Re: Script to disconnect Linksys WRT54G wireless router on Windows : Perl

I think I'm going to have to give up as there just seems to be no way that
any perl script can press any button on a linksys WRT54G router based on
all my hundreds of failed attempts and the lack of any successful perl
scripts on the Internet.

Advice for the next guy: Be forewarned; you can't press a button on a
Linksys WRT65G router using Perl. Some other approach might work; but not
Perl.

Wilson <davewilson69@sbcglobal.net> writes:

> I think I'm going to have to give up as there just seems to be no way that
> any perl script can press any button on a linksys WRT54G router based on
> all my hundreds of failed attempts and the lack of any successful perl
> scripts on the Internet.
>
> Advice for the next guy: Be forewarned; you can't press a button on a
> Linksys WRT65G router using Perl. Some other approach might work; but not
> Perl.

What nonsense. You said yourself that you're not a programmer and don't know
Perl - what makes you think that something is impossible simply because *you*
can't figure it out?

sherm--

--
WV News, Blogging, and Discussion: http://wv-www.com
Cocoa programming in Perl: http://camelbones.sourceforge.net

On Thu, 22 Nov 2007 08:27:27 -0500, Sherman Pendley wrote:
> Perl - what makes you think that something is impossible simply because *you*
> can't figure it out?

I'd like to agree with you Sherman, but, it's pretty simple to prove my
point. Nobody else has figured it out either.

Keep in mind the Linksys WRT54G is one of the most common home routers on
the planet and that Cisco/Linksys makes very many others that are similar
and still - and still - even with all that going for it - nobody on the
planet has yet found or ever posted in the history of the Internet a
working perl script to press a button on the router. Any button. That isn't
proof - but how would you expect anyone to believe it can be done if nobody
has ever done it?

If someone provides a working perl script that, from windows, can press a
button (any button) on the Linksys WRT54G router in https mode - I'll agree
with you. Otherwise, it's either as you implied, nobody on earth has ever
tried using Perl to press a button (any button) on the most common router
on the planet - or - as I have sadly concluded, despite my attempt at a
tutorial for the masses, it just can't be done in perl.

I'm sure there is another way though so I'm not giving up on the project -
I'm just giving up on Perl as it seems to be a rather non-functional
language if it can't even do what takes me five manual presses with the
mouse.

The good news is I'm still the Internet for that as yet unknown method to
press a button on an https web page as I digest my holiday turkey.

Wilson

On Fri, 23 Nov 2007 00:43:08 GMT, Wilson wrote:

> The good news is I'm still the Internet for that as yet unknown method to
> press a button on an https web page as I digest my holiday turkey.

Oooooooops. I'm still *searching* the Internet for a method that works.
So, I haven't given up; I've just concluded Perl isn't able to perform the
three-step task of
* going to a certain web page
* logging into an https connection
* press a particular button

I've downloaded some of the suggested Windows freeware and am seeing if
that will do it.

I've given up on the Perl tutorial for doing the three steps above so I do
thank you all for your kind help. I know you didn't have to help me. You
have edified me more than I could have done so myself. This is my last post
on the subject, having concluded what I should have known before I started.

That's the one thing you should have told me but I don't blame you. If it
can't be done, only the ones who have tried would know. Right?

Wilson

In comp.security.firewalls Wilson <davewilson69@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> Keep in mind the Linksys WRT54G is one of the most common home routers on
> the planet and that Cisco/Linksys makes very many others that are similar
> and still - and still - even with all that going for it - nobody on the
> planet has yet found or ever posted in the history of the Internet a
> working perl script to press a button on the router. Any button. That isn't
> proof - but how would you expect anyone to believe it can be done if nobody
> has ever done it?

You're just so incompetent and ridiculous, that I'm believing, you not
only know really nothing about Perl and HTTPS, but you also even know
nothing about pressing buttons ;-)

BTW: to press Buttons "on the router" with Perl, maybe you need an extra
"module":

http://hackedgadgets.com/2006/08/31/...indstorms-nxt/

SCNR,
VB.
--
The file name of an indirect node file is the string "iNode" immediately
followed by the link reference converted to decimal text, with no leading
zeroes. For example, an indirect node file with link reference 123 would
have the name "iNode123". - HFS Plus Volume Format, MacOS X

Quoth Wilson <davewilson69@sbcglobal.net>:
> On Fri, 23 Nov 2007 00:43:08 GMT, Wilson wrote:
>
> > The good news is I'm still the Internet for that as yet unknown method to
> > press a button on an https web page as I digest my holiday turkey.
>
> Oooooooops. I'm still *searching* the Internet for a method that works.
> So, I haven't given up; I've just concluded Perl isn't able to perform the
> three-step task of
> * going to a certain web page
> * logging into an https connection
> * press a particular button

Have you tried using http://www.research.att.com/sw/tools/wsp/? If the
web page served by the router is being too clever (and they *always*
seem to be) then this may help.

Ben

On Fri, 23 Nov 2007 00:43:08 +0000, Wilson wrote:

> On Thu, 22 Nov 2007 08:27:27 -0500, Sherman Pendley wrote:
>> Perl - what makes you think that something is impossible simply because
>> *you* can't figure it out?
>
> I'd like to agree with you Sherman, but, it's pretty simple to prove my
> point. Nobody else has figured it out either.

You're in way over your head and nobody here owes it to you to solve your
programming problems. Since your biggest difficulty is lack of Perl
experience, you might try perl.beginners.

People there will be more likely to help if they can be sure this is
purely a Perl-programming problem. If you haven't done so already, get
the original reboot script working before making any modifications. That
will verify that Perl and its libraries are properly installed and
configured, that nothing in Windows networking (or maybe a local
firewall?) is keeping Perl from talking to the network, that the router
is reachable by Perl, that the username/password pair is working as
expected, and that Perl can successfully issue commands to the router.
Then if your script doesn't work, you know that the problem lies
somewhere in your modifications to the reboot script.

Wilson <davewilson69@sbcglobal.net> writes:

> On Fri, 23 Nov 2007 00:43:08 GMT, Wilson wrote:
>
>> The good news is I'm still the Internet for that as yet unknown method to
>> press a button on an https web page as I digest my holiday turkey.
>
> Oooooooops. I'm still *searching* the Internet for a method that works.
> So, I haven't given up; I've just concluded Perl isn't able to perform the
> three-step task of
> * going to a certain web page
> * logging into an https connection
> * press a particular button

Are you being deliberately argumentative?

WWW::Mechanize is *very* capable of all of the above. You need to be a Perl
programmer to know how to use it, of course. If you're not, that means that
*you* aren't able to perform the above tasks in Perl - it's a limitation of
your own skill set, not a limitation of Perl.

> That's the one thing you should have told me but I don't blame you. If it
> can't be done, only the ones who have tried would know. Right?

Wrong. The above steps *can* be done in the general sense, by anyone with a
little bit of Perl skill.

If someone *with* that skill tried to do so with this particular router, and
posted a specific reason why the attempt failed - then I would agree with the
assessment that it can't be done.

When someone who admits to not having any Perl knowledge, and to not being a
programmer at all, claims to know what Perl is capable of, I have serious
doubts about that claim. Someone who's at that level simply doesn't have the
experience or background to reasonably assess Perl's capabilities.

sherm--

--
WV News, Blogging, and Discussion: http://wv-www.com
Cocoa programming in Perl: http://camelbones.sourceforge.net

On Fri, 23 Nov 2007 04:23:59 -0000, tramp wrote:
> You're in way over your head
agreed. That's why I'm asking here.

> nobody here owes it to you to
agreed.
I'm asking anyone with a Linksys WRT54G router to just run the script once
and report back if they see the same issue.

> your biggest difficulty is lack of Perl experience
agreed.
However an experienced programmer wrote the original script & it failed to
reboot the router.

> People will be more likely to help if they can be sure this is
> purely a Perl-programming problem.
It is and is not a perl-programming problem. If Perl can't do it (which I
seriously suspect), then it's not a perl programming problem, I agree. We
can't really ask perl to do what it just can not do.

> If you haven't done so already, get the original reboot script working
The original perl script never worked for anyone, not even the original
programmer. He did his best. So did I. Both failed.

> That will verify that Perl and its libraries are properly installed
I agree - we need to verify this somehow. What would be a good way to
verify that an https web page can be accessed via a perl script and a
button on that https web page pressed?

> nothing in Windows networking (or maybe a local firewall?)
I've turned off the software firewall for the testing

> that the router is reachable by Perl,
Another good one. What is the basic test of that?

> that the username/password pair is working
Yet another good one. How would we test this?

> that Perl can successfully issue commands to the router.
Ah. This is the big kehuna. Can perl issue commands to a router or not?

> Then if your script doesn't work, you know that the problem lies
> somewhere in your modifications to the reboot script.
The reboot script never worked even for the original programmer. He said it
was the best he could do in perl.

On Fri, 23 Nov 2007 02:40:00 +0000, Ben Morrow wrote:
> Have you tried using http://www.research.att.com/sw/tools/wsp/? If the
> web page served by the router is being too clever (and they *always*
> seem to be) then this may help.

Hi Ben,
You were the only one, it seems, who actually offered real help that pushed
this project forward. I appreciate that.

I'm still trying some avenues but have lost most of my trust in perl as
there are no working scripts I can find to test it on my router. If I could
only find a working script for a Linksys router that did anything - it
would give me confidence in that approach.

I have a couple more ideas going that I am trying and if perl continues to
fail me, I will use the method you denoted and as always, post the results
so everyone benefits from the exchange of information.

Thank you Ben for helping me and by doing so, helping the next person with
the same request!