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Showing posts with label lan messenger. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lan messenger. Show all posts

Monday, August 15, 2022

How do I talk on LAN?

Chatting on the LAN

Chats

The need to exchange information and synchronize actions with other users of the local network is perfectly clear and does not need to be described. The Windows developers understood this when they implemented the messaging feature in their operating system. This option is not the most convenient, but it has one undeniable advantage - it is always at hand.

Text messaging in Windows 2000/XP/2003 systems is done from the command line. To send a message to another machine, start the console and type the command: net send 192.168.1.3 text_message, where 192.168.1.5 is the IP address of the computer where the message is sent (you can use the network name of the machine).

Not everyone may find it convenient to send messages this way, in which case the graphical interface followers can go to Start > Settings > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Computer Management (or run the command compmgmt.msc in the Start menu). In the window that appears, select Action > All Tasks > Send Console Message, and click Add to add the desired computers to the list of recipients.

Messages sent with Windows tools appear in a pop-up window. In this way, you can call the user who is playing a game or watching a movie - the message window will minimize almost any full-screen application.

Third party developers are not slacking, and as a consequence there are a great many programs for communicating in the local network. We will talk about the two most worthy and modest in terms of system resource consumption.



Softros LAN messenger app is one of the most popular programs for local network messaging. The program's interface is made in the style of the well-known program ICQ, which provides convenient communication and allows new users to easily cope with the interface of the program. The application doesn't require a mandatory connection to the internet or a dedicated server for full functionality. All users have equal access to the capabilities of the program.

The main features of the program:

- contacts contains a list of users with whom you often communicate, and also allows you to determine whether your computer is on or off;

- overview of the network environment with the ability to send messages to the selected computer;

- placement of users into groups with the ability to send multicast messages;

- the ability to create a pending message for a user who is currently turned off;

- quick response to a message with a single mouse click;

- logging of message history with easy viewing and filtering;

- visual notifications: blinking dialog in the system tray, pop-ups and prompts when a message is received or when a user changes his status

- audio events (with the possibility of choosing your own file);

- support of smiles;

- sending files to one or more recipients at once.

If you want to have a private conversation, you can exchange private messages or create a private chat that is available only for you and your interlocutor.

Voice communication

Organization of the exchange of text messages is a rather trivial task, but the emotional part of the conversation suffers a lot when using this kind of communication. Moreover, not everyone has skills of typing fast, which can complicate the communication in chat and cause a sleepy interlocutor, who will be waiting for an answer for half an hour.

Audio communication freed from the listed disadvantages requires additional expenses for equipment: microphone (preferably with headphones), full duplex audio card (able to play and record sound simultaneously).

Among programs for voice communication NetVoice can be singled out. It is not too resource intensive and normally works on processors from 400 MHz. Despite the fact that the sound quality is not ideal (there are interferences and distortions), it is easy to understand all the words and intonations. The program is easy to use, just run it on all the machines you want to communicate with.

NetVoice supports several communication modes.

- Conference. Up to 5 users can communicate simultaneously in this mode. To organize a conference, one of the participants has to connect in this mode and the others connect to him or her in the usual way.

- Radio station. In this case, one of the users acts as a sound source, and the rest - as listeners. This mode provides one-way voice communication and is well suited for notifying users.

- Auto Answer. You can record an audio message that will automatically play when you access the computer in your absence.

In case there are problems with audio communication, NetVoice has a built-in test messaging service.

Video calling

The most accessible and easy-to-use audio and video communication system is the NetMeeting program included with Windows. To start installation, run the conf command from the Start menu. You will need to enter your registration data (name, surname, e-mail), then the Local Area Network connection type, and in the final step, specify the audio playback volume and microphone volume.

Using NetMeeting is simple. In the address bar, simply enter the IP address or network name of the computer you want to connect to, and wait until the "other end of the line" responds to you.

In addition to voice and video calls, NetMeeting lets you exchange files, run collaboration applications (e.g., Word or Excel), and create a group drawing in a simple graphics editor.

You can adjust picture and sound quality in the Tools>Options menu.

The disadvantages of NetMeeting include low quality of transmitted images and small window size.

Saturday, February 19, 2022

How to delete LAN messenger history or logs?

 How to manage logs in the Softros LAN messenger?

First of all, open a built-in message browser in the LAN chat app. Just click a View Message History button. It is located on the toolbar of the main Softros LAN Messenger window.





What buttons are located on the toolbar of the History Viewer?

  • Print — click this  button to print any chat
  • Browse Log Files — click to open all history database.
  • Save Messages to File — it saves chosen messages to a computer file.
  • Copy Selected to Clipboard — copy messages for any of your needs.

Search text box is in the corner of the History Viewer window. To start a search, type a search term in the text box, and then press ENTER on the keyboard. If the search returns any results, they will be highlighted in green. To jump to each next result, press ENTER. You can search only through the history of a user selected on the left.




Сheck this video guide, if you want to delete all logs saved in this messaging application.



How to delete a message in Softros LAN messenger logs?

If you need to delete one message in history viewer, right click the message and choose "Delete..."









Friday, February 18, 2022

Is there a LAN messenger fix for high DPI monitors?

Nathan K. Mitchell:

I recently upgraded my monitor to a 4k one and now I can't really read the text on the messenger. I've tried all the Windows 10 settings but had no luck.

Is anybody using Lan messenger on a 4k monitor? Any chance to fix resolution issue?

Thanks in advance.


George Constantine:

Hi, unfortunately LAN messenger v 1.2.35 is outdated and doesn't support high resolution monitors.

I recommend to migrate to other app like Softros https://messenger.softros.com 

Their website reports:

June 27, 2019 - Softros LAN Messenger v9.3 is released.

Added: Support of high definition displays (Quad HD, 4K, etc)



Monday, December 14, 2020

Where is NET SEND command in Windows 10, Windows 7, Vista?

Guys, today I'm going to talk about something that many people asked in the forums in which I participate.

What is NET SEND command?

The  Windows XP "Messenger" service became so famous, that many users use it by command line. Who has never seen someone click on "Start", "Run" and type "NET SEND username "Where are we having lunch today?". The NET SEND command is part of the Windows XP messenger and only works if this service is activated. Many companies have abolished the use of NET SEND just for this reason. I once saw a coworker typing "NET SEND * Hello! 

When entered, the command simply sent instant messages to all users who are connected to the same network. Imagine about 500 people received the message. Lucky for him he wasn't fired after that event, but NET SEND option was deactivated.

NET SEND is not only used for play. By the way, using it as a joke is just one of its uses. Several software apps use it as a way to exchange messages, even with database servers, as I witnessed.

The question, on Windows Vista and consequently on Windows 7, 10 is: Where is our dear friend NET SEND? Try typing the command and you will have a surprise: the "NET" service still exists, but the SEND function has been removed.

MSG command is successor of NET SEND command

And now? Don't be sad: Microsoft has implemented a replacement for NET SEND: MSG command. That's right: MSG. Just type this command at the command prompt and you will see that there are several ways to use it, including the simplest being similar to your grandfather NET SEND. Here is just one example, typed at the Windows 7 command prompt with the simplest syntax possible:

MSG <user> <message>

Example: "MSG Alex Hello World

(where "Alex" is the name of the target user, on the network)


Result of using the "MSG" command

As simple as that? Absolutely. The syntax reminds me of the old NET SEND. It is also possible, as in NET SEND, to send a message to a user with a specific server name. See the syntax below:

MSG <server>>user>>message>

Just type "MSG" and see all the available options:


Anyway, If the company where you work allows the use of MSG, you can go back to the old command-line conversation: "MSG Alex when lunch?" 

Note: MSG does not need the active messenger service.

Possible errors when sending messages:

After some comments on functioning problems, I made new tests and came to the solution of some common errors.

"Error 5 getting session names".

Possible reason: if you are on a domain network and the message is not sent, you may need to change the "AllowRemoteRPC" registry key to "1″" on each local machine in the following REGEDIT path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server

<user> does not exist or is disconnected

 The machine that would receive the message needs to have the source user as the administrator of the destination machine. Example: user "john" wants to send a message to user "fred". The machine used by the "fred" user must have the "john" user as an administrator. I am trying to find more information in case the user cannot be the administrator.

 Problem of messages sending between Windows 10 and Windows Vista/7, XP machines, or vice versa.

I did not find ways of integration for sending by "MSG" command from Windows 10, 7, XP machines to Windows XP machines as well as NET SEND from Windows XP machines to Windows Vista/7/10 machines.

Other errors: always check the firewall. In some situations, I noticed that the firewall was the problem that blocked the exchanges of messages. Some network security policies can also block sending. In this case, it is necessary to check with the network administrator.

Can I use any simple LAN messaging application without typing all these boring commands?

Yes, there are lot of applications that could replace these commands. And they works perfect between different Windows systems. You can send messages between old Windows XP and latest Windows 10 easily.



Tuesday, April 21, 2020

Is LAN messenger safe?

Christine Jewett:

I run a public-facing department within city government. Our staff chose LAN messenger to communicate internally in our building primarily as a safety tool, to alert staff when an irate or dangerous member of the public was on site, etc. We have been using LAN chat for sixmonths & love it. The IT technician  discovered that a staff member was using it and blocked it, out of vague network security concerns. (he also is opposed to "modern" things like email & remote desktop access. 

Looking for info to show that LAN messaging apps is not a threat, but a great tool. Thanks for your help.

Anthony Chatterton:

Hello! First of all, thank you for your question.
The main goal of security is: all LAN messenger traffic remains in your network.
No traffic outside the company building or outside your office floor if you wish.
If you trust your local network connection, you can also trust LAN messenger.





If not, you should know that all traffic is heavily encrypted with a 256 bit AES encryption algorhytm shared only in the  dedicated p2p connection between 2 LAN messaging clients. This makes external access is a really difficult  thing for a hacker.
And you can always say: if your IT staff doesn't trust his local network, the problem is not LAN messenger but the network.
Sorry for the humour. It's safest thing to get people to use LAN messenger. 
Our office uses it at work and despite this I have had to fight against the distrust of people who see evil in a "messenger".

LAN messenger is an app designed to have a "intranet messenger" safely inside your office.

As I know that some army and goverment security departments in the world is using it after testing its reliability for months.
But in the end you should believe my words and I don't know how convincing I can be.
If I anyone  created malicious  commercial software, he will loose all credibility about his IT work.
I don't know what to tell you more..

And thanks again for having used and appreciated LAN messenger for months.


Christine Jewett:

Thanks so much for the clear answer. Of course, the real issue here is NOT the software, but the mindset. All I can do is try to educate and have faith that human beings can learn and evolve. A big thanks for offering such a simple-to-use and (therefore) elegant program. After trying several alternatives, ALL of my staff are on board and love what you've suggested. It keeps my staff safe. 
Thanks again.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Lan Messenger does not see other contacts on the network.

sysadnio:

Installed the Qualia application LAN messenger from https://sourceforge.net/ product  on computers in the network. There are almost no any problems , but this messenger doesn't see SOME machines on Win7 other and  vice versa. The firewall is disabled, the netstat-bn command shows that when the messenger is running a certain wininit.exe occupies port 50000 (by default it is port messenge.). If you shut down the LAN messenger, then  wininit.exe frees the port. In a normal situation, the port 50000 is missing.
How to overcome this trouble?

Added:
The question can be formulated in another way.
Why when you start the LAN messenger (and maybe any other application) in the processes appears wininit.exe?



maranelo:

The same problem.

I use it at home to communicate with my wife in the kitchen. My machine-Win 8.1 x64, direct ethernet connection; it has a laptop on Wi-Fi, Win 7.0 x32.

All within 192.168.1.0/24 under one router/AP (ASUS AC66U, latest stock firmware). Messaging clients see/do not see each other  in 50/50 cases. Numerous f5 refreshes usually help. The broadcast goes, nothing is filtered, any firewalls (neither on a router, nor on clients).

I  just want a stable work.


bringotus:
First of all, download another client from here: chocolatey.org/packages/slm . This messenger has a more stable work over LAN, check if this helps. If this messenger has the same issues like Qualia, check your network and firewall settings.

May be this video guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06CI3SiEnUU can help to fix it too.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Secure LAN Messenger with File Sharing Features


When you are working in an office environment, it is more common that your computers are connected over a local area network LAN or through a wireless WiFi router (in which case it would be WLAN). Working in such an environment, you must have the ability to communicate with your coworkers over the local network itself easily. A local messaging software called Softros LAN messenger can be used to communicate with other people over the same LAN securely.



Softros is an intranet instant messenger that utilizes the local area network to communicate with the other users of the same network. The program allows you to freely transfer files among other users within the range of the local LAN. It uses AES cipher to secure all the communications and works on all the popular operating systems like Windows, Linux, and Mac.

The LAN messenger is available in the form of a Windows installer package and as Android messaging app and Mac application. The application does not require installation on the server,  which leaves no troubles of installation in the office. It uses your computer device user name to identify you, but it can be changed if necessary. It is possible to conduct group conversations and to send messages to people who are not currently logged in. All the user activity is recorded in history.

BEST LAN messenger latest review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lDI7k0M8hE

You can configure and change the advanced administrative settings. There are a lot of customization options available. You can change what action must be open or forbidden for office users.

Conclusion: Softros chat is a straightforward way to communicate with other people over the same LAN or WLAN network. It features secure AES encryption of all the communication, easy sharing of files, and the desktop screen. You can also have group conversations with many different people at the same time.
You can download Softros messenger from https://messenger.softros.com/downloads/

Saturday, March 30, 2019

How to send a message even when receiver is offline?

Armani Mayert:

Is it possible to send a message to someone who has their PC off or asleep and when it is turned back on they can read the message?

Gabe Dare:

This messenger doesn't support this option. Some others do. Please check https://messenger.softros.com

Here is a video guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmKAVn1Zepg


Wednesday, March 13, 2019

Messenger doesn't see other users when installed

Vinoj:

i INSTALLED VERSION 1.2.35 ON OUR NETWORK. sOME MACHINES, WE SEE ALL THE USERS, BUT SOME MACHINES WE DO NOT SEE THE OTHER INSTALLED USERS.
wINDOWS 7 OR WINDOWS XP






Monday, March 11, 2019

Ubuntu LAN messenger

Mary J. Weiss:

Got lan messenger installed en running, but i see no tray icon, and no lan messenger main screen with contacts etc.

Joyce M. Bailey:

Same here.But can reply to chats as incoming message window opens that chat




How To Build LAN Messenger from Source Code?

Basil  Wushuri:

Hello Everyone Here, As I am beginner, this LAN Messenger Project helps me a lot to learn cool things in C++, and as this Project is available for all the major platforms, it really helps me a lot ...lot of new things about different platforms. 
I have made various programs in Visual C++, mostly are console application, I also tried my hands on GUI but very basic with 2-3 source files(ex-calculator), but i am am not familiar with these type of source code(with multiple source and UI files) I want to know the whole step by step process to build LAN Messenger from source code, for windows, if possible please also tell the process for debian.

If possible please add some good references.
I am waiting for the reply.




Helper:

I am not sure about MSVC. I used Qt creator with included mingw. Here is general steps:

I prefer to build lan messenger using static Qt libs, but it is not trivial to build static Qt libs with webkit.
Here is start point for building static Qt:
Webkit:

OR- You can also use shared Qt.

Basil  Wushuri:

But I am Using Visual studio 2015 community

Helper: