MyEnTunnel

MyEnTunnel 3.4.1 (Windows / Freeware)

Note: This is a third party application and not associated with VanDyke Software or the author of PuTTY Simon Tatham.

This program is called My-En-Tunnel (My Encrypted Tunnel). Not MyEtunnel, Entunnel or Etunnel.

If you like MyEnTunnel, instead of sending donations please post about it online in your blog/website or message forum. (I always prefer word of mouth advertising =) )

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Description

MyEnTunnel is a simple system tray application (or NT service) that establishes and maintains TCP SSH tunnels. It does this by launching Plink (PuTTY Link) in the background and then monitors the process. If the Plink process dies (e.g. connection drops, server restarts or otherwise becomes unreachable) MyEnTunnel will automatically restart Plink to reestablish the tunnels in the background. It tries to use as little CPU and system resources as possible when monitoring (When the "Slow Polling" option is enabled it only does one context switch per second).

Since it uses Plink, you can use utilities such as Pageant (a SSH authentication agent for PuTTY, PSCP and Plink) and PuTTYgen (a RSA and DSA key generation utility), as well as named PuTTY sessions. All of the networking and encryption is done by plink.exe; not by MyEnTunnel. 

MyEnTunnel also works with portaPuTTY (Handy for USB thumbdrives).
MyEnTunnel is compatible with Wine on *IX.

For the security-conscious: The password or passphrase DOES stay in memory and the encrypted version stored in the INI file isn't fool proof. So I STRONGLY suggest you DON'T use this with root accounts for security reasons!

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International Unicode Development Version 3.5.2

Unicode Release Screenshot:



Notes:

• I do not have a good way of testing this version so user feedback is very important!
• This is an ALPHA version of this application. So expect bugs and/or glitches.
• The program was designed to run on a 96 DPI display. Other DPI settings currently cause it to display incorrectly.
• Most items should display correctly using Unicode but some items such as system tray popups/hints may not.
• It uses the font MS Arial Unicode by default, but version 3.5.1 can now use other unicode aware fonts as well.
• Simply right click on the system tray icon or right click on the bottom 6 buttons to access the popup menu.
• This will not translate the status window messages from the plink executable.
• 3.5.2 fixes the vertical font issue with asian languages. - Thanks CBP.

Local Translations for version 3.5+

If you'd like to create a local translation:

• Please download the zip filebelow and extract into the MyEnTunnel directory. 
• Open the language.txt file with notepad to translate.
• Make sure the file encoding is set to unicode when saving.
• To make the translation easier use the language option in the popup menu to force a reload of the language.txt file.
• The width should automatically adjust to accomodate language length changes when using the MS Arial Unicode font.
• After you finish your translation please contact me using the contact form on this website.

Download (Unicode version)

Make sure you have read the disclaimer on the main software intro page before downloading.

 Click here to download the development version* (myentunnel-unicode.zip - 241 kB)

Downloaded 8807 times

• The plink.exe is NOT provided in this package. 
• Version 3.4 must already be installed to be fully functional (requires plink executeable) or the end user must supply plink.exe manually to be functional.

Currently Available Languages:

Place in the MyEnTunnel folder and rename to language.txt to use.

 German language file by Michael Pilgermann (german_language.txt - 6 kB)
Downloaded 671 times

 Polish language file by Marek Labecki (polish_language.txt - 5 kB)
Downloaded 126 times

 Simplified Chinese language file by Alexander Chen (simplified_chinese_language.txt - 3 kB)
Downloaded 1308 times

 French language file by Christophe (french_language.txt - 6 kB)
Downloaded 113 times

 Dutch language file by Albert Jan Verheus (dutch_language.txt - 5 kB)
Downloaded 49 times

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Stable Release 3.4.1 (Non-Unicode)

Stable Release Screen Shots:




System tray icons: 

• Green - SSH connection has been established and is stable
• Yellow - SSH connection connecting/reconnecting
• Red - Unable to connect or other error condition

Options:

• Connect on Startup - Launch plink and establish connection when application is loaded
• Enable Slow Polling - Sets monitor loop to once a second to lower CPU usage (Note: slows down GUI response)
• Enable Compression - Enable zlib link compression
• Reconnect on Failure - Try up to 6 attempts to maintain tunnel every N (user defineable) seconds
• Infinite Retry Attempts - Always attempt to maintain tunnel
• Retry Delay - Number of seconds to wait between reconnection attempts
• Use Private Keyfile - Enable public/private key pair authentication
• Enable Dynamic SOCKS - Enable dynamic SOCKS support
• Verbose Logging - Show all plink.exe messages in status window
• Hide Port Connections - Squelch port open/close messages in status window
• Disable Notifications - Disables notification popups (Handy when using it on a laptop)

Download (Stable / Non-Unicode)

Make sure you have read the disclaimer on the main software intro page before downloading.

 Click here to download setup_myentunnel.exe (500 kB)

Downloaded 21010 times

Notes:

• This installer includes Plink (PuTTY Link) version 0.60.
• Use of Plink is illegal in countries where encryption is outlawed.
• Downloading the complete MyEnTunnel installer that includes Plink is prohibited in the following countries: Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria. (Persons in those countries may download the current unicode version as it does not contain the Plink executable)

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History

Version 3.4.1 fixes a memory leak by freeing all named pipes when plink.exe terminates. (Thanks to Revragnarok for finding it)
The profile option on the system tray popup menu is now available even if no profiles exist.

Version 3.4 adds support for profile creation and switching via the right click system tray menu.
The MyEnTunnel service now polls once every 10 (ten) seconds instead of once a second.
Updated bundled plink.exe to version Release 0.60.

Version 3.3 now supports MyEnTunnel as a NT service.

Version 3.2 fixes a CPU usage bug when reconnecting plink (during pause).
Several small bug fixes relating to the Settings panel.
The installer now has user defineable Start menu shortcuts.
License.txt is now included in the install package.
Reordered bottom buttons and other small visual changes.

Version 3.1.1 updated bundled plink.exe to version Release 0.59.

Version 3.1 fixes a bug with numeric only fields not accepting backspace as a valid key.
Status backscroll no longer keeps first line when overwriting.
Additional INI setting: BackScrollLines

Version 3.0 adds profile support (via command line)
A bug fix when sending passwords to stdin.
Installer now includes a readme.txt file.
More code cleanup and compaction.
These options are now available by hand editing the myentunnel.ini:
Executable - Full path and name to replacement executable;normally: plink.exe
ExecArguments - For customized options;normally: -N -ssh -2
FullPathKeyfile - Full path and name to keyfile;normally: keyfile.ppk

Version 2.9 now passes the password using stdin instead of the command line.
Small changes to plink command line arguments and the About Box.
Other small internal code cleanups and a system tray icon behaviour fix.

Version 2.8.1 fixes a line wrap issue with long lines in the tunnel entry section.

Version 2.8 adds a toggle to disable popup notifications.

Version 2.7 now allows setting the retry delay when reconnecting.
More checks on numeric fields (valid port number, non-blank).
A relayout of the settings tab to include new options as well as a few slight rewordings.

Version 2.6 fixes a few small glitches in the GUI. (Tab order fixes, numeric only input on port fields, etc.,..)
It now passes full path of the key file to plink instead of relying on the current working directory.
A new option to filter out port open/close spam when verbose logging is enabled.
A slight update to the About Box.

Version 2.5 has a fix when used on machines running VNC (as server).
There were small visual changes when using XP themes.
And a switch of compilers that fixes a number of issues (and adds 30k;ouch).

Version 2.4 will now prompt on server key changes.
Other slight rewording when displaying prompts.

Version 2.3 has another fix relating to pass phrases.
The phrase was forgotten on initial successful connection and was blank on all further reconnect attempts.
Most fatal errors now abort auto reconnect.

Version 2.2 has a major bug fix relating to pass phrases.
Phrase/password length is now 100 characters.

Version 2.1 will now allow blank pass phrases and there was a small text change.

Version 2.0 now has Public/Private Key support.
The file must be called "keyfile.ppk" in the application directory.
Visual controls now follow the current XP theme (Thanks to the use of a Windows.Manifest).
Other small functional changes have been added as well. (Store Key prompt, asking for password/pass phrase when blank...)

Version 1.9.1 contains icon updates and text changes. (Thanks to Mr. Kelcher)

Version 1.9 contains an important integer overflow bug fix that affected application stability.

Version 1.8 was initial public release.

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Awards

Related Links

• PuTTY Homepage - Home of the PuTTY suite
• Wintunnel - A similar SSH tunneling application by ALCIDIAN Solutions (in French)
• Entunnel - A commercial SSH tunneling application by VanDyke Software
• SSHWindows - OpenSSH for Windows
• freeSSHd - A free implementation of an SSH server for windows
• SSH Tips - Breaking Firewalls with OpenSSH and PuTTY Howto
• The Surf At Work Page - How to Bypass Most Firewall Restrictions and Access the Internet Privately
• UDP Tunnels - Performing UDP tunneling through an SSH connection (unix)
• Zebedee - Creates secure and compressed TCP/UDP tunnels on both unix and windows
• Key-Based SSH Logins With PuTTY - How to generate and use a private/public key pair to log in to a remote system
• McAfee SA - McAfee SiteAdvisor report on MyEnTunnel

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