Technical Help

In order to use P2P worlds in Virtual Messenger your computer must be setup to allow incoming connections on ports which you may specify. This may require special steps to make it work with your network. If upon startup you receive a Port Configuration Error, odds are you need to check the steps below to make VM function. Virtual Messenger is not capable of interacting with proxy servers.

I. Disabling Windows 2000/XP Internet Connection Firewall
II. Working from behind a Router
III. Using Firewall Security Engines
IV. Still Having Network Problems

Computers outside your local network can only identify it with your Internet IP. Ports help direct Internet traffic for the same IP address to correct computers on your local network as well as the appropriate application on a specific computer. This is an example setup of a network that is configured to run Virtual Messenger. Your setup may differ as there may only be one computer on your network or your Cable or DSL Modem may also double as a router. When selecting which ports to use on each VM installation make sure not to use the same values.

I. Disabling Windows 2000/XP Internet Connection Firewall

Windows 2000/XP users must disable the built-in Internet Connection Firewall. Follow the steps below in order to make sure this is not what's preventing you from using Virtual Messenger.

1. From the Control Panel (found on the Start Menu), select Network Connections.
2. Right-click the network connection and select Properties on the context menu. Choose the Advanced tab.
3. On the Internet Connection Firewall dialog ensure that the checkbox labeled "Protect my computer and Network..." is unmarked and click OK.

Note once this is accomplished we strongly encourage you to download a better firewall off the Internet. There are security engines such as Sygate Personal Firewall and Zone Alarm, which allow you to protect your computer from network attacks while allowing you to use applications which require incoming connections. There are free versions available which should suit your needs. See Using Firewall Security Engines to learn how to set these applications to work with Virtual Messenger.

II. Working from behind a Router

If you are a Cable or DSL user, you may be using a Router in order to supply multiple computers with a line to the Internet. It is also possible that you may be working with a Cable or DSL Modem which doubles as a router and or firewall. In any of these cases it is necessary for you to tell your router to route incoming connections meant for Virtual Messenger to the appropriate ports on the correct computer on your network.

Virtual Messenger uses two TCP ports and one UDP port. You may specify which ports are used from the Setup/Network dialog found on the main menu.

Multiple Computers on your Local Network

If you have multiple machines on your local network, you must configure each VM client to use a different set of ports and configure your router to take incoming connections and forward them to the correct computer based on the values you have specified using port forwarding.

Determine if you are behind a router and note your local IP Address

1. Open a Command Prompt found under Accessories folder on the Start Menu.
2. Type ipconfig and press enter.
3. See if the IP Address displayed for your Network Connection is similar to192.168.*.* , 10.*.*.* , or 172.16-31.*.* your computer has a private address and it is not directly connected to the Internet. This means you probably have a router between your ISP(Internet Service Provider) and your computer.

Configuring your Router

Once you are sure you are working from behind a router you should consult with your hardware documentation to learn how to set up its Port Forwarding Tables so that incoming connections and datagrams meant for VM can be delivered to the computers which it is installed on. We can only explain in general terms what needs to done since different hardware have different interfaces.

Most routers for home use (i.e. Linksys, and Netgear brands) can be configured directly from your web browser. If you've never configured your router before you may try and type the address of the router in the address bar of your browser after the "http://." It would be similar to the address of the private IP address of your computer except the last octet in the address will be 1. For instance, if your local IP address is 192.168.0.5, your router's address will probably be "192.168.0.1." If a dialog box appears asking for a username and password, your hardware is configurable from your browser. You need to check your documentation for the default username and password. If you do not have your documentation, you may search on your vendors website or elsewhere Inline for this information.

Port Forwarding

Your router should have a port forwarding table, which allows you to specify which ports map to which local IP address. This lets the router know how to route incoming connections and packets to specific computer on your local network. As an example, if your local IP of one of your computers 192.168.1.100 and you to want set VM to use ports 4000,4001,4002, set the router to forward with that range of ports to 192.168.1.100. If you had another computer on your network with a local address like 192.168.1.101, you would set the range of ports on your VM desktop to something other than the ones you have used on the first computer like 5000,5001,5002. Again you would have to set another entry in your routers port forwarding table to tell it how to map incoming connections meant for VM on the second computer using its local IP. The values we have used are arbitrary and are only used as an example. The ports you use do not have to have to be sequential but it is preferential especially if your router allows you to specify a range of ports in its forwarding table. Also note, your router may ask you to specify the protocol for each port. If there is an option for "BOTH," select that. Otherwise you will have to make sure that you have separate entries for TCP and UDP ports in the tables.

DMZing your computer

Most router will have an option to specify a DMZ server. Designating a machine as a DMZ server means that all incoming connections will be forwarded to a specific machine. If you only have Virtual Messenger installed on one computer this may be a simpler option than port forwarding. While easier, if you do not have a firewall security engine installed on the computer you select it may be exposed to malicious attacks. In order to use this feature set the default DMZ server address to the local address of the single computer that you wish to receive all incoming connections.

III. Using Firewall Security Engines

We can only describe vaguely how to get your Firewall Engine to work with Virtual Messenger. Most of these applications will allow you to specify which applications are safe to use with the Internet. They may prompt you when a program is accessed by a remote machine or when your computer attempts to make a connection with a remote machine. If you're engine inquires about Virtual Messengers network activities, give it a positive reply.

Your engine might require you to specify which ports to allow incoming connection. You should select three ports two using TCP, and one using UDP (if you are asked two specify). Configure VM to use those same ports on the Network Setup Dialog. If you have a router these values must match those in your port forwarding tables.

IV. Still Having Network Problems

If you are unclear about how to do anything described above or you've done it and it still doesn't work, you should first consult with the hardware and software documentation to see if it provides any insight. You might want to seek the assistance of your resident computer expert to assist you with this process. If after that you are still unable to get Virtual Messenger you may contact us directly with specific questions about setting up VM. When you do so, please mention the type of communication hardware, software, and security software that you may be using. Also be sure to mention what Operating System you're using.