How do I connect a laptop to my domain without adding it to my domain?

[Kremerica]

All,
This is concerning my work network, I am running into a problem.

The situation is that we have a domain with active directory and multiple servers. I am pretty sure there is a webserver and it is using N2H2 for filtering or logging or some sort.

We have a guest in the office and they are trying to access the internet via their laptop. Their computer is not part of our domain and their user login name and password are not in any of our servers. The computer is running xp pro.

When I connect them to our network, I assign them a specific IP address (thats how our network is setup, no auto DHCP) and I can map a network drive with a direct network path (ie. \\server\share). but I have to click the link in the map network drive dialog that says use a different login.

I can look in "My Network Places" > "Entire Network" > "MS Windows Network" and I can see the name of a server on the other domain that the computer is assigned, but if I try to browse the windows network link, the explorer window sits for a long time and then doesn't change, it doesn't expand the list of servers. I assume this is because the user account that it defaults to is the one he logged onto the computer with, which is not in our domain, hence not giving him access to our servers.

I can go to a drive that I had previously mapped and it prompts me for my username and password. If I enter my info or a temporary user info, it authenticates and allows me to browse on the mapped network drive.

When I open internet explorer, I get an error page that says something like http://fileserver/n2h2/auth.asp?www.websiteaddress.com
"Page cannot be displayed...etc."
I also cannot get out on the internet through other ports via outlook to check his mail.

How can I get the n2h2 filtering to prompt for a login (like when I go to map a drive) to get out to the internet on the computer without adding it to our domain?
What are the other work-arounds in this situation?

do you need more info?
Thanks for any help,

 

[nweaver]

I don't know what n2h2 filtering is....but to prompt for username/password would be server side, not client side. If you are using this as a proxy server, I think there are proxy login options in both IE and firefox.

 

[Kremerica]

Originally posted by: nweaver
I don't know what n2h2 filtering is....but to prompt for username/password would be server side, not client side. If you are using this as a proxy server, I think there are proxy login options in both IE and firefox.

I guess N2H2 is the company that created the filtering program, it has since been acquired. I think the system is called the Bess system.
looked it up in Wikipedia

and at the bottom of the article it talks about the same thing you mentioned, just change settings and use an anon. proxy server. I will try this, but what if the filter is between me and the web server? I wouldn't be able to by-pass the filter or go to a proxy server "around" the filter.

 

[Kremerica]

Anyone have a direct proxy server that doesn't serve up adult sites when I try to browse to google.com ??
Its great especially since I am at work on someone elses computer but come on, I just need a Work Safe proxy!

any other ideas

 

[Kremerica]

any ideas?

Windows 2003 server, user accounts on the server, everyone is on a domain... When I plug in a computer to the network I can connect by assigning it an ip address and then I can get to the network shares, but when I try to get to the internet I can't get it to prompt me for the username and password to access the internet, I just get a http://servername/n2h2 page with a page cannot be displayed error message.

 

[BZeto]

I sort of just skimmed over your previous posts. Did you configure the 'guest' laptop internet browser with the proxy server name and port? This would be your company proxy or firewall if you use one.

 

[kevnich2]

Why don't you ask your company's IT dept. Tell them what you told us, that there is a guest laptop who is trying to get on the internet and you need the proxy configuration for the laptop. They'll surely know what to do.

 

[Kremerica]

Originally posted by: BZeto
I sort of just skimmed over your previous posts. Did you configure the 'guest' laptop internet browser with the proxy server name and port? This would be your company proxy or firewall if you use one.

I went on the 'guest' laptop and configured the IP address and DNS server in the network connection TCP/IP properties, but in IE/Firefox I just used the auto detect proxy settings. That is how all the other computers are setup in the office.

Originally posted by: kevnich2
Why don't you ask your company's IT dept. Tell them what you told us, that there is a guest laptop who is trying to get on the internet and you need the proxy configuration for the laptop. They'll surely know what to do.

We don't have any IT people, small company, I probably know the most about general computer stuff. The company hired a 3rd party IT contractor to setup the server room and the network.

 

[Kremerica]

As an update, and if anyone ever finds this archived by searching.

The fix is very simple and after a little bit more thinking I figured it out.
The user added their specific IP address and DNS address, and was connected through our servers to the internet. This was proven by being able to receive email through outlook and through mail ports. The user was opening IE or Firefox and not getting a login prompt to log into our web server. Well... they have internet access so the problem is getting the prompt to appear in IE/Firefox... After thinking I discovered that in the security options in IE (Tools menu>option>security tab> internet or intranet zones>custom level> then all the way at the bottom of the list) there is a section about authentication and login options. If you look into this, the default for IE is to log you in as "anonymous" for all zones. Well this is why I was just getting a page cannot be displayed error.
You just go into the settings and tell it to prompt for username and password and wahlah! You then enter the username and password setup for that user and they authenticate, and then they have internet access through their browser.

sorry to resurrect this old post, but thought I would post the answer that I found, because I hate finding posts in forums with my problem and then no answer...
thanks for all the help