Hi,
I am looking softphone which has functionality of protected settings from user.
Example:-
If Admin configure softphone for user, say autoanswer active.
Admin put some protection for that configuration/settings.
When user uses that softphone, he or she can not change any small configuration or settings. means he or she can not De-active auto-answer functionality by any condition.
If the softphone users has rights to write to that pc, then it probably can’t be stopped. If the softphone config file can be stored elsewhere (file share with read-only access), and linked to the pc, that may work for you. Otherwise, you’d have to try what you can from the Asterisk server side.
If user does not have administrator rights then I think it would be doable with almost any softphone - either by modifying rights to registry (assuming Windows) or file settings. With portable softphones (limited to single directory) this should be pretty easy. Second requirement would be blocking settings modification during runtime - I’ve added this option yesterday to tSIP softphone, in general this could be done by compiling softphone or modifying application resources with reshacker or similar tool.
Interesting variant would be running portable softphones from network drive (private directory for each of the users) - this would give advantage of centralized upgrades and kind of provisioning and application or its configuration can be updated while user PC is not running.
One potential problem that it may create is arms race as users may start modifying application binary, modifying process memory or maybe disrupt network communication (in simplest form: if someone would disconnect network cable you would probably not even notice it) and in a long run you would lose it. I believe locking users is only short term solution. Personally I wouldn’t like auto answer myself but one option that may ease the pain is adding short (e.g. 2 seconds) delay - either in softphone configuration or on server side using Call-Info line.
I used Mizuphone which store its own setting in folder name Mizu.
That folder location in somewhere hidden folder (local-setting/appdata/ something like that in user’s document & setting folder) so that files are safe from user.
But any time user can click on advance settings in Mizuphone to change settings.
By that way settings are not protected from user.
I contacted to Mizuphone & counterpath, both told that they can do it.
But that functionality is in paid version.
So I am thinking that to use peers softphone written in java program.
By that softphone very little settings stores in xml & xsd file.
I think, for fulfill the requirement following thing should be done:-
Settings stores in protected area.
Settings file (xml,xsd) should be encrypted so even if some one reach there, he/she can not read it. (Softphone program internally decrypt it & read it.)
keep copy of that settings file so no problem if someone delete it from protected location.
In softphone if someone click on settings/preference etc button, he/she see its password protected so if he/she not have password it not open.
Issue/limitations in this softphone,
It is not like Mizuphone,linephone etc which has full of features.
It is not have all codec integrated program in it.
So need to work lot on this softphone to make it as professional.