Home » Personal collection » Acorn hard disk » apps » web » !ArcWeb/PublicHTML/authorise
!ArcWeb/PublicHTML/authorise
This website contains an archive of files for the Acorn Electron, BBC Micro, Acorn Archimedes, Commodore 16 and Commodore 64 computers, which Dominic Ford has rescued from his private collection of floppy disks and cassettes.
Some of these files were originally commercial releases in the 1980s and 1990s, but they are now widely available online. I assume that copyright over them is no longer being asserted. If you own the copyright and would like files to be removed, please contact me.
| Tape/disk: | Home » Personal collection » Acorn hard disk » apps » web |
| Filename: | !ArcWeb/PublicHTML/authorise |
| Read OK: | ✔ |
| File size: | 080C bytes |
| Load address: | 0000 |
| Exec address: | 0000 |
Duplicates
There is 1 duplicate copy of this file in the archive:
- Personal collection » Acorn ADFS disks » Greaseweazled » adfs_1.6M_ArcWeb.adf » !ArcWeb/PublicHTML/authorise
- Personal collection » Acorn hard disk » apps » web » !ArcWeb/PublicHTML/authorise
File contents
<title>WWW Authentication</title> <body> <h1>WWW Authentication</h1> Information providers may decide to protect their pages by password in order to restrict who can see them. (eg. <a "href=http://www.acorn.co.uk/acorn/clan/private/Home">Acorn's Clan only pages</a>). To do this they construct a password file at the server end and put an access control file in the clan home directory, giving a symbolic name by which any files under that directory need to be accessed. Acorn chose "AcornClan" as their authentication 'realm' . This means that if you send a normal request to www.acorn.co.uk asking for one of the clan pages, you will get back: <pre> HTTP/1.0 401 Unauthorized Server: CERN/3.0 (or similar) Date: .... etc. etc. WWW-Authenticate: Basic "AcornClan" Content-Type: text/html <title>Unauthorized</title> <h1>401 Unauthorized</h1>Your browser does not appear to support user authentication. </pre> At which point, ArcWeb will prompt you for a user name and password which will satisfy the "AcornClan" realm of www.acorn.co.uk. So you enter the user name and password and press RETURN and ArcWeb will resend the request but include an extra header. For example, suppose I enter user name 'Aladdin' and password 'open sesame', the following header will be sent with the repeated request: <pre> Authorization: Basic QWxhZGRpbjpvcGVuIHNlc2FtZQ== </pre> where it has converted the user name and password to a simple non-clear text format (note: this is <em>NOT SECURE</em> - any base64 decoder can decode that string I've given above back into 'Aladdin:open sesame') Note that the authentication information is cached by ArcWeb until it quits (unless you set the option in the configuration window to stop it deleting the cache upon exit), and that if you attempt to access another page under the clan hierarchy, then ArcWeb will speculatively add the cached authentication information to the original request in an attempt to pre-empt any challenge. <hr> <address>Stewart Brodie<br>21st November 1995</address>
00000000 3c 74 69 74 6c 65 3e 57 57 57 20 41 75 74 68 65 |<title>WWW Authe| 00000010 6e 74 69 63 61 74 69 6f 6e 3c 2f 74 69 74 6c 65 |ntication</title| 00000020 3e 0a 3c 62 6f 64 79 3e 0a 3c 68 31 3e 57 57 57 |>.<body>.<h1>WWW| 00000030 20 41 75 74 68 65 6e 74 69 63 61 74 69 6f 6e 3c | Authentication<| 00000040 2f 68 31 3e 0a 0a 49 6e 66 6f 72 6d 61 74 69 6f |/h1>..Informatio| 00000050 6e 20 70 72 6f 76 69 64 65 72 73 20 6d 61 79 20 |n providers may | 00000060 64 65 63 69 64 65 20 74 6f 20 70 72 6f 74 65 63 |decide to protec| 00000070 74 20 74 68 65 69 72 20 70 61 67 65 73 20 62 79 |t their pages by| 00000080 20 70 61 73 73 77 6f 72 64 20 69 6e 0a 6f 72 64 | password in.ord| 00000090 65 72 20 74 6f 20 72 65 73 74 72 69 63 74 20 77 |er to restrict w| 000000a0 68 6f 20 63 61 6e 20 73 65 65 20 74 68 65 6d 2e |ho can see them.| 000000b0 20 20 28 65 67 2e 20 3c 61 0a 22 68 72 65 66 3d | (eg. <a."href=| 000000c0 68 74 74 70 3a 2f 2f 77 77 77 2e 61 63 6f 72 6e |http://www.acorn| 000000d0 2e 63 6f 2e 75 6b 2f 61 63 6f 72 6e 2f 63 6c 61 |.co.uk/acorn/cla| 000000e0 6e 2f 70 72 69 76 61 74 65 2f 48 6f 6d 65 22 3e |n/private/Home">| 000000f0 41 63 6f 72 6e 27 73 20 43 6c 61 6e 20 6f 6e 6c |Acorn's Clan onl| 00000100 79 0a 70 61 67 65 73 3c 2f 61 3e 29 2e 20 54 6f |y.pages</a>). To| 00000110 20 64 6f 20 74 68 69 73 20 74 68 65 79 20 63 6f | do this they co| 00000120 6e 73 74 72 75 63 74 20 61 20 70 61 73 73 77 6f |nstruct a passwo| 00000130 72 64 20 66 69 6c 65 20 61 74 20 74 68 65 20 73 |rd file at the s| 00000140 65 72 76 65 72 20 65 6e 64 20 61 6e 64 0a 70 75 |erver end and.pu| 00000150 74 20 61 6e 20 61 63 63 65 73 73 20 63 6f 6e 74 |t an access cont| 00000160 72 6f 6c 20 66 69 6c 65 20 69 6e 20 74 68 65 20 |rol file in the | 00000170 63 6c 61 6e 20 68 6f 6d 65 20 64 69 72 65 63 74 |clan home direct| 00000180 6f 72 79 2c 20 67 69 76 69 6e 67 20 61 20 73 79 |ory, giving a sy| 00000190 6d 62 6f 6c 69 63 20 6e 61 6d 65 0a 62 79 20 77 |mbolic name.by w| 000001a0 68 69 63 68 20 61 6e 79 20 66 69 6c 65 73 20 75 |hich any files u| 000001b0 6e 64 65 72 20 74 68 61 74 20 64 69 72 65 63 74 |nder that direct| 000001c0 6f 72 79 20 6e 65 65 64 20 74 6f 20 62 65 20 61 |ory need to be a| 000001d0 63 63 65 73 73 65 64 2e 20 20 41 63 6f 72 6e 20 |ccessed. Acorn | 000001e0 63 68 6f 73 65 0a 22 41 63 6f 72 6e 43 6c 61 6e |chose."AcornClan| 000001f0 22 20 61 73 20 74 68 65 69 72 20 61 75 74 68 65 |" as their authe| 00000200 6e 74 69 63 61 74 69 6f 6e 20 27 72 65 61 6c 6d |ntication 'realm| 00000210 27 20 2e 20 20 54 68 69 73 20 6d 65 61 6e 73 20 |' . This means | 00000220 74 68 61 74 20 69 66 20 79 6f 75 20 73 65 6e 64 |that if you send| 00000230 20 61 0a 6e 6f 72 6d 61 6c 20 72 65 71 75 65 73 | a.normal reques| 00000240 74 20 74 6f 20 77 77 77 2e 61 63 6f 72 6e 2e 63 |t to www.acorn.c| 00000250 6f 2e 75 6b 20 61 73 6b 69 6e 67 20 66 6f 72 20 |o.uk asking for | 00000260 6f 6e 65 20 6f 66 20 74 68 65 20 63 6c 61 6e 20 |one of the clan | 00000270 70 61 67 65 73 2c 20 79 6f 75 20 77 69 6c 6c 0a |pages, you will.| 00000280 67 65 74 20 62 61 63 6b 3a 0a 0a 3c 70 72 65 3e |get back:..<pre>| 00000290 0a 0a 48 54 54 50 2f 31 2e 30 20 34 30 31 20 55 |..HTTP/1.0 401 U| 000002a0 6e 61 75 74 68 6f 72 69 7a 65 64 0a 53 65 72 76 |nauthorized.Serv| 000002b0 65 72 3a 20 43 45 52 4e 2f 33 2e 30 20 28 6f 72 |er: CERN/3.0 (or| 000002c0 20 73 69 6d 69 6c 61 72 29 0a 44 61 74 65 3a 20 | similar).Date: | 000002d0 2e 2e 2e 2e 20 65 74 63 2e 20 65 74 63 2e 0a 57 |.... etc. etc..W| 000002e0 57 57 2d 41 75 74 68 65 6e 74 69 63 61 74 65 3a |WW-Authenticate:| 000002f0 20 42 61 73 69 63 20 22 41 63 6f 72 6e 43 6c 61 | Basic "AcornCla| 00000300 6e 22 0a 43 6f 6e 74 65 6e 74 2d 54 79 70 65 3a |n".Content-Type:| 00000310 20 74 65 78 74 2f 68 74 6d 6c 0a 0a 26 6c 74 3b | text/html..<| 00000320 74 69 74 6c 65 26 67 74 3b 55 6e 61 75 74 68 6f |title>Unautho| 00000330 72 69 7a 65 64 26 6c 74 3b 2f 74 69 74 6c 65 26 |rized</title&| 00000340 67 74 3b 0a 26 6c 74 3b 68 31 26 67 74 3b 34 30 |gt;.<h1>40| 00000350 31 20 55 6e 61 75 74 68 6f 72 69 7a 65 64 26 6c |1 Unauthorized&l| 00000360 74 3b 2f 68 31 26 67 74 3b 59 6f 75 72 20 62 72 |t;/h1>Your br| 00000370 6f 77 73 65 72 20 64 6f 65 73 20 6e 6f 74 20 61 |owser does not a| 00000380 70 70 65 61 72 20 74 6f 20 73 75 70 70 6f 72 74 |ppear to support| 00000390 20 75 73 65 72 0a 61 75 74 68 65 6e 74 69 63 61 | user.authentica| 000003a0 74 69 6f 6e 2e 0a 0a 3c 2f 70 72 65 3e 0a 0a 41 |tion...</pre>..A| 000003b0 74 20 77 68 69 63 68 20 70 6f 69 6e 74 2c 20 41 |t which point, A| 000003c0 72 63 57 65 62 20 77 69 6c 6c 20 70 72 6f 6d 70 |rcWeb will promp| 000003d0 74 20 79 6f 75 20 66 6f 72 20 61 20 75 73 65 72 |t you for a user| 000003e0 20 6e 61 6d 65 20 61 6e 64 20 70 61 73 73 77 6f | name and passwo| 000003f0 72 64 0a 77 68 69 63 68 20 77 69 6c 6c 20 73 61 |rd.which will sa| 00000400 74 69 73 66 79 20 74 68 65 20 22 41 63 6f 72 6e |tisfy the "Acorn| 00000410 43 6c 61 6e 22 20 72 65 61 6c 6d 20 6f 66 20 77 |Clan" realm of w| 00000420 77 77 2e 61 63 6f 72 6e 2e 63 6f 2e 75 6b 2e 20 |ww.acorn.co.uk. | 00000430 20 53 6f 20 79 6f 75 0a 65 6e 74 65 72 20 74 68 | So you.enter th| 00000440 65 20 75 73 65 72 20 6e 61 6d 65 20 61 6e 64 20 |e user name and | 00000450 70 61 73 73 77 6f 72 64 20 61 6e 64 20 70 72 65 |password and pre| 00000460 73 73 20 52 45 54 55 52 4e 20 61 6e 64 20 41 72 |ss RETURN and Ar| 00000470 63 57 65 62 20 77 69 6c 6c 0a 72 65 73 65 6e 64 |cWeb will.resend| 00000480 20 74 68 65 20 72 65 71 75 65 73 74 20 62 75 74 | the request but| 00000490 20 69 6e 63 6c 75 64 65 20 61 6e 20 65 78 74 72 | include an extr| 000004a0 61 20 68 65 61 64 65 72 2e 20 20 46 6f 72 20 65 |a header. For e| 000004b0 78 61 6d 70 6c 65 2c 0a 73 75 70 70 6f 73 65 20 |xample,.suppose | 000004c0 49 20 65 6e 74 65 72 20 75 73 65 72 20 6e 61 6d |I enter user nam| 000004d0 65 20 27 41 6c 61 64 64 69 6e 27 20 61 6e 64 20 |e 'Aladdin' and | 000004e0 70 61 73 73 77 6f 72 64 20 27 6f 70 65 6e 20 73 |password 'open s| 000004f0 65 73 61 6d 65 27 2c 20 74 68 65 0a 66 6f 6c 6c |esame', the.foll| 00000500 6f 77 69 6e 67 20 68 65 61 64 65 72 20 77 69 6c |owing header wil| 00000510 6c 20 62 65 20 73 65 6e 74 20 77 69 74 68 20 74 |l be sent with t| 00000520 68 65 20 72 65 70 65 61 74 65 64 20 72 65 71 75 |he repeated requ| 00000530 65 73 74 3a 0a 0a 3c 70 72 65 3e 0a 0a 41 75 74 |est:..<pre>..Aut| 00000540 68 6f 72 69 7a 61 74 69 6f 6e 3a 20 42 61 73 69 |horization: Basi| 00000550 63 20 51 57 78 68 5a 47 52 70 62 6a 70 76 63 47 |c QWxhZGRpbjpvcG| 00000560 56 75 49 48 4e 6c 63 32 46 74 5a 51 3d 3d 0a 0a |VuIHNlc2FtZQ==..| 00000570 3c 2f 70 72 65 3e 0a 0a 77 68 65 72 65 20 69 74 |</pre>..where it| 00000580 20 68 61 73 20 63 6f 6e 76 65 72 74 65 64 20 74 | has converted t| 00000590 68 65 20 75 73 65 72 20 6e 61 6d 65 20 61 6e 64 |he user name and| 000005a0 20 70 61 73 73 77 6f 72 64 20 74 6f 20 61 20 73 | password to a s| 000005b0 69 6d 70 6c 65 20 6e 6f 6e 2d 63 6c 65 61 72 0a |imple non-clear.| 000005c0 74 65 78 74 20 66 6f 72 6d 61 74 20 28 6e 6f 74 |text format (not| 000005d0 65 3a 20 74 68 69 73 20 69 73 20 3c 65 6d 3e 4e |e: this is <em>N| 000005e0 4f 54 20 53 45 43 55 52 45 3c 2f 65 6d 3e 20 2d |OT SECURE</em> -| 000005f0 20 61 6e 79 20 62 61 73 65 36 34 20 64 65 63 6f | any base64 deco| 00000600 64 65 72 20 63 61 6e 20 64 65 63 6f 64 65 0a 74 |der can decode.t| 00000610 68 61 74 20 73 74 72 69 6e 67 20 49 27 76 65 20 |hat string I've | 00000620 67 69 76 65 6e 20 61 62 6f 76 65 20 62 61 63 6b |given above back| 00000630 20 69 6e 74 6f 20 27 41 6c 61 64 64 69 6e 3a 6f | into 'Aladdin:o| 00000640 70 65 6e 20 73 65 73 61 6d 65 27 29 20 20 4e 6f |pen sesame') No| 00000650 74 65 0a 74 68 61 74 20 74 68 65 20 61 75 74 68 |te.that the auth| 00000660 65 6e 74 69 63 61 74 69 6f 6e 20 69 6e 66 6f 72 |entication infor| 00000670 6d 61 74 69 6f 6e 20 69 73 20 63 61 63 68 65 64 |mation is cached| 00000680 20 62 79 20 41 72 63 57 65 62 20 75 6e 74 69 6c | by ArcWeb until| 00000690 20 69 74 0a 71 75 69 74 73 20 28 75 6e 6c 65 73 | it.quits (unles| 000006a0 73 20 79 6f 75 20 73 65 74 20 74 68 65 20 6f 70 |s you set the op| 000006b0 74 69 6f 6e 20 69 6e 20 74 68 65 20 63 6f 6e 66 |tion in the conf| 000006c0 69 67 75 72 61 74 69 6f 6e 20 77 69 6e 64 6f 77 |iguration window| 000006d0 20 74 6f 20 73 74 6f 70 20 69 74 0a 64 65 6c 65 | to stop it.dele| 000006e0 74 69 6e 67 20 74 68 65 20 63 61 63 68 65 20 75 |ting the cache u| 000006f0 70 6f 6e 20 65 78 69 74 29 2c 20 61 6e 64 20 74 |pon exit), and t| 00000700 68 61 74 20 69 66 20 79 6f 75 20 61 74 74 65 6d |hat if you attem| 00000710 70 74 20 74 6f 20 61 63 63 65 73 73 20 61 6e 6f |pt to access ano| 00000720 74 68 65 72 0a 70 61 67 65 20 75 6e 64 65 72 20 |ther.page under | 00000730 74 68 65 20 63 6c 61 6e 20 68 69 65 72 61 72 63 |the clan hierarc| 00000740 68 79 2c 20 74 68 65 6e 20 41 72 63 57 65 62 20 |hy, then ArcWeb | 00000750 77 69 6c 6c 20 73 70 65 63 75 6c 61 74 69 76 65 |will speculative| 00000760 6c 79 20 61 64 64 20 74 68 65 0a 63 61 63 68 65 |ly add the.cache| 00000770 64 20 61 75 74 68 65 6e 74 69 63 61 74 69 6f 6e |d authentication| 00000780 20 69 6e 66 6f 72 6d 61 74 69 6f 6e 20 74 6f 20 | information to | 00000790 74 68 65 20 6f 72 69 67 69 6e 61 6c 20 72 65 71 |the original req| 000007a0 75 65 73 74 20 69 6e 20 61 6e 20 61 74 74 65 6d |uest in an attem| 000007b0 70 74 0a 74 6f 20 70 72 65 2d 65 6d 70 74 20 61 |pt.to pre-empt a| 000007c0 6e 79 20 63 68 61 6c 6c 65 6e 67 65 2e 0a 0a 3c |ny challenge...<| 000007d0 68 72 3e 0a 3c 61 64 64 72 65 73 73 3e 53 74 65 |hr>.<address>Ste| 000007e0 77 61 72 74 20 42 72 6f 64 69 65 3c 62 72 3e 32 |wart Brodie<br>2| 000007f0 31 73 74 20 4e 6f 76 65 6d 62 65 72 20 31 39 39 |1st November 199| 00000800 35 3c 2f 61 64 64 72 65 73 73 3e 0a |5</address>.| 0000080c
.