[vpn-help] VPN Client for Windows Editions

Matthew Grooms mgrooms at shrew.net
Thu May 23 01:00:24 CDT 2013


All,

As many of you know, Shrew Soft has been distributing a free IPsec VPN 
Client for more than 6 years. What may not be common knowledge is that 
during the first 2 years of development, I was able to work on the VPN 
client full time. This work was entirely self funded. As a result, we 
were able to release version 1.0.0 through version 2.1.4. The software 
improved at a very rapid pace with a total of 11 releases between Aug 
2006 and Nov 2008. At that point I was forced to take a full time job. 
Over the next 4 and a half years, there have been 4 releases, the last 
of which took 2 and a half years to produce. These days I have a full 
time job as well as a part time job. In other words, the development 
pace has slowed, an issue that directly correlates with the amount of 
free time I have available.

There is no shortage of work to be done when it comes to improving the 
the VPN Client. Unfortunately, developing and maintaining a product of 
this nature that runs on commercial operating systems is far from free. 
At one point we had advertisements and donation links visible on the 
site. Unfortunately, the revenue generated barely covered the cost of 
co-location. This left all cost related to sanctioned Microsoft kernel 
driver certification, Microsoft Developer Network subscriptions, 
upgrading Microsoft Development tools and other software, Class 3 Code 
signing certificates, hiring an outside contract developers to improve 
kernel drivers and perform code audits, buying lab hardware and other 
equipment ... the list goes on. After weighing our options and turning 
down an offer from an established VPN client vendor to acquire Shrew 
Soft Inc, we concluded that the only way for the product to survive was 
to produce a commercial version. This decision was partially motivated 
by the fact that the offer wasn't very attractive and partially by the 
fear that, if we were acquired, our free product would be shelved to 
reduce competition with a high cost commercial alternative. And as the 
sole investor in Shrew Soft Inc, shouldering the continued operational 
cost was quickly loosing its appeal. To continue offering a freeware 
product, we also need to introduce a premium product that generates a 
healthy revenue stream. By doing so, full time development can resume. 
The overall product quality will improve at a much faster pace and the 
cost of continued development and operations will be offset.

Who will pay to use the VPN Client and who will use it for free? After 
pondering this question for quite some time, we came to the following 
conclusion: If you need remote access to connect to a well funded 
corporate office, then you can probably afford to pay a reasonable fee 
to use our VPN client software. If you require need remote access to 
connect to your small home office or business, then you can probably 
live with a free VPN client that offers a moderately reduced feature 
set. Professional vs Standard. Beginning with the next release, the 
Shrew Soft VPN client will be available in two different editions.

What will be the difference? The Standard Edition will offer feature 
parity with the 2.1.0 release. It will be free to use for both personal 
commercial use. The Professional Edition will include all the features 
available in the Standard Edition, as well as additional features that 
would be useful for users connecting to a corporate LAN. The first 
Professional release will reintroduce support for Split DNS. It will 
also include the Shrew Soft Security Credentials Provider for Windows 7 
and Windows 8. This feature will allow users to authenticate against a 
Microsoft Windows AD/Domain via an IPsec VPN connection, directly from 
the Windows login screen.

How do I obtain the Professional edition? Both editions of the client 
software will distributed as a single download. You will be prompted to 
select the preferred edition during the installation procedure. If the 
Professional edition is selected, the product will be installed in an 
evaluation mode with a 14 day trial limit. If you decide you don't need 
the additional features provided by the Professional edition, you can 
simply re-install the client and select the Standard edition. License 
keys for the Professional edition will be available for purchase at our 
online store.

How much will the Professional edition cost? We are still finalizing our 
price model. But I can assure you, it will far less expensive than other 
commercial solutions. This is partially due to the fact that we won't be 
providing full support solutions. If your curious how much a Universal 
IPsec VPN Client software license is selling for these days, please 
visit one of the following web sites ....

http://www.thegreenbow.com/
http://www.ncp-e.com/

Thanks for your time,

-Matthew


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