COMPL337 Polaris File Server (fserve) HOWTO

1. Disclaimer:

2. Changes:

3. Introduction:

4. Requirements:

• Windows
• Internet connection
• open line to the Internet (i.e. no proxies or firewalls with certain exeptions) Some broadband providers provide a box which allows you to share your connection. Most of the time these boxes use NAT (network address translation) and unless each machine is provided a unique IP address (NOT 192.*.*.* or 10.*.*.*) then running an fserve is impossible without being able to change some settings that you do not have access to.
• some amount of disk space free for the program and the log files it generates
• something to serve

5. Downloading:

6. Installing:

Fig 1: Extracting Polaris

7. Basic Configuration:

Fig 2: The Polaris directory

Fig 3: mIRC options (Alt+O)

Fig 4: mIRC options, continued

Fig 5: If you see this then you skipped the last step

8. Fserve Configuration:

Fig 6: Setting up the fserve

Fig 7: The General Tab

• Keep Slot Announcer off. It is a very annoying feature and floods the room.
• Turn off All Channel. It may be more convenient than having to type in a bunch of channels but it generally is a bigger pain when you start advertising your fserve in places it shouldn't be.
• If you want, turn on Enable on Start. It will automatically start the fserve when you load Polaris, as opposed to manually starting it every time.
• Also make sure that your Ad Delay is at least 20 minutes, as opposed to the default 5 minutes. 5 minute intervals flood the room.
  

Fig 8: The Trigger Tab

• Click on Trigger 1 to set up Trigger 1.
  
• Turn on Enable Trigger and in the Trigger: field, enter the phrase you want people to say to get into your fserve. Triggers are usually preceeded by an exclamation mark (!).
  
• In the Root Directory field, select the directory where you want people to enter the fserve
  
• In the Welcome File field, select a text file that you want people to see when they enter your fserve by that trigger. Most people don't go through the effort. If it is misconfigured, people can't use the trigger either.
  

Fig 9: The Trigger Tab (again)

9. Starting the Fserve:

Fig 10: Starting the fserve

10. DALnet Services:

11. Things to Try Next:

12. Last Comments:

1. This is the biggest flaw in Polaris. It makes it very easy to flood. (from line 94 in text.ini):

   from:        if ($1 == !List) && ($r.set(Fserve,Status) == On) && ($fserve.ad.temp != $null) { .notice $nick $fserve.ad.temp }
   to:        if ($1 == !List-) && ($r.set(Fserve,Status) == On) && ($fserve.ad.temp != $null) { .notice $nick $fserve.ad.temp }
   

2. There is one fairly obvious bug in the part.ini remote.
   Original:
   

   on ^*:part:#:{
     if ($r.set(DCC.Watch,Status) == On) && (($send($nick) != $null) || ($fserv($nick) != $null)) && (($istok($r.set(DCC.Watch,Channels),$chan,44) == $true) || ($r.set(DCC.Watch,Channels) == All) || ($r.set(DCC.Watch,Channels) == $null)) { close -fs $nick | .notice $nick $c(1) $+ All of your DCC connections with me have been halted because you left one of the following channels. $bracket($iif($r.set(DCC.Watch,Channels) == $null || $r.set(DCC.Watch,Channels) == All,Any channel I am on,$r.set(DCC.Watch,Channels))) | aecho $nick $bracket($address) lost all of their DCC connections because they left $c(2) $+ $chan $+ $c(1) $+ . }
     if ($nick != $me) {
       if ($1- != $null) { echo $colour(join) $chan $ts Parts: $nick ( $+ $address $+ ) ( $+ $1- $+ ) $border($calc($nick($chan,0,a) - 1),$iif($calc($nick($chan,0,a) - 1) == 1,user,users)) }
       else { echo $colour(join) $chan $ts Parts: $nick ( $+ $address $+ ) $border($calc($nick($chan,0,a) - 1),$iif($calc($nick($chan,0,a) - 1) == 1,user,users)) }
     }
     haltdef
   }
   

   Updated:
   

   on ^*:part:#:{
     if ($r.set(DCC.Watch,Status) == On) && (($send($nick) != $null) || ($fserv($nick) != $null)) && (($istok($r.set(DCC.Watch,Channels),$chan,44) == $true) || ($r.set(DCC.Watch,Channels) == All) || ($r.set(DCC.Watch,Channels) == $null)) { close -fs $nick | .notice $nick $c(1) $+ All of your DCC connections with me have been halted because you left one of the following channels. $bracket($iif($r.set(DCC.Watch,Channels) == $null || $r.set(DCC.Watch,Channels) == All,Any channel I am on,$r.set(DCC.Watch,Channels))) | aecho $nick $bracket($address) lost all of their DCC connections because they left $c(2) $+ $chan $+ $c(1) $+ . }
     if ($nick != $me) {
       if ($1- != $null) { echo $colour(part) $chan $ts Parts: $nick ( $+ $address $+ ) ( $+ $1- $+ ) $border($calc($nick($chan,0,a) - 1),$iif($calc($nick($chan,0,a) - 1) == 1,user,users)) }
       else { echo $colour(part) $chan $ts Parts: $nick ( $+ $address $+ ) $border($calc($nick($chan,0,a) - 1),$iif($calc($nick($chan,0,a) - 1) == 1,user,users)) }
     }
     haltdef
   }
   

   The $colour(join) should be $colour(part)
3. There are some features that have small problems, and others that could have been implemented much better with newer versions of mIRC.
4. This is a WARNING: Polaris can be easily flooded. While it has some protections there are some parts of the script that are fairly vulerable. Those with Polaris are doomed to be flooded off eventually. Not that other scripts won't.