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Logging in to the administration site

There are two administration websites provided with MPNews, and it is important to know which one to use for different types of settings.

The main admin site

The main administration site is normally available at http://localhost:1234 (replacing localhost with your server name if you are accessing it remotely).

This site contains settings that control the entire MPNews server, and are generally behind-the-scenes type settings such as the list of modules and licenses that are currently installed and options to add and remove virtual servers. It is this site that you will get to by using the Start > Programs > MPNews > MPNews Management shortcut.

The virtual server admin site

Each virtual server that you create through the main admin site has its own administration area. This is accessible at http://localhost:1234/~name, replacing name with the name of the virtual server you want to administer. One virtual server is created during the initial configuration wizard, but you can create as many as you like via the main administration site.

This site contains the majority of the settings you will use on a day-to-day basis, including setting up users and permissions and moderating messages.

Logging in

When you first install MPNews, you will not have any users set up in MPNews itself. To log in, you will therefore need to use a Windows administrator username and password. As you must be logged in as an administrator to install MPNews, you should have these details available already. If not, please consult your system administrator.

You can continue to use a Windows administrator account to log in to the MPNews admin sites, but this will only work when accessing the sites from the server itself. If you try to log in to the admin sites remotely from another PC, this will not work. This is done to prevent your Windows administrator account details being sent over a potentially unsecure network.

In order to access the admin sites remotely, you must set up specific MPNews user accounts with administrator rights in the admin site you want to access.

During the initial configuration wizard after you first install MPNews, you will be prompted to enter a username and password to use for the administrator access to the virtual server admin site. To add further administrator users, or to create an administrator user with access to the main admin site, log into the appropriate admin site and click on the "Users" option. Click on "User List", then on "Add New User". Enter a username and password to use, ensure that the "Administrators" role is selected, and click on "Save". You can now log into the admin site using the username and password you have just entered.