FormMail not working with some browsers

Occasional problems using FormMail script

[namniboose]

I have had a few instances of people not being able to send my FormMail Form.

My webhost says it is likely that the customers are using older browsers and nothing can be done because their script that runs the FormMail is using the 'latest mods' and the only remedy is to get the potential customer to upgrade their browser (yeah, right!).

Can anyone throw any light on this problem - is there a solution? (change web host?).

Thanks,
Namniboose

[Slade]

I would say trace the users down to their log entries. You'll see what version of browser they're using, which you can test to see for sure or not.

[Marcia]

If it's the Perl FormMail script it uses the sendmail program on their server. I'd like to hear how something running server-side has anything to do with the browser.

Do you have CGI available to try your own script?

[namniboose]

I'm not quite sure what you're saying, Marcia.

I'm using FormMail version 1.92 which I put in my CGI bin on their server.

[jatar_k]

the formmail script is run by your web server not the browser. It doesn't matter what type of browser the user has.

The light I'm throwing is your host, from the sounds of what you wrote, has no idea what they are talking about. Or they meant something slightly different and didn't explain it very well.

[jatar_k]

I realize that wasn't overly helpful.

Did someone send you email about not being able to submit the form?

What happened when it "didn't work"?

[namniboose]

The message apparently was:

'This tunnel port is invalid. The administrator is not allowing tunneling on this port.'

The webhost support person said 'our script that runs the FormMail is using the latest mods and some older versions of a browser may not be applicable to these mods.'

I have no idea what he means by 'mods'.

What he might really mean is 'I can't be bothered to find out the answer to your question so I'll use the standard 'they need to upgrade their browser' line!

[jatar_k]

I would say mods would mean modules.

Unfortunately I think they spoon fed you a line.

I am not really sure what "This tunnel port is invalid" means we might just have to wait for someone with a little more specific knowledge.

AFAIK upgrading the browser will not help this problem. Was that their only explanation of what that error means?

[namniboose]

Yes, that is the only explanation.

For what it's worth:

People who couldn't send the form:
1 from Australia (browser unknown)
1 from Singapore (browser unknown)
1 from USA (I.E. 5.5)

[edited by: namniboose at 1:04 am (utc) on Aug. 29, 2002]

[jatar_k]

When they say "port" as in server port (I would think) it would strike me as server config but I don't know if the countries or IE 5.5 would be connected or happenstance.

[namniboose]

They seem to be saying that their server configuration doesn't allow forms to be sent from older browsers.

Is this baloney?

[jatar_k]

In essence, that could be possible but I don't understand the logic.

Security? Was 5.5 the bunk browser where you had to make sure you got service pack 2 or something?

[bird]

This is most likely a message generated by the firewall those users are trying to connect through. One possible reason for this would be that the script in question uses a non-standard port number, eg. the form results are sent to http://www.example.com:7777/cgi-bin/whichever.cgi?some=parameters.

The only server side solution in this case would be to use the standard HTTP port number 80 instead, like everybody else does.

[shelleycat]

Security? Was 5.5 the bunk browser where you had to make sure you got service pack 2 or something?

I'm pretty sure it is. A friend of mine had to download some security pack for 5.5 to get 128 bit encryption so she could access the control panel for a new website, but I'm not sure which one it was.

[namniboose]

Hi bird,

The form results are sent to:

[secure-server.com:5522...]

Is this a non-standard port number?

[namniboose]

Can anyone suggest a good question to ask the host company which might throw more light?

[namniboose]

Well this thread seems to have died!

Still haven't solved the problem but I have found out that the person who couldn't send the form recently doesn't have a firewall on his computer and was using I.E. version 6.0.26.

[bird]

Yes, 5522 is definitively a non-standard port number for a HTTP request. The standard number for secure connections (https) is 443, and for normal connections 80 (both of which don't need to be written, as, for obvious reasons, they are the default ;)).

[namniboose]

5522 is the port number I was given for the secure server. Why would it work most of the time but occasionally not?

[bird]

Because some firewalls will intercept it. Your script has never even seen those request. There's really no good reason for a hoster to make you use such a non-standard port.

[namniboose]

But on this last occasion the person does not have a firewall on his computer.

[bird]

There is a firewall somwehere between his browser and your script. Whether that is on his own machine, or further down the line (company connection/DSL router/ISP/etc.), doesn't really matter. The error message is exactly what a firewall would return when you try to connect through a blocked port. If your hoster refuses to set you up with standard port numbers, I'd recommend to go shopping for something better.

[namniboose]

Thanks a lot Bird - now I know what to ask my webhost!

[namniboose]

So it is the occasional firewall that blocks it?

[bird]

That's the most reasonable conclusion I can come up with.

[namniboose]

Still trying to figure out why my form sometimes doesn't work.

Error message was: 'This tunnel port is invalid. The administrator is not allowing tunneling on this port'

The person who couldn't send the form recently is in Singapore, doesn't have a firewall on his computer, and was using I.E. version 6.0.26.

Is there sometimes a problem using an AOL address as recipient? (EVERYONE LAUGHS).

[Knowles]

It could possibly be AOL but I would be more inclined to think it is their ISP than yours.

[Crazy_Fool]

that looks like the standard message displayed on cobalt raq servers when you are browsing via a proxy server and you try to access pages or scripts on HTTPS. i don't know if the same thing happens with other servers as i've never looked into it.

the two possible cures are:
1 - stop browsing via a proxy server (uncheck the proxy server box in IE under tools -> internet options -> connections -> LAN settings)
2 - move the pages or scripts to HTTP instead of HTTPS

[namniboose]

Hi Crazy Fool, thanks for your post.

I don't think either of those are solutions for me:

I don't get the message from my browser, it's the occasional customer who reports not being able to send the form (the last one, from Singapore, told me he got that message).

The form needs to be secure because people are sending credit card information.

However, I will tell any future customer to try unchecking the proxy server box so thanks for that.

[DaveAtIFG]

Hey NB, I'm confident bird provided your answer, it seems you may not have understood it fully... :) :)

Take a look here [theguardianangel.com] for a primer on ports and port assignments.

Your host deviates from the standard port used by most secure servers. Any ISP may block (or firewall) any port. It would be foolish to block the standard ports but some may block traffic on the others (usually those above 1023) for security reasons. Hence, someone visiting your site from that ISP will probably not be able to access your secure pages and you will likely encounter the problems you describe.

I only see two ways to correct this.
1. Convince your host to offer secure services on port 443, the standard.
2. Change hosts.

>Can anyone suggest a good question to ask the host company which might throw more light?
Why are you idiots using port 5522 for connections to the secure server instead of port 443 like everybody else in the world? I might leave out "idiots" in my question but I'd probably add, IT'S CAUSING ME PROBLEMS AND COSTING ME SALES! FIX IT!

Because they probably have many clients using the present setup with few complaints, they are unlikely to change anything. I wouldn't expect much help and I'd probably start looking for a new host.