Installation

Updated 7/25/2006

Go ahead and download the SSL Explorer "Community" edition package from sourceforge.net and unzip the package to a suitable directory. On my machine I used C:Program Filessslexplorer-0.2.4. Then copy tools.jar from C:Program Filessslexplorer-0.2.4sslexplorerlib to C:Program FilesJAVAjre1.5.0_07lib folder.

Next, start up a command window (this can be accomplished by selecting Run from the START menu and typing cmd). Navigate to the SSL Explorer directory (cd C:Program Filessslexplorer-0.2.4) and type the following command to start the compile/install process: ant install.

The command window at this point should look similar to Figure 1.

Figure 1: Command line window after build completes (click image to enlarge)

ANT will chug away for a few minutes compiling Java source files and then it will attempt to launch a Web browser pointed at special port (28080) on your machine. This special port is only used until you have set up the basic options for your install. You will configure your keystore and SSL certificate in this mode before placing the server into operation.

If you are installing SSL Explorer on a system with the Windows firewall enabled, then you will probably see a window similar to Figure 2 at least once.

Figure 2: Windows firewall message

Be sure and choose unblock so that you will be able to configure the application through your Web browser. If SSL Explorer was successful at launching the Web browser, then you should see a screen similar to Figure 3.

Figure 3: Select certificate type (click image to enlarge)

If your computer did not bring up the Web browser automatically, then you should be able to open up a browser and connect to the setup page manually by using the following URL: http://127.0.0.1:28080.

Tags: DIY, open source, SSL, SSL-Explorer, VPN server,

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