4 steps to get firefox .bit enabled

[nodemaster]

Hi all,

after getting MasterPool up and running I promised to build a public DNS server. However, I recognized there are a lot of .bit enabled nameserver given the fact that only a few people are actively using .bit Domains. For that reason I decided to offer a very easy way to access .bit domains. The goal was to be as easy as possible to set up and of course after configuration it should "feel" like the "regular" internet (means you can type . bit domains into your browser).

I came up with the following solution:

I set up a public proxy (http://proxy.masterpool.eu:8080) which has only .bit TLD whitelisted (as I don't want to offer a complete proxy). And I use Foxy Proxy (http://getfoxyproxy.org/) to request ONLY .bit domains to this proxy. Everything else uses direct internet connection. This however only works with Firefox (though there are rumours that Foxy Proxy will support Chrome and IE soon, too) and if you are using a direct internet connection.

Everything is ready to be tested, but again I need some brave guinea pigs So everybody who wants to participate please have a look at https://masterpool.eu/proxy. DO try this at home, Namecoiners! [tm]


Where to go from here?
It would be great to ommit Foxy Proxy and build the proxy Switch into a separate Firefox, Chrome, IE, whatever Plugin. In that case a user just needs to install the plugin and is .bit enabled Unfortunately I'm not able to code Browserplugins but perhaps someone else in this forum is?

[moa]

Okay, at first test it appears to work. Good work. Haven't tried Tor.

Comments suggestions questions:

- this means any/only .bit DNS queries get directed to your site, http://proxy.masterpool.eu:8080/ correct?
(good as a way to .bit started and easily accessible but introduces single point of failure, local proxy ideal but for future dev.)

- had to wipe all current FoxyProxy settings to get file imported
(maybe another method of install for current FoxyProxy users to just select appropriate settings for configuring another proxy into their list)

- what's up with wall-of-text formatting on the config file MasterPoolEU.xml ???

All in all, good proof of concept, bodes well for future development. Simple yet effective. FoxyProxy is definitely the way to go.

Edit: put it up on wiki at some point http://dot-bit.bit/HowToBrowseBitDomains

EDIT2: !!! arghh, it broke when I try to browse the bitcoin forum!!! (withdrawl symptoms)
obviously it is trying to filter ".bit" selections through your proxy and forum.bitcoin includes a ".bit" string in there... and many other bitcoin related sites also i imagine ...back to drawing board, can't break bitcoin forum browsing !:)

[JohnDoe]

Was working great a second ago but now I get the following when trying to go to any page:

ERROR
The requested URL could not be retrieved

The following error was encountered while trying to retrieve the URL: http://online.wsj.com/home-page

Access Denied.

Access control configuration prevents your request from being allowed at this time. Please contact your service provider if you feel this is incorrect.

Your cache administrator is webmaster.

Generated Fri, 08 Jul 2011 22:45:03 GMT by proxy.masterpool.eu (squid)

EDIT: Oh I get it, i have to disable it when I want to browse to a normal domain. It couldn't resolve wsj.bit because it redirects to wsj.com.
EDIT2: If I'm reading this right then I'm supposed to be able to browse normal domains even when this proxy config is enabled right? I've never used foxyproxy before so I guess I must be doing something wrong.

[moa]

Was working great a second ago but now I get the following when trying to go to any page:

ERROR
The requested URL could not be retrieved

The following error was encountered while trying to retrieve the URL: http://online.wsj.com/home-page

Access Denied.

Access control configuration prevents your request from being allowed at this time. Please contact your service provider if you feel this is incorrect.

Your cache administrator is webmaster.

Generated Fri, 08 Jul 2011 22:45:03 GMT by proxy.masterpool.eu (squid)

EDIT: Oh I get it, i have to disable it when I want to browse to a normal domain. It couldn't resolve wsj.bit because it redirects to wsj.com.
EDIT2: If I'm reading this right then I'm supposed to be able to browse normal domains even when this proxy config is enabled right? I've never used foxyproxy before so I guess I must be doing something wrong.

Yeah. It should put all the regular domains through your "Default" connection (whatever that maybe, probably Direct if using no other proxying). AND it should re-direct only queries involving ".bit" string through nodemaster's proxy service that will resolve to the correct IP. It should do this automatically if you have selected "Use proxies based on their pre-defined patterns and priorities".

[JohnDoe]

Where is this "Use proxies based on their pre-defined patterns and priorities"? I can only select between Masterpool.eu for all URLs or Default for all URLs. I downloaded FoxyProxy Basic as the guide said, maybe I can only find this option in the Standard version?

EDIT: Yeah, the problem was that I had the Basic edition instead of Standard. Problem solved.

[JohnDoe]

Fixed the bitcoin site problem by changing the pattern from https?://(.*\.)*bit.* to https?://(.*\.)*bit/*.

I get a warning though when trying to save either of those patterns:

Parentheses shouldn't be used in patterns unless matching a parenthesis literally. If you really want to match a parenthesis, please be sure to precede it with a backslash. Examples: \( or \)

Not sure if this will be significant in anything.

Also when trying wsj.bit I get the warning 'Exception while determining which host to use for proxing'.

[nodemaster]

Tank you for testing this out:

Okay, at first test it appears to work. Good work. Haven't tried Tor.

Haven't tried Tor either. But the Proxy only allows HTTP and HTTPS connections to Port 80 and 443. You should however be able to use tor to access the proxy.

this means any/only .bit DNS queries get directed to your site, http://proxy.masterpool.eu:8080/ correct?
(good as a way to .bit started and easily accessible but introduces single point of failure, local proxy ideal but for future dev.)

Yeah, this is for some reasons. First of all I don't want to have a proxy running for the whole world. I can't (and on the other hand I don't want to care about) verify if this is a legit namecoin user or if this is a cracker in China abusing the service in order to buy things via stolen amazon accounts. The other issue is of course bandwidth.

Yes I agree, this is a single point of failure and in the long run I definitely prefer to haver a solution within the namecoin client. However I met much people saying they don't care about namecoin because they have no easy way to access .bit domains. Thus I regard this service as a temporary possibility to jumpstart some curious people into .bit namespace.

had to wipe all current FoxyProxy settings to get file imported
(maybe another method of install for current FoxyProxy users to just select appropriate settings for configuring another proxy into their list)

Yeah, definitely a problem. It's my first time using foxyproxy, but I didn't find a solution to just export a proxy with a matching pattern Because this was my first intention on how to do it, but I didn't get it managed. You can either export pattern or the whole configuration. Nothing in between... Or is there something I missed? The other possibility is of course writing a document explaining how to add .bit with an additional proxy. However my focus was to satisfy the "standard internet user" at first.

what's up with wall-of-text formatting on the config file MasterPoolEU.xml ???

Good question Seems to be the formatting of the output of the optional logfile. I tried to remove it form XML, but as a result the import went bonkers For that reason I left it intact.

Edit: put it up on wiki at some point http://dot-bit.bit/HowToBrowseBitDomains

I'll do that as soon as the functionality is approved

EDIT2: !!! arghh, it broke when I try to browse the bitcoin forum!!! (withdrawl symptoms)
obviously it is trying to filter ".bit" selections through your proxy and forum.bitcoin includes a ".bit" string in there... and many other bitcoin related sites also i imagine ...back to drawing board, can't break bitcoin forum browsing !:)

<jedi>You don't want to use bitcoin sites. namecoin is the new bitcoin</jedi> I definitely didn't foresee an obvious error I changed the Regular Expression. There is a new config file in the same place. Would you mind to test it?

[nodemaster]

EDIT: Yeah, the problem was that I had the Basic edition instead of Standard. Problem solved.

Well you found a "bug" in the document:

Install the Foxy Proxy Basic Extension
Open "Tools" → "Add-ons" and search for "Foxy Proxy Standard"

Bit misleading. Changing the document of the Text. We of course require Standard Edition. Thank you for adressing this.

[nodemaster]

Fixed the bitcoin site problem by changing the pattern from https?://(.*\.)*bit.* to https?://(.*\.)*bit/*.

What happens with this regex if you use domains without trailing slash? I. e.:

http://example.bit/

vs.

http://example.bit

I get a warning though when trying to save either of those patterns:

Parentheses shouldn't be used in patterns unless matching a parenthesis literally. If you really want to match a parenthesis, please be sure to precede it with a backslash. Examples: \( or \)

Not sure if this will be significant in anything.

No, you definitely want to use parentheses as regex. Thus you can safely ignore this message.

Also when trying wsj.bit I get the warning 'Exception while determining which host to use for proxing'.

Yeah getting this with my new pattern as well. However I don't really understand it, as it works and the last rule is a simple catch all rule (.*)

I really have to admit that I already had a hard time using the Regular Expressions in FoxyProxy. I'm used to PCRE but FoxyProxy JS Regexes are either not accepting all PCRE options or have some bugs. I'm investigating this issue further.

[JohnDoe]

What happens with this regex if you use domains without trailing slash? I. e.:

http://example.bit/

vs.

http://example.bit

Both work but I'll use your new pattern anyway since I don't know much about this stuff.

Yeah getting this with my new pattern as well. However I don't really understand it, as it works and the last rule is a simple catch all rule (.*)

Yeah, it doesn't seem to affect resolving speed or anything so it's just a minor annoyance.