HOW TO: Provide Secure Browsing with Mobile Information Server (314540)

SUMMARY

This step-by-step article describes how to provide secure browsing with Mobile Information Server (MIS). IT professionals must increasingly make sensitive information on corporate intranets available to mobile users such as field representatives. This article provides information about how to use MIS to provide users of mobile devices with the ability to securely browse intranet sites.

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Requirements

The following items describe the recommended hardware, software, network infrastructure, skills, knowledge and service packs you need:

• Microsoft Windows XP Professional
• Microsoft Windows Advanced Server
• Microsoft Windows Server

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Making Intranet Web Sites Available to MIS Users

1. In MIS System Manager, right-click MIS Installation, and then click Properties.
2. Choose whether to allow unrestricted access to your intranet or to provide access only to selected URLs. To enable unrestricted access, click the Intranet Browse Sites tab, click Allow access to all intranet sites, click Apply, and then click OK. To provide restricted access to specific URLs:
   1. On the Intranet Browse Sites tab, click Add.
   2. In the Add Intranet Site dialog box, type the name of the server, (for example, servername.domain.net), in the Value box, and then click OK. Do not type http:// before the server name. The value that you type must be the name of a Web server. You cannot specify a particular virtual folder or intranet page.
   3. Click Apply, and then click OK.
   4. You receive a message that indicates that the changes will not take place until the MIS computer is stopped and then restarted. Click OK.
3. Use the Windows 2000 Services tool to stop and then restart the Mobile Information Server Message Processor service:
   1. On the Start menu, click Administrative Tools, and then click Services.
   2. In the list of services, click Mobile Information Server.
   3. On the Services tool main menu, click Action.
   4. On the Action menu, click Stop.
   5. On the Services tool main menu, click Action.
   6. On the Action menu, click Start.

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Browsing Intranet Sites

The method that mobile users use to gain access to intranet sites depends on how you set up Mobile Information 2001 Server access. You can set up Mobile Information 2001 Server access by using either of the following methods:

• Give your users the URL of each individual page that is accessible by their devices. They must type the URL into their device's browsers. For information about how this is done, they must consult their mobile device's documentation.
  
  The format for the URL is http://<MIS-Web-Address>/In/<WebServerName>/<Custom_Application>.
• Provide your users with the URL of a home page that links to the other pages they can browse on their mobile devices. This is the recommended approach.

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