Current Revision: 1.15 Why was PaKnPost Pro written? Like most software, to scratch an itch. In the corporate world, the size of email attatchments is usually restricted to preserve bandwidth and email server file system resources. This is frustrating for many users who have a legitimate need to send and receive large files. Most people understand email and web browsers, so PaKnPosT leverages this understanding by using HTTP via Web browser to convey files, and text email to notify file recipients. To ease corporate concerns, optional administrative controls feature file type and size restriction, user restrictions, virus scanning, encryption, password protection and anti-spam measures. How Does It Work? A user is presented with a Web interface for selecting up to ten files at a time which are uploaded to a unique Holding Area on the PaKnPosT server. The Holding Area is a directory having a randomized name with 1 x 10 to the power of 23 different combinations. The user is then prompted for their name and email address and the email addresses of recipient(s). The recipient(s) receive a plain text email including instructions for retrieving the shared file(s) and a confirmation email is sent to the originator. The PaKnPosT administrator may optionally allow users to password protect the Holding Area and/or strongly encrypt the files in the Holding Area. New Version 1.15! The PaKnPosT Pro 1.15 release includes bug-fixes and security enhancements. CREDIT for discovery of vulnerabilities and patching to Edvin Rustemagic and Grega Preseren, with thanks. It builds on 1.14 which incorporated: Support for a Contacts Directory! The Optional PaKnPost Pro LDAP Plugin makes it possible to create or refresh the Contacts Directory from a corporate Exchange address list or other LDAP compliant directory. The LDAP Plugin is only available by making a Donation An automated Plugin Installer for easy administration of system add-ons and enhancements, where these are released as Plugins Full user logging As of Version 1.11: Fully ported and tested on Win32 platforms! Easily installed on any compatible platform using the new cross-platform installer! Able to accept your custom CSS stylesheet control of look and feel! (thanks Lucian Pricop) Features At A Glance System Features Automated cross-platform installer or manual FTP based installation options Full system documentation Written in Perl, with some JavaScript, so cross-platform compatible. Fully ported and tested on Linux and Win32 platforms Easy upgrade from previous versions and installations of PaKnPosT Pro Dynamically generated HTML User FAQ, reflecting Admin selected configuration options Customisable CSS stylesheet or HTML wrapper to control suite look-and-feel Unique randomised Holding Area directory names to protect shared files, with 8 to the power of 10 different combinations May be used on an SSL enabled server for secure transmission of files Admin switchable extended error messages Automatic PaKnPosT Pro Plugin Installer Optional Contacts Directory of email addresses Optional LDAP Plugin to synchronise Contacts Directory with corporate email address books User Features Notification email sent to recipient(s), confirmation email sent to sender Sender may choose recipient(s) from a Contacts Directory Sender may elect to send notification email to one or many recipients Sender may include comments in the notification email Optional strong file encryption on the server Full aggregated statistics of files shared by the system, including breakdown of total MB shared by file type. Administrative Features System configuration via password protected Web interface, or direct edit of text configuration files Full user logging Admin defined username/password for Web configuration manager. Password is encrypted Admin defined shared file retention period with automatic Holding Area cleanup Admin definable limit on the number of notification emails sent to multiple recipients to minimise spam Admin optional check of User entered email addresses for valid email servers Admin optional virus scanning of uploaded files Admin optional restriction of domains able to access PaKnPost Pro Admin optional restriction of networks or individual machines able to access PaKnPost Pro Admin optional restriction of file-types Admin optional limit on uploaded file size Admin optional graphical validation code to minimise spam Admin optional set User defined username/password protection of Holding Area to further protect shared file Admin definable file size limits for encrypting files Admin option to enable user selection of recipients from a Contacts Directory Admin option to enable user selection of cc addresses from a Contacts Directory Optional LDAP Plugin to allow Admin to synchronise the Contacts Directory with a corporate email address book Admin optional restriction of networks or individual machines able to use the Contacts Directory Admin selectable notification email transmission method - either directly via local 'sendmail' or through external Mail Transfer Agent relay Admin definable 'blacklist' of recipient usernames who may not receive notification emails Admin definable 'blacklist' of recipient usernames who may not send notification emails Demo PaKnPosT Pro Demo (Please note that the demo has been bandwidth throttled in order to fully demonstrate the system features and to ease the load on the server). How Do I Make A File Sharing Facility On My Website? Easy! Download the PaKnPosT Pro software suite Follow the Installation instructions appropriate for your web server. If you have shell access to your web server you may use the automated install script which comes with the software suite. If you don't, you may install the suite manually. NOTE: Your web server needs to have Perl installed (most will have) and your web server will need to be configured to allow execution of Perl scripts (most already are). Use your web browser to configure and customise PaKnPosT Pro for your site That's it! Of course you are free to change the suite's appearance and graphics to suit your site's look and feel. What Does PaKnPosT Pro Cost? Nothing. Nada. Nil! There are no licensing costs... Of course if you wish to, you may make a Donation to help ensure the future development of PaKnPosT Pro, but this is not a condition of use. PaKnPosT Pro Plugins From time to time the PaKnPosT Pro team will release additional system functionality in the form of Plugins. Some of these will be bug-fixes or general system enhancements or upgrades and will be made available free of charge. Some Plugins will add Enterprise level functionality and will be made available only in response to a Donation. Plugins which may be accessed by making a Donation are listed on the Donation form when a "Donate" button is clicked. Assistance If you would like assistance with installing or customising PaKnPosT Pro, this may be available by emailing support@paknpost.com. All the contributors to the PaKnPosT Pro Project are volunteers, and whilst they are professionals, they are not paid. The Project supports itself on the basis of volunteer effort and user Donations. Whilst expecting nothing for simple requests and bug fixes, it would be very kind to make a Donation for more complex assistance. The more complex the assistance, the larger the Donation perhaps??. If you would like us to install PaKnPosT Pro for you on your site, talk to us! We'd be only too pleased to help you provide a world-class file sharing service BUT THE FOLLOWING NOTES WILL APPLY. IMPORTANT NOTES: Although all care and attention to detail will be taken for any assistance which requires members of the PaKnPosT volunteer team to access your servers, please note that NO WARRANTY OR RESPONSIBILITY WILL BE TAKEN BY PaKnPosT PROJECT MEMBERS FOR ANY REAL OR PERCEIVED DAMAGES OR LOSSES WHICH MAY RESULT FROM ANY ACCESS OR CHANGES MADE IN ORDER TO INSTALL PAKNPOST PRO OR ANY REQUIRED SOFTWARE. Please note that NO ACCESS OR CHANGES TO YOUR SERVERS WILL BE ATTEMPTED WITHOUT YOUR EXPRESS REQUEST AND PERMISSION IN WRITING AND THAT YOU SHARE ACCESS CREDENTIALS AT YOUR OWN RISK. Of course, we will NOT share these credentials with anyone. Reporting Bugs It happens from time to time... sometimes we screw up, or just write ugly code. If you suspect you've found something that is broken, or just plain ugly, please let us know by emailing support@paknpost.com. Thanks!