By far the most easy and hassle free method of remotely connecting to a SuperSalon point-of-sale is through the use of a secure browser based connection known as “back door” access. The user only has access to the point-of-sale system via this interface, and not the entire host PC.
Therefore, while easy to use, backdoor access also presents the fewest repair options and troubleshooting steps. Therefore it should only be employed during very simple POS based tasks and fixes, or settings adjustments. However, it should also be noted that this method of remote connection is one of the few available to those with dial up connections.
Find out from the customer what manufacturer and model the router they have is. The manufacturer can be found by quickly looking at the router, and the model is usually found on a sticker somewhere on the device.
You can go to https://portforward.com/ and pull up the model you are looking for and it will give you information on how to access the router you are working on such as the default username and password.
If the store has changed the default information then they need to provide that to you before you can proceed any further
Once you obtain that information, please make sure you add it to the notes section on admin and if you are making a future task to set this up then your case should also include this.
1. Connect to the host PC using LogMeIn, Show My PC, TeamViewer, or whatever remoter access application is available.
2. Find the default gateway address – this is the IP address used by the router in the local area network, which you will need to get access to for setting up the backdoor. You can find the default gateway address by running Windows Command Prompt as administrator, and entering the command ipconfig /all and hitting the enter key.
3. Once you have the Default Gateway Address, type it into a web browser address bar to access the router’s administration and configurations interface.
4. Go to Advanced Settings (or follow the portforward.com guide), and go to Port Forwarding.
NOTE: There are a lot of different router manufacturers and models – there may be differences in where to actually find the port configurations. Please visit https://portforward.com/ or otherwise check with an experienced technician if you aren’t sure or are having trouble getting what you need.
5. Check ipconfig /all again, but this time look for the IPv4 address. This is the address for the POS itself, and is what we need to actually “port forward” to make it accessible via backdoor.
6. In the port forwarding menu of the router, enter the following:
The IPv4 address for the POS that you found in step 5.
Set any internal or external ports to 80 – UNLESS you know the POS you are working on is currently connecting through a different port!
Set the Protocol to TCP/UDP. If there is no option, create 2 identical rules: one for TCP, one for UDP.
7. Save any changes you made and close the router configuration page.
8. Open Windows Start Menu, and type firewall. Click on Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security. Follow this guide to open port 80 in the POS firewall.
9. In SuperSalon, go to Setup → Utilities and run the utility called Update Remote Password. This will populate the Apache password on the store’s admin page, and also on Setup → Internet Setup on iOffice.
10. The username to access is always rogerspos and the password is located on the bottom of the store’s admin page labelled Apache Password.
11. Test the backdoor through admin by clicking the IP address on the store’s page (you should get prompted for the username and password if it is working), and show the end user how to access it through iOffice → Setup → Internet Setup!
NOTE: This is a last resort step and should not be used unless absolutely necessary. Before you proceed here you need to make sure port forwarding is setup correctly, Windows Firewall ports are open properly and no other softwares such as Antivirus programs or Software Firewalls are blocking the connection.
Step 1: Open the httpd.conf file located in C:\SuperSalon\apache2.2\conf with Notepad, and use Ctrl + F to locate the “Listen” section of the file, as shown in the illustrated example below.
Step 2: Change the Listen port to 8080 by inputting the text into the correct line, as shown in the image.
Step 3: Restart the Apache service, then right click on the SuperSalon shortcut and add “:8080” (without the quotes) to the end of the Localhost URL in the “Target” field as shown below.
CAUTION: Do this to all shortcuts including Desktop, Startup, Start Menu, Taskbar etc, but also the shortcut in C:\SuperSalon!
Step 4: Confirm SuperSalon opens and reboot the system as well to make sure it launches after. If they have Secondary computers, the address they point to will also need to be fixed
Go to https://hostingcanada.org/htpasswd-generator/
Enter the username rogerspos and a password of your choosing, or as specified by the salon owner.
Under the MODE drop down selector, choose Apache specific salted MD5 (insecure but common).
Click the Create .htpasswd file button.
In a gray box above the entry fields, you will see the newly generated encrypted .htpassword.
On the Salon POS, go to C:\Supersalon\apache24\conf\ and open the .htpassword file in notepad.
Replace the password you see in the .htpassword file with the new one you generated in steps 4-5.
Follow the steps below to change the password in the database.
The remote password or Apache password is generated by the Update Remote Password utility in Supersalon. However, running it again will not change the password. If a user requests this, then it must be done in the database by a level 2 or higher.
Step 1: Log on to the SuperSalon database, and open the “_options” table.
Step 2: Using the “Search” tab at the top, locate the “apache_password” by using the “Name” field is shown below.
Step 3: Select the “Edit” link located at the front of the row.
Step 4: Enter the new password in the “Value” field, set the “dirty_bit” to 1 using the drop-down, save the changes, and perform a standard upload from the POS.
Connecting via the backdoor is achieved by logging into the salon’s Admin page, and clicking on the displayed IP Address. This will populate both a new window and a prompt to enter the user name and Apache password. The user name for this login will always be “rogerspos” (without the quotes), and the Apache password is listed on the lower left of the store’s Admin page.
In the instances when a dialup salon requires it, the backdoor can be opened by either a standard or full upload from the host machine. Once the upload is engaged, the user must then refresh the Admin page of the salon to update the IP address; they can then connect as normal.
Failure to connect to the back end of a salon can have many potential causes, the first of which is internet connectivity; or lack thereof. Investigating whether the salon is able to connect to anything at all should be the first troubleshooting step made.
Firewalls, anti-virus, and other security programs can also hinder a back door connection. Making sure that port 80 is recognized by the Windows firewall as open and authorized for remote connections can resolve this issue.
Routers can often times be inadvertently reset, and this causes all firewall rules and port forwarding assignments to be lost. The workaround in this instance is to simply re-forward the ports.
Salon’s with a dynamic IP will know an almost constant difficulty in connecting due to the back end. Static IP’s, whether assigned by the IPS, or configured by the user; are a must.