iCamSource won't connect under limited user account...

[wuzup]

OS: Windows Vista Premium 64-bit
Account is that of a limited user.
I have given full rights to the iCam directory and all files within that folder and sub folders.
The Vista Parental Controls are enabled with all programs allowed to run and only a specific number of URLs blocked.

On the same computer, iCamSource connects perfectly under an Admin account - same exact settings under both accounts.

Any ideas?

What domains and IP addresses does iCamSource need to connect to so I can put those into the allowed list under the Parental settings?
Are there any Registry Keys which I need to grant the user access to?

[Stefan]

I am not really too familiar with Vista's parental controls, but I believe that the blocking that it does is for browsing web sites, which the iCamSource doesn't connect to.

Are you seeing errors when running the iCamSource with the parental controls?

[wuzup]

I do not get any errors on the computer side (iCamSource).  Two symptoms of it not working though:

1) On the limited user account, it does not register as knowing that I purchased push notifications and that option is grayed out.  But this feature works great when on an admin account.

2) It allows me to change the preferences and save them (it appears that it saves them) but it will NOT connect to the iCam app on my phone when run under a limited user account.  I believe the iCamSource cannot get out to your servers because when I go to connect from my phone it errors by saying that no iCamSources are currently running.  Which means your server does not see my instance of iCamSource when run under a limited user.  Again, it works perfectly on the same computer when run under an admin account with full rights.

It really appears to be either a registry permission setting or a parental control setting.  Let me work with the registry first.  May I have a list of all the registry keys this app touches so that I may verify permissions on these keys for the user in question?  Thank you.

[wuzup]

And just to verify.  When installing I did check the option to install for ALL USERS.  In case you were going to ask. 

[wuzup]

OK

So the location of the registry config settings is : HKEY_CURRENT_USER/SOFTWARE/SKJM, LLC/iCam

I don't like that the password is saved in plain text there.  Anyone with access to the registry can look it up...

I have not made any changes yet though.  I will update when I find something.

[wuzup]

So the limited user does not have an iCamSource key (with the DesktopFolder defined) in their registry settings, whereas the Admin does.  Would this cause an issue?

[wuzup]

I disabled parental controls on the account to test it on the limited account and it worked PERFECT. It is not a permissions issue.  Parental controls simply wont allow it to access the net.

I need from you the exact IP addresses and URLs that iCamSource must access to communicate.  I can add these into the parental controls and all should be well.  Thank you.

[wuzup]

Still no luck.  Within the parental control settings I set the following and I am still unable to get a connection unless I disable parental controls all together:

1) Disabled the Auto Content Blocking feature and set the Restriction Level to None
2) Allowed all File Downloading
3) Allowed all Games to be played
4) Allowed All Programs to be run

The only thing left is to specifically add the URLs/IPs that iCamSource communicates with to the allow list within parental controls - at least to test it.  If that isn't the issue, I have no idea 

[Stefan]

I don't like that the password is saved in plain text there.  Anyone with access to the registry can look it up...

We have had another user request that we obfuscate the password in the registry and that is something that will be released with the next iCamSource update. (We are currently waiting on Apple to approve an update to iCam first ...)

The iCam Broker Server's IP address is icam.skjm.com ... It isn't a URL, since the communication between the iCamSource and the broker server is not HTTP.

[wuzup]

Adding icam.skjm.com and 66.116.97.150 both fail to work.  But the parental controls add "http://" onto the beginning of that entry, meaning it thinks its going out port 80.  There is no way to add the entry any other way.  I am currently researching a way to allow traffic on specific ports through parental controls but that may not be possible.

[wuzup]

So I believe your program is not compatible with simultaneous use of Vista Parental Controls. It does not seem that the parental controls have the ability to allow UDP traffic on specific ports.  I have an open thread on Experts Exchange, but so far, no answers from them either. http://www.experts-exchange.com/OS/Microsoft_Operating_Systems/Windows/Windows_Vista/Q_24723402.html

[wuzup]

Opened yet another post on TechNet asking the question: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en/itprovistasecurity/thread/57bae4c6-c9a3-4379-8306-cdc1c0e15bae

Still no answers.


Stefan, do you have any plans to make iCam work with Vista Parental Controls? An alternative connection method maybe?  Port 443 with an SSL connection between iCamSource and iCam (both phone or web version) might be an option...

[Stefan]

If the Vista Parental Controls enable an exceedingly restrictive set of firewall limitations then there is not much that we will be able to do that would retain the "zero-config" functionality enjoyed by the majority of our users.