VanDyke Software

I am a consultant at Notes Development AG. We specialize in applications development and consulting services for IBM Lotus Notes and Domino. Since Domino runs perfectly well on Linux servers we always run one or more internal Linux servers in test, production, and development environments.

I use SecureCRT® for the maintenance of our internally and externally hosted Linux-based Domino and web servers. I also use SecureCRT to access routers and firewalls for command-line based management. SecureCRT is easy to use and it simply works and there is nothing complicated to deal with. Adding access for a new host is just a click away, and if you need SSH—and I always do—just select it and you are finished.

SecureCRT has never failed me. I recently had a problem with UTF-8. The VanDyke support team answered promptly and to my surprise, the version I was eligible to upgrade to for free already contained the UTF-8 support I needed ( I decided to pay for an upgrade to the very latest version anyway). I have yet to find anything that I need missing in version 4.1, but I'll update to 5.0 as soon as it is available in official release for the tabbed user interface and named firewalls. I used terminal emulators for many years before I purchased SecureCRT and I have never seen a better and more reliable product for this purpose.

I often need to upload configurations and install files from my PC. With SecureCRT, this is no problem. While others are messing around with FTP configurations and security settings I simply login to Linux, start "rz" and a dialog appears in SecureCRT that allows me to select the files to upload from my PC.

Even though Zmodem file transfer is good enough to get my job done, I am currently evaluating SecureFX® and I am very happy with what I have seen so far. SecureFX supports SFTP, which is in some cases the only method our customers permit for file transfers over the internet (most of our customers are large corporations with strong security policies and they've disallowed the use of FTP for quite awhile). Since I would like to have all my file transfer needs covered with one single solution, I can't think of anything better than what is offered by the tight integration of SecureFX and SecureCRT (FTP, SFTP, ASCII, and Xmodem/Zmodem).

I am the Technical Policy Advisor for a peak body of top-level domain registries, which are the organizations that run .com, .uk, .us, etc.

Although my role is difficult to summarize briefly, in essence I analyze new technology developments relevant to those organizations, help develop policies and assist implementation of them, as well as advocate our members' initiatives to a wider audience, such as at conferences and summits.

I use SecureCRT® mainly for communicating with my personal server at home in Australia, as well as our company's servers in Europe. As I travel frequently I need to contact these over many different networks. I have also deployed Entunnel™ to our other traveling staff so they can connect back from any network to send and receive mail securely, without needing to change mail settings all the time.

"I switched to SecureCRT when the security restrictions that Sarbanes-Oxley spawned came into effect. It has proven to be extremely powerful and feature rich."

In SCADA we are responsible for the control of the pipeline and the timely and reliable acquisition of field data.

I used CRT™ for many years to manage UNIX servers and various network devices.

A couple of years ago I switched to SecureCRT® when the security restrictions that Sarbanes-Oxley spawned came into effect. It has proven to be extremely powerful and feature rich. Its customizable interface makes managing multiple sites easy and efficient.

SecureCRT has become an essential part of my software toolbox.

I have been using CRT since version 1.4 or so - it's been quite a long while. I was, at that time, using a volume license for the company I worked for. I don't remember when I first registered a personal copy, but I believe it was about the same time as SecureCRT was first released. I've maintained my (single-user) registration since then, and recommended it to everyone who uses Windows.

I also evaluated PuTTY as an alternative Windows SSH client, and while PuTTY has a good feature set (and has the advantage of being open source, free, and extremely tiny), it's not designed in a way that makes it comfortable to use (for me, that is - I know there are many people who strongly prefer PuTTY) for long periods of time.

As of late, I am a senior UNIX engineer at an ISP here in Vegas, managing the webhosting and email clusters. All of our equipment, with the exception of some of our older routers and whatnot, uses SSH1 or SSH2, and many things also have serial interfaces, which SecureCRT is invaluable for connecting to. (Sure, there's Hyperterminal, but it's slow and unreliable.) I am also doing some consulting work, providing system administration and web design for all sorts of clients, on the side. Many of my day-to-day tasks involve using port forwarding to access local resources such as a MySQL server remotely, as well as SSHing into servers to perform maintenance and programming, and SecureCRT makes SSH forwarding quick, painless, and reliable.

The news that VanDyke is considering porting SecureCRT to other platforms is also great news to me, as I am using Windows less and less these days. It's very likely that, if it weren't for SecureCRT, I would have gone completely Linux and/or Mac for my laptop (poor workhorse laptop that it is - it sees use for both of my jobs, my personal use, and my schoolwork) long ago.

"I used CRT for a long time before switching to SecureCRT for security reasons. I prefer using SecureCRT to test our routers since it's more user-friendly (and secure) than some other options out there."

Netjam specializes in new, used, and refurbished network hardware from manufacturers like Cisco, 3Com, Barracuda, Sonicwall, and Motorola. We also do network consulting and support for clients that need that service.

We use SecureCRT® for network administration and transferring files to our Linux servers. We also use SecureCRT to connect to and test our routers and switches, to make sure they are fully working before shipping them to our customers. SecureCRT's built-in Secure Shell features and serial protocol support make testing easier.

I used CRT for a long time before switching to SecureCRT for security reasons. I prefer using SecureCRT to test our routers since it's more user-friendly (and secure) than some other options out there such as HyperTerminal.

"I've tried other freeware packages and have been unable to find the right options along with reliable scroll back (one of my most used features)"

I'm a self taught programmer analyst working at a small web development company. We use SecureCRT® to remotely manage Solaris-based Unidata/Web servers.

About two years ago we upgraded to SecureCRT because we needed to lock out all access to these machines that are fully exposed to the Internet. We do a bit of tunneling but mostly it's programming and system management.

I've tried other freeware packages and have been unable to find the right options along with reliable scroll back (one of my most used features). I probably spend 80% of my day looking at SecureCRT screens with an average 6-8 sessions open at a time and I keep the scroll back at max on all of them. I also use different color schemes to help identify dev, production, and backup servers.

Thanks for the good work.

"Although there are plenty of free and functional Secure Shell clients out there... there are a number of features in SecureCRT that make it irreplaceable. The support for tabs in 5.0 is fabulous."

At work I am a full time Java programmer and a part time sys-admin. Terracotta develops software to virtualize interactions between Java VMs, effectively making multiple JVMs transparently appear as one to the application. Terracotta unleashes Java from the I/O bottlenecks that hinder scalability, reliability, and performance in enterprise Java applications.

I first started using CRT™ as a replacement for the Telnet client that ships with Windows. I've always preferred to use Windows as my desktop OS, but a great deal of the work I do is on remote UNIX machines. Over the years, SecureCRT® has always been rock solid, and the terminal emulation has never missed a beat.

Although there are plenty of free and functional Secure Shell clients out there (PuTTY and cygwin come to mind), there are a number of features in SecureCRT that make it irreplaceable. The support for tabs in SecureCRT 5.0 is fabulous. Zmodem transfers are handy when I need to get/put files on remote servers (especially when I'm connected to remote servers through some twenty-hop port forward madness). Finally, I'd go crazy without being able to remap keys.

I've recently found a new use for the product. As many of you know, the native Windows command prompt window leaves a lot to be desired (no tabs, clumsy paste/select, limited font support, very slow scrolling, etc.). I am now running sshd (OpenSSH) on my local machine and use SecureCRT as the client. As a Java developer, I often need many terminal windows open and without SecureCRT, I'd really be suffering.

I've never hit a critical bug in the software (and I always run the latest beta releases).

I am currently a freelance consultant. I daily use SecureCRT® and SecureFX® in the development and maintenance of a couple of e-commerce solutions. I have been using CRT™/SecureCRT since the time when us Europeans only were allowed to use CRT because of the export restrictions. We were anxiously awaiting the possibility to use SecureCRT and I must say I have never had the need to look anywhere else for an SSH client.

Thank you for providing such excellent software.

"SecureCRT is a well-thought out and useful connection tool. We can't believe we used to 'make do' with old-fashioned Telnet applications."

I am the operating systems manager at Millersville University in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. We have about 8,000 students and 1,000 members of faculty and staff. In addition to taking care of all the UNIX and UNIX-like systems administration duties for centrally managed servers, our group handles both Microsoft Exchange for faculty and staff and web mail with a UNIX back end for students.

We discontinued Telnet to all our UNIX servers quite a few years ago, and we limit command-line access to those who really need it (and as systems administrators, the folks in my group really need it!). SecureCRT® is our SSH client on Windows desktops. SecureCRT is a well-thought out and useful connection tool. We can't believe we used to 'make do' with old-fashioned Telnet applications. I don't know what I'd do without the 'search in buffer' feature.

"I switched to SSH after we got cracked – it was a wake up call to shut down nonsecure protocols like Telnet and FTP."

I'm the IT director for a small company that manufactures gas analysis and detection equipment in the foothills of Colorado. I've been here for 15 years, and have been using VanDyke products since 2000, starting with AbsoluteFTP™, which was a good all-around FTP client. I switched to SSH after we got cracked – it was a wake up call to shut down nonsecure protocols like Telnet and FTP.

I use SecureCRT® to access my Linux servers - both at work and from home, which is nice. I use SecureFX® for all of my FTP needs (updating service packs, getting the latest Mozilla browser, etc.). It's the only FTP client I ever use.

I've never needed technical support – the software just works!

"With SecureCRT I can easily do my work from virtually anywhere on the planet... Who needs or wants an office!"

CRT™ (and now SecureCRT®) has been one of those "It works for me" products that I'm now putting on my customers' desktops. I've been using it for several years, and have found its convenience and reliability have made it my product of choice (having tried various other emulators). It's what I carry on my thumbdrive.

I started my company on May 1st, 1980 when my paycheck bounced, stranding both me and the defunct company's customers. We served those customers for about four months when we noticed we were in business and hung out our shingle. In those days we worked on Ohio Scientific (OSI) 6502 microprocessor-based business machines (timesharing a 2 MHz 6502 with a whopping 48K of RAM per user, and a giant 74 MB hard disk). We wrote OS extensions and applications software for accounting and medical practices. We also developed a multi-processor board for this system, each user having their own CPU running at 4 MHz, and eventually sold the board to OSI. When OSI went out of business, we moved on to UNIX, transferring all our development and applications software to the Intel / SCO UNIX environment, where we still play today (SCO and Linux).

I'm down to working in this field about ten hours a week; spending the rest of my time traveling and leading workshops. With SecureCRT I can easily do my work from virtually anywhere on the planet. I spent February in Hawaii preparing for and doing a workshop, March in Palm Desert, and in early April, I was in Mexico watching whales along the Sea of Cortez and at Scammons Lagoon – and checking my messages and supporting my customers remotely from my laptop while plugged in at an internet cafe. Who needs or wants an office!

I am a product planner at one of the import automobile companies. In addition to my core product planning responsibilities, I manage the company's product and strategic planning website, which I originally developed about 3 years ago. The site runs on FreeBSD/Apache.

I use SecureCRT to administer the production and test servers. I develop the site on my workstation and use SecureFX to upload the files. (The site contains over 14,000 files.) Many of the files are maintained by other individuals, so I use Quick Synchronize to find out which files on the server have changed and then I download the updated files to my workstation.

For my purposes, the SecureCRT/SecureFX combination is unmatched.

I am a system administrator with a Norwegian web hosting company where I administer about 150 Linux servers. SecureCRT® is the first program that I start in the morning and the last that I shut down in the evening. I have recently started using SecureFX® for transferring installation files, small scripts, etc. between my own computer and the servers, which I have discovered can be a real timesaver.

I have been dependent on a reliable SSH client in my job for several years and SecureCRT is unmatched for its stability. I also appreciate that SecureCRT is customizable in look and feel and I really appreciate the tab support in the new 5.0 release.

Tab support helps me a lot – since I work with so many servers I need many SecureCRT windows open at the same time. As you can imagine my taskbar wasn't very tidy with 20 or 30 active sessions before I got tab support.

I work as an SAP BASIS Administrator, which involves the installation, maintenance, and monitoring of SAP systems, primarily on UNIX-based servers. I am currently doing contract work at a large IT outsourcing company providing support to multiple customers. All access to customer UNIX servers is via mandatory SSH.

I use SecureCRT® and SecureFX® to access over 60 UNIX servers (that number increases because accessing the servers remotely from my employer's head office is via NAT'ed IP addresses, and working on-site at a customer site requires the actual TCP/IP address of the servers).

SecureCRT's user-defined Connect dialog folder tree allows me to arrange these entries into onsite and offsite categories, subdivided by customer and then server, all in one neat dialog. Each customer's configuration also includes a distinctive color background, so when I'm using SecureCRT and its tabbed interface, I simply cannot go wrong. And it's incredibly convenient to have all configuration available in both SecureCRT and SecureFX.

"I use SecureFX and SecureCRT... to safely manage the various surveys we run for our members.... We need to make sure that their data, and their customers' data, is safe."

Right now I'm working for MRA-The Management Association, which is one of the largest employer associations in the country, with over 2,000 member companies. Our members get access to human resource, management, and productivity information, services, and training.

I do marketing research and employee opinion surveys for our own use and for our members. I'm in charge of surveys and use SecureFX and SecureCRT and their SSH features to safely manage the various surveys we run for our members and ourselves. I SFTP items to our servers — putting up surveys and pulling data down. I also do some maintenance on our servers using SecureCRT.

When I found your software, we were looking for file transfer and remote administration products that were secure. When we do surveys on behalf of our members, we need to make sure that their data, and their customers' data, is safe. We didn't want to have to worry about lost or stolen information. We looked at another application, but it didn't come as highly recommended as VanDyke's product.

"I'm a network engineer and need to login to various routers, switches, and UNIX systems on a daily basis.... You make an essential program for my job, and every new version has made my job easier."

I'm a network engineer and need to login to various routers, switches, and UNIX systems on a daily basis. I use a Linux workstation on my desk when there, but have a Windows XP laptop for on-site, home, and travel. My group has been using SecureCRT® for a long time and we were able to convince our institution to site license it to secure communications.

I have recently upgraded to 5.0. Great job! The tabbed sessions are great, being able to rename them is a bonus, as is cloning, and especially integration of SFTP.

You make an essential program for my job, and every new version has made my job easier. Thanks goes to everyone at VanDyke.