The recent release of Stunnel version 4.00 picks up where previous versions left off by improving encryptions capabilities and simplifying installation and configuration. Late last week, the newest version of Stunnel[1], the secure SSL wrapper, was released. Stunnel encapsulates cleartext protocols . . .
The recent release of Stunnel version 4.00 picks up where previous versions left off by improving encryptions capabilities and simplifying installation and configuration. Late last week, the newest version of Stunnel[1], the secure SSL wrapper, was released. Stunnel encapsulates cleartext protocols within strong SSL encryption and can be used to protect pretty much any standard[2] TCP connection, from your mail protocol (POP, IMAP, SMTP) to your own customized application. Stunnel runs on many different operating systems from Linux and other Unix-like systems (*BSD, Solaris, etc) to Windows.

This version was in the works for some time and if you've been turned off by Stunnel before, then now's the time to take a look at it again. Now that it uses a configuration file instead of (excessive) command line options, it is much easier to create and understand the configuration. So, let's see a few example.

Say your ISP supports IMAP over SSL, but you are not using a mail client that has SSL support. The mailserver is probably listening on two ports, 143 (IMAP) and 993 (IMAP+SSL). You simply set up Stunnel on your local machine to listen on a local port, say 1143. Stunnel will accept the cleartext IMAP connection on this port, SSL encrypt it, and send it to port 993 on the mail server. The connection is in the clear only from your mail client to the local Stunnel process - everywhere across the Internet it is encrypted, meaning your mail and your password is protected from prying eyes.