********* Date: Fri, 06 Jul 2001 11:17:11 -0400 From: Duncan Frissell <frissellat_private> Subject: Defeating Juno's Ad Requirements I recently signed up to use Juno as my ISP for the Ricochet high-speed wireless Internet service. This means that I've had to spend some time defeating their application which requires you to log on via their (ad infested) software. I don't mind the ads. I dislike the fact that their application slows down the login and logout process and renders the connection less stable. This is not likely to be of interest to those not using Juno but it is an example of my technical writing. How to Create a clean Juno Connectoid Juno is an ISP that started some years ago as a free e-mail service. It currently offers free or low cost e-mail and net access. Its Juno Express system also acts as an ISP for some DSL services as well as the Ricochet wireless network. When it was purely a free e-mail service, Juno required you to use its software which dialed up its servers and grabbed your e-mail. Since it has expanded its repertoire, it has attempted to maintain some of the same control while using Dial-Up Networking under Windows 9x et seq. Juno requires you to install its own software (Juno ver. 5.0) to access its service. http://dl.www.juno.com/get/web/. Once you install Juno and enter (or generate) your username and password, it attempts to require you to continue to use Juno 5.0 for your net access. Once you have started the program and logged on, you can minimize it but it is always there. The login and logout processes are slowed by the extra software and it may cause the connection to be a little flakier. What Juno 5.0 does to get you online is to create a temporary dial-up connectoid (with a software-generated username and password) and then to kill it when you exit the program. Since you can't see the properties of a connectoid when it is running, Juno hopes that you won't even notice its existence or find a way to make it persist with the correct username and password. There is a way to accomplish this but it takes a little playing around. I haven't tested this procedure on a clean system after I got it to work the first time so it may not be perfect but some version of it will work. The secret to the process is a great little program called Dial-Up Networking Magic (DUN Magic) which you should already have on your system in any case. DUN Magic lets you copy and export connectoids, something Windows won't let you do. The examples given are from my Juno Express account using a ricochet modem but the technique should work for any Juno account though some of the connectoid names will be different. 1. Download and install Juno and get your connection to the net working. 2. Download and install DUN Magic http://www.techmagic.com/dunmag18.exe. Pay the creators of DUN Magic the $10 they ask for. It's worth it. Note: DUN Magic is not "run" in the conventional sense. it is used via the My Computer icon/folder. 3. Connect to the net using Juno 5.0. All of the following steps *must* be done while the Juno 5.0 program is running. If you close the Juno 5.0 program, it will close your the temporary connectoid and you will lose it. 4. Open the Dial-Up Networking folder and notice the connectoid (for example Juno Express). At this point, its status will show "Connected". Note: If no Juno connectoid is visible, perform steps 11-16 below right now. The connectoid will be visible in DUN Magic and cloning a connectoid will make it visible in the ordinary Dial-Up Networking window.. 5. Disconnect from the net by right-clicking on the Juno Express connectoid and selecting disconnect. Don't close Juno 5.0 and ignore the blinking dialog box that that program opens when you disconnect. 6. Click on the Juno Express connectoid to examine it. You will probably see your Juno-assigned username (something like aa9999999999at_private in my case) but the password box may be empty. If the box has your password in it, you're in luck. Skip to step 11. Otherwise continue with the next step. 7. Your job is to get Juno to fill the connectoid with the password. The problem is that the connectoid has the "Save password" check box unchecked. Check the "Save password" box and then click the Connect radio button to try to connect to the net. Since the password box is empty, the attempt will fail but the check in the "Check password" box will be saved (since the connectoid thinks that you entered a password of ). Close the connectoid and then re-open it to make sure the check mark stays. Then close the connectoid. 8. Now accept Juno's invitation to reestablish your connection to the net. Juno should fill the empty password box which is now in a "save" state. 9. Disconnect from the net by right-clicking on the Juno Express connectoid and selecting disconnect. Don't close Juno 5.0 and ignore the blinking dialog box that that program opens when you disconnect. 10. Click on the Juno Express connectoid to examine it. You will probably see your Juno-assigned username (something like aa9999999999at_private in my case) and you should now see some asterisks in the password box. Click the Connect radio button to try to connect to the net. If it works, you're set. Now to clone the connectoid. 11. Close the Dial-Up Networking folder. 12. Open your My Computer folder. 13. Highlight the Dial-Up Networking folder by single-clicking it (or whatever). 14. Right-click on the Dial-Up Networking folder and highlight to bring up a new menu. 15. Select Dial-Up Magic, Clone..., and then the Juno connectoid (in my case Juno Express) from the new cascading menus that open. Dial-Up Magic will ask you if you want to clone the connectoid and will tell you the name it will use. Hit yes. 16. Open the Dial-Up Networking folder and notice the two connectoids (for example Juno Express and Juno Express(1)). 17. Close Juno 5.0. The original connectoid will be emptied (though its name may remain). 18. Use the cloned connectoid (for example Juno Express(1)) to connect from now on. Good luck. DCF ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice. To subscribe, visit http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------
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