WELCOME TO KERMIT 95 VERSION 1.1.20 31 March 2000 Easy-to-use and powerful 32-bit communications software for Microsoft Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT 3.51 and later, and Windows 2000, and for IBM OS/2 3.0 and later. Please remember: this is licensed software, not to be redistributed in any form without license to do so, nor made available to unlicensed persons for copying by any means (including but not limited to network copying). Copyright (C) 1995, 2000, the Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York, all rights reserved. Portions Copyright (C) 1990, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Portions Copyright (C) 1991, 1993 Regents of the University of California. Portions Copyright (C) 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995 by AT&T. Portions Copyright (C) 1995, Oy Online Solutions Ltd., Jyvaskyla, Finland. Portions Copyright (C) 1995, 1997, Eric Young . Portions Copyright (C) 1997, Stanford University. (See Updates to Using C-Kermit, 2nd Edition, Appendix V, for full text.) CONTENTS * WHAT'S WHAT * SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS * SECURITY AND ENCRYPTION * REGISTRATION * UNINSTALLING KERMIT 95 * RESOURCES * FILES * SUBDIRECTORIES * HELPFUL HINTS * SERVER INSTALLATION ------------------------------------------------------------------------ WHAT'S WHAT This is version 1.1.20 of Kermit 95 -- the twentieth update since the original release in September 1995. You might have received this version as an update patch to a previous version, or you might have received it as part of a bulk or site license, or you might have purchased it new in its box. The box includes: The Kermit 95 Software The CDROM includes Kermit 95 for Windows 95, 98, NT, and 2000, and for IBM OS/2. The NT version is provided for both Intel and Alpha architectures. The appropriate version is installed for you automatically. The Kermit 95 Manual The new Fourth Edition of the online Kermit 95 manual is completely up to date with version 1.1.20. It is in HyperText Markup Language (HTML) format so you can navigate it with your Web browser. This manual concentrates on the unique aspects of Kermit 95, primarily its terminal emulator and its interface to Windows (or OS/2). The C-Kermit 7.0 CDROM C-Kermit 7.0 is Kermit 95's file-transfer and client/server partner for UNIX (Linux, Solaris, AIX, HP-UX, etc), VMS, VOS, and many other operating systems. It is not part of Kermit 95; it has been included to ensure that you have an up-to-date, high-performance, supported Kermit file transfer partner on the UNIX, VMS, or VOS systems that you connect to with Kermit 95. The C-Kermit Manual The book, Using C-Kermit, is the technical reference manual for the Command Window and script programming language, as well as for file transfer, and also contains useful tutorials on character sets, data communications and troubleshooting of dialing and connection problems. It is also the user manual for C-Kermit itself, which has the same command and scripting language as Kermit 95. The second edition of Using C-Kermit was published concurrently with the release of C-Kermit 6.0 and Kermit 95 1.1.8; updates for C-Kermit 7.0 (which corresponds to Kermit 95 1.1.20) are included with the K95 manual. Beginning with Kermit 95 1.1.20, Using C-Kermit is provided in online PDF format rather than in printed form in shrinkwrap packages only. Your Serial Number Stickers and Registration Card Explained below. If you have Kermit 95 as part of a bulk or site license, then you received only the Kermit 95 software and online documentation, preregistered and possibly customized for your site. Copies of Using C-Kermit (ISBN 1-55558-164-1) should be available at your organization's library or software licensing office, and can also be ordered separately or purchased book or computer stores. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS * A computer running Microsoft Windows 95, 98, NT 3.51 or later, or Windows 2000, or IBM OS/2 3.0 or later. * A serial port and/or modem, and/or a network connection. * For Windows NT, both Intel and Alpha architectures are supported. * Windows NT 3.50 and earlier are not supported. * Windows CE is not supported. Windows 95/98, Windows NT/2000, and OS/2 are demand-paged virtual memory operating systems, and so the time-honored question, "How much RAM is required?" does not strictly apply to Kermit 95. In general, 6-8 megabytes of address space are used, of which about 1MB comprises the working set (i.e. the set of 4K "pages" that need to be in memory at the same time); the rest are paged to disk and tend to stay there. These memory requirements include not just Kermit 95 itself, but also all the DLLs that must be loaded in order for K95 to use TAPI, the TCP/IP stack, Kerberos, and other system services, which themselves are shared with other applications. Pure code pages are shared among multiple invocations of K95.EXE and the DLLs it uses; thus you can have multiple simultaneous sessions with relatively small increments in overhead. Kermit 95's total disk footprint after installation is about 30MB, of which about 20MB is the Using C-Kermit PDF file. Approximately one additional megabyte is needed when the Dialer is active, for backup and temporary files, depending on the size of your Dialer database. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ SECURITY AND ENCRYPTION Kermit 95 is capable of making secure, authenticated, encrypted Internet connections using a variety of methods. Under USA law, however, software that utilizes strong encryption as found in Kermit 95 cannot be distributed in binary form without a license to non-U.S. or Canadian citizens. Patches that provide support for encrypted sessions using Kerberos, Secure Remote Password, and X.509 certificates for authentication are available from the web site: http://www.kermit-project.org/k95patch.html#crypto See the Kermit 95 Online Manual's Network Security Methods Reference for further information on Authentication and Encryption methods supported by Kermit 95. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ REGISTRATION If you have a site- or bulk-licensed version of Kermit 95, or if you are upgrading from an earlier version by applying a patch, then your copy of Kermit 95 is already registered, in which case please ignore this section. Kermit 95 comes with two serial-number stickers. The serial number on each sticker should be the same. The SETUP program includes a registration procedure that asks for your name, company, and Kermit 95 serial number. You should enter your real name, since it will be announced every time you (or anyone else) starts the program. The company name is optional. The serial number must be entered exactly as shown on the sticker: letters, punctuation, and all. Then please affix ONE of the stickers to your mailback registration card, fill out the card, and mail it back to us. Keep the other sticker as a record of your serial number; for example, in case your PC stops working and you have to install K95 on a new PC. In case you lose your serial number, we'll have a record of it if you sent in your card. If you have an e-mail address, be sure to include it so we can notify you of new releases or patches (mailings are infrequent and there is no junk mail; the list is private and is not sold or otherwise provided to anyone else for any purpose). ------------------------------------------------------------------------ UNINSTALLING KERMIT 95 Should you wish to remove Kermit 95 from your Windows 95 system: 1. If you used K95 Registry Tool to add Kermit 95 configuration information into the Windows Registry, run it again to remove the information from the Registry. 2. Drag the Kermit 95 folder to the Recycle Bin. Do the same with any shortcuts you might have created to Kermit 95. 3. If you have followed Helpful Hint 5 below, you will also need to rename Microsoft Telnet back to TELNET.EXE. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ RESOURCES The "Using C-Kermit" PDF File The user manual for C-Kermit and the technical reference manual for Kermit95 in PDF format. Included only with shrinkwrapped copies of Kermit 95 1.1.20 and later. Access from the References links in the Kermit 95 manual. The C-Kermit 7.0 Update Notes Kermit 95 1.1.20 is based on C-Kermit 7.0, but Using C-Kermit is current with C-Kermit 6.0. The C-Kermit 7.0 update notes document all the features added to C-Kermit since the second edition of the book was published in 1997. This is a fully cross-linked HTML document, rather than plain text as in earlier K95 releases. Access it via the link in the References section at the top your K95 manual. The Kermit 95 FAQ Frequently Asked Questions (and answers) about Kermit 95. If you have a question about Kermit 95, look here first. Access the K95 FAQ via the link in the References section at the top your K95 manual. The Kermit 95 Bug List A chronological list of bugs in all the Kermit 95 releases. Most of them have been fixed; most of those that remain are due to bugs or limitations in the underlying operating system. In many cases, workarounds are suggested. If you have problems with Kermit 95, be sure to look here for a discussion of it and a possible solution. This is a fully indexed and crosslinked HTML document, rather than plain text. Access it via the link in the References section at the top your K95 manual. http://www.columbia.edu/kermit/ The Kermit Project website on the Internet. Here you will find information about Kermit software for other platforms, news about Kermit 95, hints and tips, script programming examples, and lots more. Internet connection required. Here are some points of interest: ftp://kermit.columbia.edu/kermit/k95/newbugs.txt The newbugs.txt file at the Kermit Project website. This file lists bugs or other information discovered after this release of Kermit 95 was packaged. http://www.columbia.edu/kermit/k95.html The Kermit 95 page. http://www.columbia.edu/kermit/k95pricing.html Kermit 95 pricing and licensing options. Details about low-cost bulk right-to-copy licenses and academic site licenses. http://www.columbia.edu/kermit/k95next.html News about upcoming K95 releases. http://www.columbia.edu/kermit/ckermit.html The C-Kermit page, K95's companion software for UNIX, VMS, and lots of other platforms. http://www.columbia.edu/kermit/support.html The technical support page, explaining how to get technical support, and including some hints and tips to save you some time. http://www.columbia.edu/kermit/scriptlib.html The Kermit Script Library. Lots of sample scripts demonstrating how to automate everything from dialing to Internet sessions to complex file-management and computation tasks. comp.protocols.kermit.announce The Kermit software announcements newsgroup (moderated). comp.protocols.kermit.misc The Kermit software discussion newsgroup (unmoderated). ------------------------------------------------------------------------ FILES The following files are included in the top-level Kermit 95 directory: README.TXT A this file (also available in an HTML version in your Browser). SETUP.EXE The Kermit 95 setup (installation) program. K95DIAL.EXE The Kermit 95 Dialer. This is the GUI program that gives you point-and-click access to all your connections. K95.EXE The Kermit 95 program. You can run this directly to bypass the Dialer (normally only Kermit veterans would do this). K95.INI Initialization file for K95.EXE. Contains commands that are to be executed every time K95.EXE is started. See Using C-Kermit for more about initialization files. In Kermit 95, however, most of the traditional functions of initialization files are taken over by the Dialer. In any case, you should not change or delete this file; all customizations should be made in: K95CUSTOM.INI Customization file for K95.EXE. Created by SETUP.EXE, based your answers to its questions. Of use primarily when running K95.EXE without going through the Dialer. You may edit this file to change your customizations, add new ones, define macros, special keys, and so on. This file is never modifed by PATCH. HOSTMODE.BAT Run this to start the host-mode management program. K95D.EXE A daemon that waits for incoming TCP/IP connections. K95D.CFG A configuration file for K95D.EXE. P95.DLL The X/Y/ZMODEM protocol Dynamically Linked Library. K95DIAL.INF Configuration information for the Kermit 95 Dialer (temporary), renamed to K95CONFIG.INF after the first time you run the Dialer. It contains the choices you made in SETUP. DIALER.DAT Dialer screen definitions. DIALINF.DAT The Kermit 95 Dialer preloaded database (read-only). DIALORG.DAT Your organization's Dialer database (read-only). DIALUSR.DAT Your personal Dialer database (read/write). The K95 Dialer creates this file for you the first time you add or change an entry. P_DIRECT.ZNC P_SERVIC.ZNC These files are used by the Dialer to support the new Browse buttons on the Keyboard and Login notebook pages. Utilities: TEXTPS.EXE A text-to-PostScript conversion utility, once used by K95 but no longer since this capability is now built-in. See PRINTER\TEXTPS.TXT for further info. SE.EXE ShellExecute program. CLICK HERE for details. TELNET.EXE Lets Kermit 95 stand in for Telnet (see Helpful Hint 5 below). RLOGIN.EXE Makes an Rlogin connection with Kermit 95; usage: rlogin -l username host. K95CINIT.EXE K95CINIT.DAT An initialization utility for Plug-n-Play modems; Windows 95/98 only (see Item 79 in the Bugs List), no longer needed by Kermit 95 but might be useful with other software. Several plain-text files included here in former releases, such as BUGS.TXT and FAQ.TXT, are now in HTML format and included in the DOCS\MANUAL subdirectory. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ SUBDIRECTORIES Your Kermit 95 directory contains the following subdirectories. Each subdirectory contains its own READ.ME file explaining what is there. DOCS Supplemental documentation on various topics. DOCS\MANUAL The Kermit 95 Manual, to be accessed with your Web browser. This is done most conveniently from the Dialer's Help menu. This directory also contains the Using C-Kermit PDF file and the C-Kermit 7.0 Update Notes and the Kermit 95 Bug List. DOWNLOAD This is the directory where files that you download are stored unless you specify otherwise (with the SET FILE DOWNLOAD-DIRECTORY command). KEYMAPS This directory contains key mapping files and keyboard-related utilities. The DEFAULT.KSC shows K95's default keymaps. Use this as a starting point for creating customized keymaps. PHONES This directory contains phonelists used by the Kermit 95 Dialer. PRINTER Utilities for use on UNIX and VMS computers, as well as on your PC, for printing host files on your PC through Kermit 95's terminal emulator. SCRIPTS This is where login scripts are kept. Some of these are used by the Kermit 95 Dialer, some by host mode. Also APAGE.KSC, for sending Telocator Alphanumeric Protocol (TAP) alpha pages. ICONS Standalone K-95 icons that you can associate with shortcuts to K-95 files (right-click on a shortcut, select Properties, specify the icon). TMP Used by Kermit 95 for creating temporary files. USERS The root directory of the host-mode user ID system (see DOCS\HOSTMODE.TXT). INCOMING Directory to which all host-mode users can upload files. PUBLIC Directory from which all host-mode users can download files. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ HELPFUL HINTS 1. Be sure to keep phone-list files in the PHONES subdirectory because that's where Kermit 95 looks for them. Otherwise you will need to specify full path names for your phone list files. 2. Be sure to keep script and other command files in the SCRIPTS subdirectory because that's where Kermit 95 looks for them. Otherwise you will have to specify full path names for your command and script files. 3. If you will not be dialing SprintNet, you can remove the "sprint.kdd" file from the phonelist file list under the Dialer's File menu. That will save each DIAL command from having to search through several hundred entries that it will never use. Similarly for CompuServe and "cis.kdd", for Genie and "genie.kdd", and for Tymnet and "tymnet.kdd" (these files are even bigger). 4. If you want to be able to run Kermit 95 from the DOS command line, you should add the Kermit 95 directory to your PATH. In Windows 95, edit your PC's C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Use EDIT or NotePad or WordPad, and add: ;C:\K95; (or other disk and directory where you installed Kermit 95) to the end of the PATH statement. In Windows NT: Control Panel -> System -> Environment to do this. 5. If you want to use Kermit 95 as your regular Telnet program, add the Kermit 95 directory to your PATH (as in Hint 4), and also rename the Microsoft TELNET.EXE (which is normally found in C:\WINDOWS) to something else, like MSTELNET.EXE, and then the TELNET.EXE program in the Kermit 95 directory (which simply translates the Telnet command line into a Kermit 95 command line and then starts Kermit 95) will be run instead of Microsoft Telnet whenever you give a "telnet" command at the DOS prompt, and also by any other programs such as Internet Explorer and Netscape that use TELNET.EXE. Alternatively, you can tell your Web browser that your Telnet application is C:\K95\TELNET.EXE (replace C:\K95 with the disk and directory where you installed Kermit 95), but not all browsers support this. If you don't want to replace Microsoft Telnet by Kermit 95, but you do want the Kermit 95 directory in your PATH, simply rename or delete the TELNET.EXE file that's in the Kermit 95 directory. 6. Be sure to consult the Bugs List about bugs in Windows, Kermit, and elsewhere, pitfalls to watch out for, etc. Also read the Frequently Asked Questions document. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ SERVER INSTALLATION When Kermit 95 is installed on your own PC, all the files go in a directory (normally "K95") on your own PC, and in subdirectories of that directory, and Kermit 95 knows where to find all its files. If Kermit 95 is to be run from a file server, which is allowed under bulk and academic site licenses, then some files go on the server while others should go on each user's PC. Installation on the server proceeds normally. But then: 1. A Kermit 95 directory should also be created on each user's PC. 2. The user's Kermit 95 directory should be added to the user's PATH. 3. The server's Kermit 95 directory should be added to the user's PATH after the user's own Kermit 95 directory. 4. The following environment variables should be set for each user: K95.INI Location of Kermit 95 initialization file if different from location of K95.EXE file. K95CUSTOM Location of user's Kermit 95 customization file. K95TMP, TEMP, or TMP Location of a directory on the user's PC where temporary files can be created. If none of these are defined, temporary files will be created on the server's disk. 5. The following files and subdirectories should go in the user's K95 directory: K95.INI optionally (you can also keep one common copy on the fileserver). K95CUSTOM.INI User's private customizations DIALUSR.DAT The user's personal Dialer database (read/write). The K95 Dialer creates this file for you the first time you add or change an entry. The DOWNLOAD subdirectory The default SET FILE DOWNLOAD-DIRECTORY should be on the user's PC, not on the server! If private dialing and network directories are desired, the central copy of K95.INI can be edited appropriately; for example, to list the central directory files as well as the user's own private files. If you want to prevent users from accessing the DOS shell, define the environment variable NOPUSH, and this will disable Kermit 95's shell access features. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Kermit 95 README / Version 1.1.20 / March 2000