Hello,

When I access my work email system in OSX, I run a terminal command looking like this:

Code:

ssh -L 5555:xxx.yyyy.com:5555 -p 2222 CSR+yyyyy@xyz.abc.com

and then terminal prompts me for my password, I enter it, and I get a confirmation message that I have logged in.
I then open a browser and access our email client through http://localhost:5555

I want to do this with my iPhone.
Using Term-v1100, I have no troubles executing the previously mentioned command, I input my password and voila, I'm in. However, once I go to open Safari, using either Summerboard or the Sunburst Dock app, Term-v1100 resets. It basically closes down, and my connection is dropped.

I have tried using the nohup command and then my command, but running

Code:

nohup ssh -L 5555:xxx.yyyy.com:5555 -p 2222 CSR+yyyyy@xyz.abc.com

basically nothing happens and I am never prompted for my password.

The easiest way to get this working, must be to either:

1. Have Terminal running in the background while I use Safari to browse my email
2. Find a way to get the system to "remember" the ssh command so it does not "reset" once terminal gets closed down

Does anybody have any ideas what so ever how this could be done?
Is there any way to CMD+TAB in iphone?

Thank you.

Reading the man pages for ssh it would appear the -f flag would do what you want.

so something like the following...

ssh -f -L 5555:xxx.yyyy.com:5555 -p 2222 CSR+yyyyy@xyz.abc.com

Hope that helps.

I can confirm that this works.

I do something similar to access my MythTV system (which is not running SSL due to LBKAC - Lazyness Between Keyboard And Chair).

If I am at home or on a network I "trust", I just log in. If I do not know who runs the network I use the secure tunnel.

I wrote a script (sanitized version follows - modify to suit your needs). Put it someplace in your $PATH, and just type the name of the script and your destination IP. re-open the terminal, and kill it when done.

Code:

#! /bin/sh

/usr/bin/ssh -p<port> -C -N -f -L 80:localhost:80 <username>@$1

echo "If there are no Errors above this, the Secure Tunnel is Established."
exit 0

I used this on my PepperPad, and when I got the iPhone, the script worked un-modified. This is the kind of cool stuff you can do with a hacked iPhone.

-

Thank you both for your replies, but still, no go.

Executing the command with -f in it, gives me the following error message:

"Cannot fork into background without a command to execute."

Any ideas? I don't get how this cannot be a command to execute, it works fine when I don't have the -f parameter. =/

Is it because ssh will then prompt me for my password?

Thank you for your help, much appreciated.

Originally Posted by floffelos

Thank you both for your replies, but still, no go.

Executing the command with -f in it, gives me the following error message:

"Cannot fork into background without a command to execute."

Any ideas? I don't get how this cannot be a command to execute, it works fine when I don't have the -f parameter. =/

Is it because ssh will then prompt me for my password?

Thank you for your help, much appreciated.

my one works for ssh tunneling a VNC connection, it is as follows:
ssh root@XXXX.net -N -L 5900:127.0.0.1:5900 & /Applications/VNsea.app/vnsea

Originally Posted by CrossBow

I wrote a script (sanitized version follows - modify to suit your needs). Put it someplace in your $PATH, and just type the name of the script and your destination IP. re-open the terminal, and kill it when done.
-

I'm very sorry but this is all kind of new to me, and even though I google, I cannot get a grip of this. I assume I must create a shell script? Apparently I cannot do this on the standard text editor in OSX? Need I to make some chmod -x command in terminal on the iphone once I put the script there?

If you have the time (and patience), do you think you could make a step by step guide? I have no idea as to what extension I should save this as, nor what my $PATH is.

Thank you for your help!

http://unixhelp.ed.ac.uk/CGI/man-cgi?ssh+1

Try adding the -N flag as well...

ssh -fN -L 5555:xxx.yyyy.com:5555 -p 2222 CSR+yyyyy@xyz.abc.com

davepk,

wow thank you, it worked like a charm. how would I go about making this a shell script so that I don't have to type this in every time I want to port forward?

also, how can I kill this process once I'm through.

In case you are curious, I was in fact able to access my email system, log in and everything, but once I open our email tool I get an error message from our internal system:

Error: no username. Please relogin

So I assume our system is incompatible with this version of mobile safari, prob something about my "log-in session" with the client not being "remembered" by safari.
If anybody has some ideas on how to solve this, feel free to share, I'll try to get our support team on this as well, but don't think they are to thrilled about spending time troubleshooting something for the iPhone...

Either way, THANK YOU for your help guys, I am in debt.

Ok, I really need to jack this thread...sorry OP!

I am trying to use my iPhone to access my campus network. Normally (on a mac laptop), I would enter

Code:

ssh [username]@10.0.0.1

Press enter, then will be prompted to enter my password, after which I am successfully "authenticated" and can utilize the campus network.

I can get to this step (I know because I get a whole chunk of text confirming success), but I cannot open Safari without closing Terminal - and once this closes I am no longer authenticated and cannot access the network.

(I am using Term-vt100 if that helps any)

Entering

Code:

ssh -f [username]@10.0.0.1

gives me an error of "Cannot fork into background without a command to execute" without a password prompt.

Entering

Code:

ssh -fN [username]@10.0.0.1

prompts me to enter a password, but after sending that nothing happens (no confirmation messages, just goes to a new line starting with a #.) Pressing the home button and opening Safari confirms that I have not authenticated and cannot access the network...

Please help me out!!

Thanks in advanced!!!

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Ok, I really need to jack this thread...sorry OP!

I am trying to use my iPhone to access my campus network. Normally (on a mac laptop), I would enter

Code:

ssh [username]@10.0.0.1

Press enter, then will be prompted to enter my password, after which I am successfully "authenticated" and can utilize the campus network.

I can get to this step (I know because I get a whole chunk of text confirming success), but I cannot open Safari without closing Terminal - and once this closes I am no longer authenticated and cannot access the network.

(I am using Term-vt100 if that helps any)

Entering

Code:

ssh -f [username]@10.0.0.1

gives me an error of "Cannot fork into background without a command to execute" without a password prompt.

Entering

Code:

ssh -fN [username]@10.0.0.1

prompts me to enter a password, but after sending that nothing happens (no confirmation messages, just goes to a new line starting with a #.) Pressing the home button and opening Safari confirms that I have not authenticated and cannot access the network...

Please help me out!!

Thanks in advanced!!!

I am also having this problem, do you go to the University of Alberta by chance?