HowTo: Logon to a Cisco Clean Access (CCA) network [and probably others, too]

[integr8e]

My university uses the Cisco Clean Access (CCA) Agent to manage who can connect to their network; the problem is (was), CCA is strictly Window$ based.  Users on other OS's - such as Mac OS X - are supposed to be able to logon to the network via a logon screen that opens from a browser window, however, the CCA server does not seem to be configured for Linux (i.e. I couldn't logon).  After much aggravation, trial-and-error, and help from the amazing troubleshooters on this forum, I've found an easy workaround that allows users, like myself, to logon to the network:

1) Connect to your institution's wired/wireless network.

2) Open Konqueror.

3) Try to go to any website (I used www.google.com), which will take you to the login screen.

4.a) KDE 3.x Konqueror - From the menu bar (top of the screen), click the "Tools" menu, highlight over "Change Browser Identification", choose "Netscape Navigator", and select "Version 4.76 on Mac PPC" (others probably work too, this is just the one I tested).

4.b) KDE 4.x Konqueror - From the menu bar (top of the screen), click the "Settings" menu and choose "Configure Konqueror".  Click the "Browser Identity" tab from the column on the left, and make sure the "Add operating system name" and "Add platform name" options are checked (I also checked the "Add operating system version" option).  Then, click the "New..." button in the "Site Specific Identification" section.  Enter the root domain of the login site, and select which identity you would like Konqueror to assume (I would enter kubuntu.org into the "When browsing the following site:" box and choose my desired identity from the "Use the following identification:" drop-down menu to have Konqueror change its identity to the one selected when browsing both http://kubuntu.org/announcements/kde-4.0.1.php and https://wiki.kubuntu.org/HardyHeron/Alpha4/Kubuntu; for me, the root domain for my university's login page happened to be an IP address - 10.x.0.2 - and the identity I chose to associate with that domain was "Safari 2.0 on Mac OS X").  Once you've entered the appropriate domain and selected the browser ID, click the OK button to close the dialog box, and click OK again to exit the settings menu.  Finally, reload the login page.

5) Enter your username and password, and that's it!!! You should now be connected to the network

02/08/2008 - Added instructions for the KDE 4.x version of Konqueror.

[fetisha]

Alright, I know this is a little off-topic, but I'm going to install Xubuntu on my best friend's computer soon (his pc's a little old, and I thought Xubuntu would run better than Kubuntu or Ubuntu) and he lives at the dorms at our university. They also use Clean Access Agent, and I was wondering, in the event that he has a problem logining in, how would this work on firefox (which I understand is the browser Xubuntu uses and the one he's most familiar with). Perhaps this was just a Kubuntu problem because of the browser being used? Either way, seeing as how I haven't actually installed it on his computer, and I was just doing some research as to any problems I may encounter, if someone can tell me that they are using Xubuntu/Ubuntu on a Clean Access Agent network and there is no problem/how to fix it, It would be greatly appreciated.

[integr8e]

Sorry for the late reply.  Somebody on the Ubuntu forums brought to my attention a Firefox extension called User Agent Switcher that allows a user to change the identity of Firefox to that of another browser, much like you can with Konqueror.  I haven't been able to check it out, because I use the Firefox 3 beta (which isn't currently compatible with the extension), but give it a try and let me know how well it works