Token2Shell/MD now supports all the host key types used in OpenSSH including ECDSA and Ed25519!

Elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) is becoming popular as it can achieve equivalent or higher level of security using less computing power than traditional methods (ex. RSA). OpenSSH and other poplar SSH servers support ECC based key exchange methods and host key types such as ECDH, ECDSA and Ed25519.

Token2Shell/MD now also supports ECC based methods that are fully compatible with OpenSSH. The following summarizes new features and changes in version 10.9.0:

  • Now supports more host key types and key exchange methods
    NEW HOST KEY TYPES
    ecdsa-sha2-nistp256, ecdsa-sha2-nistp384, ecdsa-sha2-nistp521, ssh-ed25519

    Please note that Token2Shell/MD uses the same private/public key file format as OpenSSH. Thus if you already have private keys generated with ssh-keygen, you can simply copy them to Token2Shell/MD Home Folder (...\Token2Shell\ssh\keys) or import them via "Import" menu. You can also generate new private keys within Token2Shell/MD.

    NEW KEY EXCHANGE METHODS
    curve25519-sha256@libssh.org, ecdh-sha2-nistp256, ecdh-sha2-nistp384, ecdh-sha2-nistp521, diffie-hellman-group-exchange-sha256

    Please note that Address Book entries have their own SSH related settings. Thus you need to update existing entries individually if you want to use the newly added key types and methods for the stored server settings.

    Address Book entries in Token2Shell/MD correspond to plain XML text files under its Home Folder (...\Token2Shell\address.book). So if you're familiar with using a scripting language such as PowerShell, or have a text editor capable of opening multiple files and replacing a certain text on all of them, you should be able to update your Address Book entries more easily.

  • Now supports customizing the 16 colors assigned for terminal codes
  • Using "bold" font style can now be turned off

    If your terminal output is not vertically aligned correctly even if you've selected a mono-spaced font, try setting this option off. After changing this option, you need to re-connect to the server as this option is applied only when a new session is started.

  • Now supports printing from the built-in Tek4014 window (ex. gnuplot)
  • Direct printing mode (ESC[2016i) now supports JPG, PNG and BMP graphic format
  • Keyboard mapping now supports sending terminal sequences assigned for "application mode" for arrow keys by pressing them with CTRL key. This can be handy, for example, when configuring CTRL+LEFT and CTRL+RIGHT for moving the cursor by word (in Bash shell, you can do this by editing ~/.inputrc file).
  • Pressing ALT+Q on a disconnected session window now actually closes that window (ALT+Q only disconnects the session if it's active)

NEW! PkgdView Terminal is now available on Windows Store!

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Be ready to show your portfolio or presentation without worrying about embarrassing browsing history or bookmarks! Let your coworkers or employees use their favorite web browser for their personal errands but let them be professional and efficient while on their job by providing them with a special web browser that brings consistent settings and user experience!

PkgdView Terminal also includes a rock-solid modern SSH client. Thus if your job involves using a web browser and/or text-based server programs, you can easily consolidate and simplify your workflow with PkgdView Terminal. You can even have your remote PDF files previewed and printed on a local printer over SSH or directly from websites.

For more information about PkgdView Terminal, please visit:
http://choung.net/pkgdview

Token2Shell/MD now even supports ZModem and XModem!

ZModem/XModem can be handy as files are sent or received over the current connection without depending on additional daemons or background service software. You just need ZModem/XModem executables (ex. lrzsz) that are readily available for almost all Unix and Unix-like servers. They are also still widely used for embedded devices for updating firmware or retrieving log files.

All in all, Token2Shell/MD now got you covered! The following summarizes new features and changes in version 10.8.0:

  • ZModem (with resume always enabled) and XModem 1K/CRC/CHECKSUM are now supported for transferring files
  • Now supports Bluetooth/RFCOMM communication. This feature can be useful when you're developing or debugging a custom Bluetooth service for IoT devices. For an example of such usage with Windows IoT on Raspberry Pi 2, please visit http://choung.net/howto/token2shell-md/bluetooth-iot-example/.
  • "Session Data Capture (ALT+L)" is added for saving received communication data to a file
  • "Hex Mode" is added for displaying all received data in hexadecimal format
  • You can now adjust the volume for CTRL+G (BEL) beep sound. A bell icon is also displayed on the title bar at the same time. For additional information about the new sound options, please visit http://choung.net/howto/token2shell-md/adding-more-bell-sounds/.
  • You can now temporarily change terminal options such as local echo, new line control characters and etc. Changed options will be reverted back to the original when you reconnect to the server.
  • Tapping a session tab and closing its popup menu without selecting any menu (ex. pressing the Back button) now activates the on-screen keyboard for smartphones.

Serial devices can now be directly connected from Token2Shell/MD

Token2Shell/MD version 10.7.0 is now available. Along with bug fixes and minor enhancements, the new version now natively supports serial communication. The following summarizes new features and changes.

  • Now supports serial communication via modern interface ports including USB-to-Serial adapters and Bluetooth virtual serial ports. On-board serial ports commonly found in legacy computers are *NOT* supported.

    Please note that the serial communication support in the new version uses a different URL scheme name 'serial://' instead of 'com://' that we used in our other products. Hence, address book entries for serial devices are not compatible.

    We decided to use a new scheme as the new serial device support in Token2Shell/MD is built around a port 'name' instead of a port 'number'. Such fundamental difference makes an address book entry incompatible. Thus we wanted to at least keep the address book entries from other programs intact by using a new scheme.

  • Now properly handles two-factor authentications for SSH connections.
  • Pressing F5 (or ALT+R) after disconnected from a server starts reconnecting to the same server.

Token2Shell/MD version 10.6.0 improves handling touch gestures and context menus

Token2Shell/MD version 10.6.0 is now live on Windows Store. The following summarizes new features and changes.

  • Double-tap now toggles the scroll-back mode on and off. Once it's activated, you can drag or swipe the terminal screen to view previous lines (scroll-back mode is automatically triggered by dragging or swiping in full window mode).
  • Now supports automatically copying selected text to clipboard.
  • Now supports right-click paste. When this option is enabled, right-click sends the text in clipboard or currently selected text. If your mouse has a middle or wheel button, you can use it for the same purpose without enabling this option.
  • Selected text can now be opened as a web link (ex. email address for opening an email app, web address for opening a web browser and etc.)
  • Raw IPv6 addresses can now be properly handled.

    If you don't need to specify a port number with an IPv6 address, you can just enter its raw hexadecimal representation with colons. For example, when you want to enter an IPv6 address, '2001:0db8:0000:0000:0000:ff00:0042:8329', with a user ID, 'myid':

    When you need to specify a port number, the address must be enclosed with brackets ('[' and ']'). For example, to append a port number 1234:

Token2Shell/MD now supports direct PDF file printing over SSH or TELNET

Token2Shell/MD version 10.5.0 is now live on Windows Store. The following summarizes new features and changes.

  • Now supports local printing that can redirect remote text output to a local printer. You can also directly send the output to a network printer without opening a preview window.
  • Proprietary printing mode (ESC[2016i) for directly previewing and printing a PDF file now supported. Click here for more info.
  • Line Sender now has an option for turning off sending the current line with an ENTER key. Even when it's disabled, you still can use F5 or right-sidebar ENTER button for sending the current line.
  • CTRL+2/3/4/5/6/7/8 can now be used for sending control characters ^@ (0x00), ^[ (0x27), ^\ (0x28), ^] (0x29), ^^ (0x30), ^_ (0x31) and ^? (0x7F) respectively. CTRL+@/[/\/]/^/_/? can also be used for sending the actual corresponding control characters.
  • Improved character input buffer.

Token2Shell/MD version 10.4.0 now available on Windows Store

  • Now includes character input buffer for locally storing printable characters and sending them in batches instead of one by one as they are typed. It should improve entering continuous text over a slow connection. This option can be temporarily toggled on and off by CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER.
  • Keyboard shortcuts CTRL+SHIFT+C and CTRL+SHIFT+V are added for copy and paste respectively. This also allows using the paste button on Windows 10 Mobile screen keyboard as it generates a CTRL+V keyboard shortcut; tap the SHIFT key before tapping the paste button (after using the paste button, you need to reset the SHIFT key manually).
  • Virtual [Paste] button is now available in 'Fn Keypad' Group 3.
  • Physical number keypad can now be used in emulating text terminals.

Token2Shell/MD version 10.3.0 now available on Windows Store

  • SFTP/SCP hybrid is now ready for file uploading and downloading.

    In order to maximize transfer speed, Token2Shell/MD seamlessly makes use of both SFTP and SCP. If the server does not support SCP or cannot handle high-speed SFTP, Token2Shell/MD automatically falls back to the standard SFTP. File uploading can also be started via drag-and-drop or paste directly from Windows File Explorer.

    While transferring files or using X11 forwarding, please don't minimize Token2Shell/MD to the Taskbar. It may trigger Windows OS to pause running the app altogether.

  • X11 forwarding is now supported for SSH sessions.

    In order to properly use X11 forwarding, you need to separately run an X server such as VcXsrv (http://sourceforge.net/projects/vcxsrv/) or Xming (http://www.straightrunning.com/XmingNotes/). Also, as mentioned above, please don't minimize Token2Shell/MD to the Taskbar while using X11 forwarding.

    This option is not available for Windows 10 Mobile since it requires a separate X server running in the background and such background task is not allowed in the Mobile.

  • Left [ALT] key can now be used as the [META] key for Unix-like server programs such as Emacs.
  • Virtual [META] and [CTRL] buttons are now available in 'Fn Keypad' Group 3.
  • When 'Home Folder' is changed, all existing settings are now automatically copied to the new folder if the selected new folder is empty.
  • 2048-bits DSA private keys are now supported.
  • Improved SSH into Windows 10 IoT; you can also upload or download files in SFTP.
  • Improved XTerm emulation.

Token2Shell/MD is now Mobile and Continuum Ready!

Windows 10 Mobile is not yet officially released, however we are happy to announce that you can now test drive Token2Shell/MD on smartphone with Windows 10 Mobile preview versions.

When you launch Token2Shell/MD from a smartphone, each session terminal is maximized to make full use the available screen area. However, when it's in Continuum mode with higher screen resolution, each session terminal can be freely floated and moved around the screen; just like running Token2Shell/MD on a desktop PC. It even supports setting its desktop background image and opening translucent terminal windows.

Have not yet heard about the Continuum? Here are some of the videos demonstrating the Continuum in Windows 10 Mobile:

As mentioned, Windows 10 Mobile is not yet officially released and Token2Shell/MD is built and tested against those preview versions hence there may be more glitches and unexpected bugs. If you do find such problems, just drop us a line! We'll have it fixed right away and make sure everything works flawlessly when the official version of Windows 10 Mobile is available.

By the way, buying Token2Shell/MD from Windows Store allows you to install it on both PC and smartphone without additional cost. So if you're in Windows 10 Mobile Insider program or in the market for an SSH client, you should definitely check out our Token2Shell/MD! It's now even on sale for $.99 (USD) until 11/5/2015!