeled 'Fetch'. Fetch is an FTP program developed by Dartmouth College that is free for Academic Institutions. Drag that folder to your hard disk. No further installation is necessary. Using this application you can download literally thousands of other Macintosh applications straight to your computer.

Once you have copied this program to your hard disk you are finally ready to get the actual, fun software to 'surf the net'.

How to obtain other software

Using Fetch and your Internet dialup connection you can download other software straight to your hard disk. That, however, may mean that you could also catch a virus. Make sure you download software only from reputable software depositories.

The software you can download from Seton Hall is checked against virus infections
as a matter of course and should be safe to use.

To download software, here are the basic steps:

Below are some steps to obtain the minimum software you need to access the Internet in any useful way.

Downloading and installing Netscape

Netscape is a program to browse the World-Wide-Web. It is (currently) free of charge for academic institutions. To download Netscape:

Double-click on the Fetch program. If you are not currently connected to the Internet, ConfigPPP will establish that connection for you at this point. Remember to hit Okay when asked for your dialup username (and password, if applicable). After your connection is established, Fetch will show you a dialog box to enter information about the computer to connect to. Enter the following information:

Click on Okay to connect. Once you are connect, you will see the directory structure of the remote computer (Seton Hall's download site). Double-click on the following directories: Highlight the file "netscape2.0Installer.hqx" and click on the "Get File ..." button. Fetch will now download the Netscape program to a folder of your choice. This may take some time (up to 40 minutes), depending on the speed of your modem, but you only have to do this once. You will see a progress report in the lower right corner. When done, quit Fetch.

Select the folder where Netscape was downloaded, and click on the installation icon to install Netscape on your computer. Answer any questions when prompted.

Start Netscape by double-clicking on its program icon, and you should soon see the Netscape Homepage. If you do, everything is working correctly ! However, Netscape has many options that can be configured, and some must be setup as follows:

That's it. Now Netscape should work, and be configured correctly. You can also install many other 'helper' applications that can handle different types of information found on the World-Wide-Web. By default, Netscape can handle text, graphic images, and sounds. To be able to see, say, movies, you may need to download the appropriate program from Seton Hall's download site and setup that program to work correctly with Netscape on your computer. Stop by the CAT for details, if necessary, but for now text, graphics, and sound should be plenty to keep you happy for a while.

Downloading and installing Telnet

Telnet is a program that you can use to connect to another computer on the Internet and use that computer as if your were sitting right next to it. Usually, however, you need an account on that computer, so this program may not be useful to people who never need to use another computer located elsewhere over the Internet. However, to access some library card catalogs you also need to use this program occasionally (for example, Seton Hall's On-line Catalog requires this program).

To download a Telnet program for your Macintosh, start Fetch as described above and connect to the host ftp.shu.edu, with username anonymous and password guest@lanmail.shu.edu. This time, switch to the folders

Highlight the file "ncsa-telnet-26.hqx" and click on "Get File ...". Again, the program will be downloaded into a folder of your choice. When the downloading process is finished, quit Fetch and start the Telnet application. No special setup is necessary. Click on File, then New and enter the address of the machine to connect to. For example, to connect to Seton Hall's Library Catalog, enter the host name and when asked for a password, use "guest"

Downloading and installing Telnet 3270

Telnet 3270 is very similar to the above Telnet program, but it allows you to connect to IBM Mainframe computers. For example, Seton Hall has several mainframe computers for administration and faculty use. You would need this program to access that information. You need to have obtained a user name and password for those mainframe computers before you can use them. Also, some (very few) library card catalogs may also require you to use this program. However, unless you are a faculty member or staff, you may not need this program ever, and can skip downloading it.

To download Telnet 3270, you must first download the NCSA Telnet application, as described above. Then start Fetch again and connect to the host "ftp.shu.edu", with username "anonymous" and password "guest@lanmail.shu.edu". Again, switch to the folders

Highlight the file "Tn3270.hqx", click on 'Get File ...', and select the same folder where the NCSA Telnet program is located. Repeat this process with the file "TN3270.config.hqx". That's it.
For further information on using Netscape, Telnet, or Telnet 3270, or for other programs to access the Internet, participate in one or more of the seminars and workshop offered by the CAT and by Academic Computing.

If you have any questions or problems, please check the Dialup FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions page. If you can not solve your problem that way, please fill out the Dialup Trouble Report form.

Center for Academic Technology (CAT)
Bert G. Wachsmuth
Faculty Fellow