[plug] PPP on demand

[Colin Muller]

Peter Wright wrote:

> He'd like it to be set up so that he can boot up the Windows machine,
> fire up a web browser, start browsing... and the Linux box will detect
> this and automagically try to start a PPP connection to his ISP. I'm
> fairly sure that something like this can be done with Linux, but have
> little idea how.
> 
> I have a feeling that this might be something to do with diald or a
> related program, and I was hoping some of you might be able to either
> point me towards more information or explain how it is done.

To avoid unwanted (potentially expensive) dialouts, a better idea may be
to set up, on the Linux box, a script to dial and another to disconnect,
put them in a CGI directory, and use something like miniweb (search
freshmeat) to run them safely as root. Then add the addresses of the CGI
scripts to your friend's bookmarks so he can connect or disconnect
anytime he wants to. For a bit more security, password-protect the
relevant CGI directory with .htaccess. ANd for more user-friendliness,
put together yet another script for bookmarking which reports the dialup
connection's current status.

My wife and I use a similar setup (more kludged, from before I came
across miniweb) with great success.

Colin