September 30, 1999
WebSentinel v2.1
Powerful Security Administration and Subscription Services
Download Location: (http://downloads.purity.com/)
Purity Software is pleased to announce the final release of WebSentinel
v2.1. We recommend all users of previous versions of WebSentinel upgrade to
this new version.
Overview
--------
WebSentinel is a web server plug-in that replaces or supplements your web
server's built-in security, allowing more flexibility and power to manage
users and secure areas with a complete Macintosh user interface. Some of
the many features include auto-expiring users (subscription management),
administration groups, optional HTML-based login forms, GREP match strings,
and custom "No Access" files for each realm. WebSentinel's plug-in
architecture allows you to integrate with your existing user data and
security architectures.
Further information about WebSentinel is available on the Purity Software
web site at (http://www.purity.com/websentinel/)
System Requirements
-------------------
WebSentinel v2.1 requires Mac OS v7.5 or later and a web server supporting
W*API v1.2 or later. Additionally, the WebSentinel Admin application
requires Mac OS v8.0 or later. WebSentinel is PowerPC only.
What's New?
------------
WebSentinel v2.1 has been developed with two goals in mind: to provide a
stability and performance enhancing maintenance update, and to extend the
environment with several new key features.
Denied Workstations - Denied workstations allow a specific workstation or
range of workstations, specified by IP address or hostname, to be denied
access to the site, without the ability to log-in. Each workstation can be
set to one or more realms, or the entire web site.
New Web-based Administration - The web-based administration for WebSentinel
has been completely rewritten, allowing administration of all WebSentinel
features. This interface uses a new script architecture that allows anyone
familiar with AppleScript to extend or replace the standard web-based
administration pages.
Updated Scripting Interface - The scripting interface to WebSentinel has
been updated to support the new features of WebSentinel. Through this
interface you can exchange information with WebSentinel from AppleScript,
Userland Frontier, Purity's own WebSiphon, Pervasive Software's Tango,
Blueworld's Lasso, and other Apple Event savvy environments.
Persistent Login Cookies - When using web login forms for authentication,
WebSentinel now supports the ability to specify how long the username and
password will be saved on the browser's computer, instead of expiring after
the browser quits. This allows users to not have to keep typing their
username and password when entering the site, if they choose to. A simple
optional checkbox on the login form allows the user to choose whether they
want this feature enabled.
Automatic Installer and Self-repair - WebSentinel no longer requires you to
install any additional libraries or files other than the WebSentinel
Plug-in itself. When the web server starts up, WebSentinel will
automatically create any default files and Data Target Plug-ins necessary
for WebSentinel to function. Just drop the WebSentinel Plug-in in your web
server Plug-ins folder and you're ready to go!
Improved Import of Users with Realms - The simple tab-delimited import file
format that WebSentinel supports has been improved to support an optional
realm match string as the last item. When importing any users with realm
permissions, providing a realm match string will allow functional realms to
be automatically created as the users are imported.
User Sign-up Script Example - Included with the package are new example
scripts that you can use to simplify administration on your
subscription-based web site. A form allows users to pick username and
password, and WebSentinel will automatically create their account.
Logout Link Feature - When using web-based HTML login forms, the site
administrator now has the ability to add a "Logout" link to their web site.
On a shared computer, the user of the web site can click the "Logout" link
so that subsequent users of the computer will not be able to use the
previous user's account. An optional URL can also be specified to redirect
the user to, once the logout is complete.
Known Issues in this Release
----------------------------
We are currently tracking two known issues with this release:
- Adding a new user to the Verona Data Target with WebSTAR 4
Developer or WebSTAR 4.1 betas will cause a user break in MacsBug.
- In certain cases with very large user sets, WebSentinel Admin does
not list users beyond 3750.
Feedback
--------
Please feel free to discuss comments, bug reports or other feedback using
the WebSentinel-Talk mailing list. If you are not already subscribed, you
may do so at:
(http://www.purity.com/mailing-lists.html)
Alternatively, you may send us feedback directly at:
websentinel-support@purity.com
Who is Purity Software?
-----------------------
Purity Software has been developing quality web server tools since 1995.
We've been quiet for the last year or so, but we have been busy. Look for
announcements in the next few weeks on a new version of WebSiphon and a new
addition to our product line later this month.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Purity Software, we pride
ourselves on product quality and top notch customer service. Download a
demo and ask all the questions you can muster. We'll be happy to get you
started with our products.
