The GUI ScreenIO Network Client

What is the Network Client?

Its a small program that runs on a remote workstation and allows the user to run jobs on a Server in a secure and controlled way.

It allows you to run most GUI ScreenIO applications, unchanged, as client/server applications over any TCP/IP network (including the Internet). 

The client can be configured so that it connects and automatically launches a specified server application when the user launches the client.  This makes it look and act exactly as though your application was running locally.

If you do not license the client, you must connect manually (it's easy, use File/Connect to... on the main menu and select the server from a list).  Once connected, the (unlicensed) client displays a menu of available applications. 

This shows a client that is connected to our test server, displaying the menu items for this user. 

You launch the application of your choice by pressing its button.  The menu closes, then the first panel of your application appears.  From that point on, it looks and feels exactly as if it were running locally.

When you close your application, the menu will be redisplayed so that you can select another application or exit (log out).

Pad-Lock symbol indicates a  Secure encrypted connection when Locked symbol, shown (above) and an unencrypted connection when the Unlocked symbol is shown.

Licensing

The GUI ScreenIO Client is licensed on a per-computer basis. 

Licensed Clients

The Licensed clients encrypt all communications with the server using the RC2 block encryption algorithm.   Both login and application data are encrypted before being transmitted.  All the GUI ScreenIO API calls are also encrypted, so that printing, file transfer, and other function data is never sent in clear-text.   

All communications between the client and the server are encrypted except for the initial key-exchange handshaking, when the server's public key is sent to the client (this is implicitly secure because of the way that public-key cryptography works).  All subsequent communications are encrypted.  Man-in-the-middle attacks are also detected.  

If multiple clients are attached to the server, every client uses a unique and randomly generated key for each connection, and furthermore, a new key is used for each application launched by the user.  

Licensed clients require a registration key. See our purchasing information.

Other features of the Licensed Clients include:

• Totally Encrypted Data Stream - End-to-End Security
• GUI ScreenIO's encryption is approved for export by the US government
• Creating Icons on the local desktop for applications on the remote server
• Running multiple instances so that you can run more than one application on the server concurrently
• Secure Shell (ssh) aware (although no longer needed with our encryption layer)
• Allows multiple users behind firewalls/routers

Unlicensed Clients

Note:  The unlicensed client is suitable for evaluation and for many low-security applications.  You may decide that you can get by with unlicensed clients.  Unlicensed clients are free, and may be downloaded at any time.

The Un-Licensed client has the following limitations: 

• NO Encrypted Data Stream 
• Runs only one job at a time
• Will not connect to a server that is restricted to licensed clients.
• Will not traverse ssh connections
• If the server configuration allows only one connection per IP address, and if you have several clients that are running behind a firewall, only one of them will be able to connect at a time.