How does IP Monitor work?

In order to get your external IP address you need to query an external service. You can set the URL of the service in the Checking URL field. When the IP address is checked, the URL is hit by means of an HTTP request and the content fetched is parsed looking for a valid IP address. If found, the Current IP field will display this address. If there is no valid IP address in the content fetched or if the URL is not properly set, this field will display the corresponding error.

The first time the IP address is fetched no notification will be fired. The rest of times, when the IP address is fetched it will be compared to the one displayed in the Current IP field. If they differ, the notifications will be fired and the Last change field will be assigned the current date.

When running as a Windows service or Linux daemon the procedure is slightly different. When IP Monitor detects that the IP address has changed, the new IP address is saved to a file. If the system crashes, is restarted or even if there is a power fault, when the IP Monitor service or daemon is started again, it will load the previous valid IP address from the file. This way, if the IP address has changed since the system went down, IP Monitor will detect that change and fire the notifications.

What is the Autostart when IP Monitor launches setting?

This setting defines whether or not to automatically start checking for changes in your IP address when the application is lauched. Note this setting has no effect if IP Monitor is running as a Windows service or Linux daemon as it will always start monitoring your IP address.

Why aren't audio nor visual notifications fired when IP Monitor is running as a Windows service or a Linux daemon?

Services and daemons are applications that are designed to run unattended without a graphical user interface. Besides, letting the service or daemon interact with the user is very operative system dependent too. Anyway, it is possible to get indirectly notified by means of the Command notification. You can create a shell script, a batch file, or an executable file to perform the actions you need.

Linux example:

1. Create a file, in this case script.sh containing the following code:

   MESSAGE="Your IP address is now $1"

   DIR_NAME="$(dirname "$(readlink -f $0)")" # This line will return the path to the script itself

   alsaplayer --quiet "$DIR_NAME/audio.mp3" & # This will play the audio file

   gnome-osd-client "$MESSAGE" & #This will show an on screen message

   zenity --info --text "$MESSAGE" --title "IP Monitor" & # This will display a message box

2. Set the Command notification to execute that file and pass it the %NEWIP% parameter:

   /path/to/your/file/script.sh %NEWIP%

3. Make sure you have execute privileges on the file:

   chmod +x /path/to/your/file/script.sh

4. Install the packages:

   sudo apt-get install alsaplayer-alsa alsaplayer-text gnome-osd zenity

Windows example 1:

1. Create a file, in this case script.bat containing the following code:

   set TEMP_FILE="tmpfile.vbs"

   > %TEMP_FILE% echo WScript.Echo^("Your IP address is now %1"^)

   wscript.exe %TEMP_FILE%

   del %TEMP_FILE%

   rem Here you can add whatever command you want

2. Set the Command notification to execute that file and pass it the %NEWIP% parameter:

   cmd /c "C:\path\to\your\file\script.bat" %NEWIP%

Windows example 2:

1. Create a file, in this case script.vbs containing the following code:

   WScript.Echo("Your IP address is now " & WScript.Arguments(0))

2. Set the Command notification to execute that file and pass it the %NEWIP% parameter:

   cmd /c start wscript.exe "C:\path\to\your\file\script.vbs" %NEWIP%

Why am I asked to restart the IP Monitor service or daemon when applying new settings?

If the service or daemon is running by the time you apply the new settings, that means it has been started using the previous settings. In order to apply the new settings to the service or daemon it needs to be restarted. For example, let's say you start the service with an interval of 30 minutes. Then you change the settings and set the interval to 10 minutes. If you don't restart the service or daemon it will keep checking your IP address for changes every 30 minutes.

Why do all buttons on the service or daemon tab get disabled when I change the operative system?

Because you have installed the service or daemon of a different operative system. In order to change it you will have to uninstall the previously installed service or daemon.

What should I do if my Linux distribution is not listed in the operative service combo?

If it is Debian based you could try selecting that distribution. If it works, post a message in the Operative Systems forum so that I could add it to the next release. If it doesn't work and you know how to configure daemons in you distribution take a look the file ./files/wrapper/native/other and edit it they way you want. If you get it working, please upload the code to the forum.

Why do I get an error when trying to install a service or daemon?

Because you might not be a system administrator or you might not have the proper privileges to do so. Under Linux you might be lacking support for your distribution.