How to Configure and Administer Personal Web Server

 Last reviewed: January 8, 1998
Article ID: Q158721
1.00 1.00a WINDOWS kbtool kbenv

The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Personal Web Server versions 1.0, 1.0a for Windows 95

SUMMARY

This article describes how to configure and administer Microsoft Personal Web Server. The following topics are discussed:

  • Starting the HTTP and FTP services
  • Configuring the HTTP and FTP services
  • Sharing folders
  • Configuring security
  • Adding users and groups to the local user list
  • Administering Personal Web Server remotely
  • Monitoring HTTP and FTP activity

MORE INFORMATION

Starting the HTTP and FTP Services

Personal Web Server supports the following two types of services:

  • The HTTP (Hypertext Transport Protocol) service allows people to access Web pages on your computer.
  • The FTP (File Transfer Protocol) service allows people to view files on your computer and copy files to and from your computer using the FTP protocol.

Personal Web Server can be configured so that one or both of the HTTP and FTP services start automatically when you start Windows 95. If the services are not configured to start automatically, you can start them manually at any time. The HTTP service is configured to start automatically by default, but the FTP service is not.

To configure the HTTP or FTP service to start automatically when you start Windows 95, follow these steps:

  1. Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

  2. In Control Panel, double-click Personal Web Server.

  3. Click the Services tab, click the service that you want to start automatically in the Services area, and then click Properties.

  4. In the Startup Options area, click Automatic.

To manually start a service that is not configured to start automatically, follow these steps:

  1. Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

  2. In Control Panel, double-click Personal Web Server.

  3. Click the Services tab, click the service that you want to start in the Services area, and then click Start.

Configuring the HTTP and FTP Services

Configuring the HTTP Service

After you start the HTTP service, people can access Web pages on your computer using the following Internet address 

   http://<computer>
where <computer> is your computer name. To verify the Internet address that people should use to access Web pages on your computer, double-click Personal Web Server in Control Panel and then view the address at the top of the General tab. To change the address that people use to access your computer, you must change your computer name.

To modify the Web page that appears by default when people use the above address to access your computer, follow these steps:

  1. Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

  2. In Control Panel, double-click Personal Web Server.

  3. Click the Services tab, click HTTP in the Services area, and then click Properties.

  4. Click Change Home Page and then type the file name associated with the Web page that you want to appear in the Default Document box. Note that the Web page must be located in the home root folder for the HTTP service.

Web pages other than the default Web page can be accessed using the following address syntax 

   http://<computer>/<folder>/<page>
where <computer> is your computer name, <folder> is the alias for the folder in which the Web page is located, and <page> is file name associated with the Web page. To allow people to access Web pages on your computer, you must share the folder that contains the Web page in Personal Web Server and assign an alias to the folder. The alias for the folder must be used to access Web pages in the folder instead of the actual folder name. For additional information about sharing folders in Personal Web Server, see the "Sharing Folders" section in this article.

If the Web page you want to access is located in the home root folder, you do not need to specify a folder alias in the address. Note that the alias for the home root folder should not be changed. Doing so can cause problems that may require you to reinstall Personal Web Server.

Configuring the FTP Service

After you start the FTP service, people can view files on your computer and copy files to and from your computer using the following Internet address 

   ftp://<computer>
where <computer> is your computer name. To verify the Internet address that people should use when using FTP to access files on your computer, double- click Personal Web Server in Control Panel, click the Services tab, click FTP in the Services area, click Properties, and then view the address in the FTP Home Root Settings area. To change the address that people use to access files on your computer, you must change your computer name.

When people use the above address to access your computer, the contents of the home root folder for the FTP service are displayed. To change the folder whose contents are displayed when people use the above address to access your computer, follow these steps:

  1. Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

  2. In Control Panel, double-click Personal Web Server.

  3. Click the Administration tab, click Administration, and then click FTP Administration.

  4. Click the Directories tab and then click Edit on line for the current home root folder.

  5. Click Virtual Directory, and then click OK.

  6. Click Edit on the line for the folder that you want to be the home root folder, click Home Directory, and then click OK.

To modify other settings for the FTP service, follow these steps:

  1. Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

  2. In Control Panel, double-click Personal Web Server.

  3. Click the Administration tab, click Administration, and then click FTP Administration.

  4. Modify one or more settings on the Services tab.

    NOTE: Personal Web Server should not be configured so that the Allow Anonymous Connections check box is cleared and the Allow Only Anonymous Connections check box is selected. If Personal Web Server is configured in this manner, no FTP connections are allowed.

Sharing Folders

To share a folder on your computer so that people can access Web pages in the folder, follow these steps:

  1. Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

  2. In Control Panel, double-click Personal Web Server.

  3. Click the Administration tab, click Administration, and then click WWW Administration.

  4. Click the Directories tab and then click Add.

  5. Type the full path to the folder in the Directory box, type an alias for the folder in the Directory Alias box, click one or both of the Read and Execute check boxes to select them, and then click OK. Note that you can click Browse to locate the folder instead of typing the name of the folder manually.

To stop sharing or modify the settings for a folder that was previously shared so that people could access Web pages in the folder, follow these steps:

  1. Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

  2. In Control Panel, double-click Personal Web Server.

  3. Click the Administration tab, click Administration, and then click WWW Administration.

  4. Click the Directories tab.

  5. To stop sharing a folder, click Delete on the line for the folder. To modify the settings for a folder, click Edit on the line for the folder and then modify one or more settings.

To share a folder on your computer so that people can access files in the folder using FTP, follow these steps:

  1. Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

  2. In Control Panel, double-click Personal Web Server.

  3. Click the Administration tab, click Administration, and then click FTP Administration.

  4. Click the Directories tab and then click Add.

  5. Type the full path to the folder in the Directory box, type an alias for the folder in the Directory Alias box, click one or both of the Read and Write check boxes to select them, and then click OK. Note that you can click Browse to locate the folder instead of typing the name of the folder manually.

To stop sharing or modify the settings for a folder that was previously shared so that people could access files in the folder using FTP, follow these steps:

  1. Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

  2. In Control Panel, double-click Personal Web Server.

  3. Click the Administration tab, click Administration, and then click FTP Administration.

  4. Click the Directories tab.

  5. To stop sharing a folder, click Delete on the line for the folder. To modify the settings for a folder, click Edit on the line for the folder and then modify one or more settings.

Configuring Security

Specifying an Access Control Type

Personal Web Server uses the same type of access control as the computer on which it is running. If the "File and printer sharing for Microsoft Networks" network service is installed, the computer can use share-level security or user-level security with pass-through validation provided by a Windows NT domain or Windows NT-based computer. If the "File and printer sharing for NetWare Networks" network service is installed, the computer can use user-level security with pass-through validation provided by a Novell NetWare server. If neither network service is installed, Personal Web Server must use local security.

To use share-level or user-level security in Personal Web Server, the appropriate network service must be installed and configured properly. To add a network service in Windows 95, follow these steps:

  1. Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

  2. In Control Panel, double-click Network.

  3. Click Add, click Network Service, and then click Add.

  4. In the Manufacturers box, click Microsoft. In the Network Services box, click "File and printer sharing for Microsoft Networks" or "File and printer sharing for NetWare Networks."

  5. Click OK.

To configure Windows 95 to use a particular type of access control, double- click Network in Control Panel, click the Access Control tab, and then click Share-Level Access Control or User-Level Access Control. If you click User-Level Access Control, you must also type the name of the Windows NT domain, Windows NT-based computer, or Novell NetWare server used to provide pass-through validation in the "Obtain list of users and groups from" box.

NOTE: After you change the type of access control a computer is using, any resources that were shared on that computer are no longer shared. You must share the resources again to allow other people to access them. In addition, note that remote administration of Personal Web Server is not supported when share-level security is used.

To use local security in Personal Web Server, double-click Network in Control Panel, click File And Printer Sharing, and then click the "I want to be able to give others access to my files" and "I want to be able to allow others to print to my printer(s)" check boxes to clear them.

NOTE: When Personal Web Server is configured for local security, Dial-Up Networking Server does not function properly.

Specifying a Method of Password Authentication

Personal Web Server can be configured to use basic password authentication or Windows NT Challenge/Response password authentication. In addition, it can be configured to allow anonymous connections.

When basic password authentication is used, the user name and password that people enter when they access your computer are not encrypted before they are passed across the network. This method of password authentication makes it very easy for other people to decode the user name and password. When Windows NT Challenge/Response password authentication is used, the user name and password are encrypted before they are passed across the network. This method provides additional security by making it very difficult for other people to decode the user name and password.

NOTE: To use Windows NT Challenge/Response password authentication in Personal Web Server, the computer on which Personal Web Server is running must be using user-level security with pass-through validation provided by a Windows NT domain.

To configure Personal Web Server to use a particular method of password authentication, follow these steps:

  1. Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

  2. In Control Panel, double-click Personal Web Server.

  3. Click the Administration tab, click Administration, and then click WWW Administration.

  4. Click the Basic or Windows NT Challenge/Response check box to select it.

Adding Users and Groups to the Local User List

If you configure Personal Web Server to use local security, you must add people to the local user list to allow them to access Web pages and files on your computer. You can also add groups to the local user list and add people to the groups.

To add a person to the local user list, follow these steps:

  1. Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

  2. In Control Panel, double-click Personal Web Server.

  3. Click the Administration tab, click Administration, and then click Local User Administration.

  4. On the Users tab, click New User, type a user name in the "User Name" box, type a password in the "User Password" and "Confirm Password" boxes, and then click Add.

    NOTE: Each person in the local user list must have a password. Personal Web Server does not support null passwords.

To add a group to the local user list, follow these steps:

  1. Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

  2. In Control Panel, double-click Personal Web Server.

  3. Click the Administration tab, click Administration, and then click Local User Administration.

  4. Click the Groups tab, click New Group, type a name for the group in the "Group Name" box, and then click Add.

To add a person to a particular group, follow these steps:

  1. Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

  2. In Control Panel, double-click Personal Web Server.

  3. Click the Administration tab, click Administration, and then click Local User Administration.

  4. Click the User/Group tab, click the person that you want to add to a group in the User List box, click the group to which you want to add the person in the Group List box, and then click Add User To Group.

Administering Personal Web Server Remotely

Personal Web Server can be configured so that you can administer it from another computer. To administer Personal Web Server from another computer, the computer on which Personal Web Server is installed and the computer from which you want to administer Personal Web Server must be on the same network, or the computer on which Personal Web Server is installed must be able to be accessed over the Internet.

To configure Personal Web Server and Windows 95 so that Personal Web Server can be administered from another computer, follow these steps:

  1. If Personal Web Server is configured for local security, add any people that you want to be able to administer Personal Web Server remotely to the local user list. For information about how to do so, see the "Adding Users and Groups to the Local User List" section in this article. If Personal Web Server is not configured for local security, proceed to step 2.

  2. Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

  3. In Control Panel, double-click Passwords.

  4. Click the Remote Administration tab, click the Enable Remote Administration Of This Server check box to select it, and then click Add.

  5. Click the person that you want to be able to administer Personal Web Server remotely in the list of names and then click Add. Repeat this step for each person that you want to be able to administer Personal Web Server remotely.

To administer Personal Web Server from another computer, access the following Web page from the other computer 

   http://<computer>/htmla/htmla.htm
where <computer> is the computer name of the computer on which Personal Web Server is installed. If you want to access the computer over the Internet instead of a network, you must establish a connection to the Internet before accessing the above address. For additional information about connecting to the Internet in Windows 95, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 

   ARTICLE-ID: Q138789
   TITLE     : How to Connect to the Internet in Windows 95
NOTE: When you administer Personal Web Server from another computer, you cannot administer a local user list.

Monitoring HTTP and FTP Activity

Personal Web Server includes features that allow you to monitor HTTP and FTP activity on your computer. One of these features allows you to record HTTP and FTP activity on the computer in a log file. When you enable this feature, Personal Web Server creates an entry in the log file each time someone accesses a Web page on your computer or accesses a file on your computer using FTP.

To enable logging so that HTTP activity is monitored, follow these steps:

  1. Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

  2. In Control Panel, double-click Personal Web Server.

  3. Click the Administration tab, click Administration, and then click WWW Administration.

  4. Click the Logging tab and then click the Enable Logging check box to select it.

To enable logging so that FTP activity is monitored, follow these steps:

  1. Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

  2. In Control Panel, double-click Personal Web Server.

  3. Click the Administration tab, click Administration, and then click FTP Administration.

  4. Click the Logging tab and then click the Enable Logging check box to select it.

The log file that is created when you enable logging so that HTTP or FTP activity is monitored is named Inetserver_event.log. The file is created in the Windows folder by default.

Personal Web Server also includes a feature that allows you to view the current FTP connections on your computer. To view the current FTP connections on your computer, follow these steps:

  1. Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

  2. In Control Panel, double-click Personal Web Server.

  3. Click the Administration tab, click Administration, and then click FTP Administration.

  4. Click Show Current Sessions.

Additional reference words: 1.00 1.00a mspwsw95
Keywords : mspwsw95 kbenv kbtool
Version : windows:1.0,1.0a
Platform : WINDOWS

THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THE MICROSOFT KNOWLEDGE BASE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. MICROSOFT DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT SHALL MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS OR SPECIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES SO THE FOREGOING LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY.

Last reviewed: January 8, 1998
© 1998 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Terms of Use.