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Proxylet Overview

Proxylet is a dynamic proxy server that runs on a client machine. It simply directs requests between the client's browser and the gateway. The following topics are discussed:

Setting Up the Proxylet

Proxylet is enabled and configured from the Identity Server administration console. The domain and subdomain for locations for Proxylet are specified in the gateway profile. If a URL is not part of a domain that the gateway handles, the request is directed to the Internet.

When Proxylet is downloaded, it checks the client machine for the following:

If the requirements are met, then a small applet is downloaded and launched on your machine. If your machine does not have JRE 1.3.1 or higher, then it is automatically downloaded with Proxylet.


Note

The URLs appear to be HTTP in the address bar, however, the Proxylet establishes a secure connection to the Gateway which provides the effect of HTTPS.


Setting Browser Permissions

You need to set the appropriate browser permissions to launch and run Proxylet.


Note

Some companies disable the ability to set browser permissions. If this is the case, you will not be able to perform these procedures.


    To Set Internet Explorer Browser Permissions for ActiveX.

Go to Tools -> Internet Options -> Security Tab -> Custom Level and Set to Enable/Prompt for the following options:

  1. Download signed ActiveX controls
  2. Run ActiveX controls and plug-ins
  3. Script ActiveX controls marked safe for scripting

These values are set to Prompt by default unless you have explicitly changed the settings.

    To Set Netscape and Mozilla Browser Permissions

You need to enable caching for Netscape and Mozilla to download and run signed scripts.

To do this, set some value for Memory and Disk cache under Edit->Preferences -> Advanced Category -> Cache.

    To Configure PDC for the Proxylet

  1. Export the client certificate from the browser in one of the following formats:
  1. Go to the Control Panel and Launch Java Plug-in
  2. Choose Advanced Tab, Java Runtime Environment
  3. Specify the Java Runtime Parameters.
  4. For example:

    Djavax.net.ssl.keyStoreType=pkcs

    Djavax.net.ssl.keyStorePassword=testing123

    Djavax.netl.ssl.keyStore="C:\dir\test.cert"

  5. Click Apply.
  6. Close the Java Plug-in and restart the associated browsers.

Security Alert Pop-Ups

Depending on your security level settings, you will see several security pop-up dialog boxes when Proxylet runs on your machine:

Exiting the Proxylet

Proxylet restores the original proxy settings when you:

Status and Error Messages

The Java console displays status and error messages.


Note

If the system crashes or in case of an ungraceful shutdown you must manually reset the proxy settings.



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