Open Source Web Based VPN Software Updated
About a year ago, I was introduced to SSL VPN systems. They are a great bit of technology because they incorporate high levels of encryption (which is usually really hard for end users to use) and web technology, specifically web browsers (which most users are very familiar with and know how to use). The down side was that this technology has a tendency to be a bit pricey.
In steps 3SP, a company that provides an SSL VPN product in two flavors, Enterprise for large corporations that need support and Community for those who can support and manage the product themselves. The other advantage of SSL-Explorer: Community Edition is that is is also open source. So you can freely install and modify to your heart’s content.
Using SSL-Explorer is really quite simple. All you need to do is point your web browser to the SSL Explorer server and log it. From there, you can access any of the services that have been set up for you which reside inside the network.
Check out these Flash demos:
- Installation
- Remote Administration
- Web Forwarding (Reverse Proxy)
- Web Forwarding (Tunneled Proxy)
- Web Forwarding (Replacement Proxy)
- Network Places
The other nice thing about SSL-Explorer is that it runs on both Windows and Linux. You do not have to worry about getting a new OS to support the program.
A new version of SSL-Explorer has just been released and you can read more about it on freshmeat.
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3 Responses to “Open Source Web Based VPN Software Updated”
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anonymous vpn Says:
March 31st, 2008 at 2:48 pmWhat’s the difference between pptp vpn and ssl vpn ?
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Leland Says:
December 12th, 2008 at 8:55 amThe problem is that SSL Explorer (as with 3 or 4 other similar open source projects a couple of years ago) does not exist anymore. All of these very useful open source solutions keep getting acquired by the large commercials who remove the open source licensing. SSL Explorer from 3SP, for example, was acquired by Barracuda who now sell the technology imbedded in an appliance. While I can see some of the logic behind this, it is a shame that a most of the kick-a** solutions out there keep getting snarfed up by the commercials.
Can’t find anything else these days in open source that will provide web-based SSL VPN solutions with thin-client capability for non-web-based applications — something that was well within the capabilities of SSL Explorer.
L.
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Weeeeeb Says:
October 26th, 2009 at 10:09 amSSL Explorer was released under GPL and was forked after it was sold to Barracuda. It seems to be actively developed, you can find it on sourceforge: .
