This program enables a simple "cron" type mechanism to be used with your
programs to prevent them from being run at certain times of the day/week. I made
it solely for my internet applications, such as YAM, Miami and AmIRC etc. It is
very handy if you use directory tools such as Dopus, DiskMaster or DirWork, but
it is not intended to be a failsafe denial service. It is only to stop others,
such as your family members, flatmates (or girlfriend!!) etc from reading your
mail or running up your phone bill while you're at work etc. The programs can
easily be run manually to bypass AntiCron, but this was designed only to make
it "look" as though there is an obvious problem by means of deception.
With the default setting, it pops up an identical Miami requester, saying "Your
modem is not responding to a reset." Most people will stop fiddling with the
software if they think it is a hardware problem (Girlfriend!), or if they have
no idea what a modem is anyway! (Parents!) ;-)
Installation
------------
Simply copy AntiCron.rexx and AntiCron.cfg to wherever you want, but
AntiCron.rexx must be edited to point to the config file. Default is in
S:AntiCron.cfg.
Usage and Configuration
-----------------------
Usage will be transparent once it is all configured.
The configuration file is simple to understand, but the order the config lines
appear in MUST be left as specified below, and MUST be preceded with a * and a space.
The order of the configuration lines is below, with all comment lines stripped:
* Monday 17:40 21:30
* Tuesday 00:00 00:39 14:45 24:00
* Wednesday 00:00 00:39 14:45 24:00
* Thursday 00:00 00:39 14:45 24:00
* Friday 00:00 00:39 14:45 24:00
* Saturday 00:00 00:39
* Sunday
* MiamiOnline MiamiGui
* MiamiOnline C:Miami.Online
* MiamiGui C:MiamiShow
etc etc.....
Descriptions:
DAYS : The first 7 lines must be the days of the week. The next sets of
two words after the day (optional) must be the start and finish
times of a Denial Range. You may use spaces to move the ranges
accross so that they are easy to read etc. The time must be in 24
hour format only. eg 17:37
CLIENTS : The next single line is the list of arguments or clients that will
be denied execution if a denial match is found.
ARGUMENTS : The rest of the config lines are the individual Client arguments,
and the commands to execute when they are called. They must
correspond to the names given in the CLIENTS line.
If you no longer want to deny a programs execution, simply remove the
appropriate name from the CLIENT line only. You do not need to remove the lines
from the ARGUMENTS area.
EXAMPLE:
You have a button on Dopus that does "Run >nil: MiamiOnlineNetCommand"
Change this line to "Run >nil: RX AntiCron.rexx MiamiOnline"
Then edit the config file after the days section (CLIENTS) and add the word
"MiamiOnline" to the list.
Now, go to the config area after this line and add the following line:
MiamiOnline Run >nil: MiamiOnlineNetCommand
This does the same as your original button did, but checks AntiCron.cfg to
see if execution is allowed by reading the Denial Ranges for the corresponding
day.
Now, say the time is Wednesday, 16:00 hours, or 4:00 pm in 12 hour format.
The script looks for the corresponding day, Wednesday, and checks all the
sets of ranges it finds for the Wednesday line.
* Wednesday 00:00 00:39 14:45 24:00
No Match Match!!
The current time, 16:00, falls between the second range of 14:45 and 24:00, so
AntiCron will NOT allow the program to be launched through it, even tho the
first range does not match and allows it. The Denial Ranges, therefore, are
the times in which the clients are NOT allowed to be run. You may specify as
many ranges for a day as you wish, but make sure there is both a start time AND
a finish time, and that they are valid 24 hour times. There is bound to be a
rexx limit on the length of characters allowed, so don't go putting in too many.
Most people wouldn't need more than 5 or so though. I work at night, so I'm away
during the afternoon, and a little of the morning on the following day, hence
the two range setup in the supplied config file. On Sundays there is no Denial
range, so access is allowed to clients all day.
AntiCron supports some other cli arguments.
LIST : Displays the currently configured command arguments. Some may not
deny execution if they have been removed from the CLIENT line in
the config file.
EG. AntiCron LIST
TEST : Does not launch the CLIENT specified , but shows the match info
EG. AntiCron MiamiOnline TEST
Client Name : MiamiOnline
Current Time : Saturday, 18:15
Match Found : No Matches
Allow Access : Yes
This will tell you if your configuration is correct, and whether
or not AntiCron is stopping or allowing program execution
depending on the current time/day.
SHOWCONFIG : Shows the entire config file minus any comments etc (anything not
preceded with a * character)
EG. AntiCron SHOWCONFIG
You must also edit the main AntiCron.rexx file and change some settings at the
top of the configuration area. These are:
ConfigFile : Complete path to Config File
ShowRequester : Can be either MIAMI, USER, or NO. If set to NO, the execution
will fail silently if a match is found.
UserReqText : Denial text to use in requester when ShowRequester is set
to USER
RequestDelay : Delay before requester pops up if execution is denied.
This is mainly for use with the MIAMI setting when using
ShowRequester, as miami takes a few seconds to check for the
modem and pop up its requester. makes it look more fake :)
Set to 0 for no delay
TimeLockSwitch = Program Denial Check Switch. Easy way to turn script on or
off without editing all your buttons in Dopus etc. If the
dir or file in this variable exists, the script will check the
time etc for a denial match. If the dir/file does not exist,
the clients will all be allowed to run with no checking.
OverRideSwitch = Temporary RAM: Override Switch. Use this if you get home
early etc and the time is still within a Denial Range. I have
an invisible button in DirWork that I can click on that makes
this dir. make SURE it is configured to RAM:, so when you
reset or switch orr, the script will check again on next boot!
Bugs
----
Don't know of any. Theres not a lot of error checking for the config file
layout, but its not necessary if you read the docs and check your prefs.
It does look for simple mistakes by checking that you have matching range
pairs, and that each time field is 5 characters long, but thats about it.
If you do find one, email me and I'll try and fix it. :)
Please mail me with any questions etc...
Regards,
Purp|e
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