SecureTunnel Desktop App

• The SecureTunnel utility is available in form of a desktop application and a command-line utility.

  The desktop app is a wrapper on the command-line functionality. It provides a visual interface to the tunnel settings.

• The desktop app works on Windows and Mac OS systems.

• It works with both HTTP and HTTPS traffic.

• The app is resource-friendly. It doesn’t have any specific requirements and can run on almost any machine, even on a “weak” one.

• For details of the tunnel functioning, see Local Testing — Secure Tunnels.

1. You can download the tunnel desktop app from the product UI.

   See instructions

   See instructionsSee instructions

   1. Log in to CrossBrowserTesting and click Secure Tunnel in the toolbar.

   2. In the subsequent dialog box, click the link on the Desktop tab page to download the SecureTunnel desktop installer:

      

      Click the image to enlarge it.

      Note:

      CrossBrowserTesting automatically provides the package that matches your operating system: Windows or MacOS.

   – OR –

   You can use these links to download the app:

   Windows:	https://sbsecuretunnel.s3.amazonaws.com/desktop-app/windows/SBSecureTunnel.msi
   MacOS:	https://sbsecuretunnel.s3.amazonaws.com/desktop-app/macos/SBSecureTunnel.pkg

2. Run the downloaded installer. It will set up the application on your machine.

   Depending on the security settings, the operating system may ask your permission to run the downloaded executable. Grant the permission.

3. The installer will launch the SecureTunnel desktop app automatically. Log in, specify the tunnel settings and create a connection.

   If the app didn’t start automatically for some reason (this could happen on some systems), run it manually.

   You need to launch the desktop app at least once after installing in order for it to complete its configuration.

You can start the tunnel from the CrossBrowserTesting website or your computer (see information below). Either way works fine. Select the mode that suits your needs best.

From the CrossBrowserTesting website

From your computer

The tunnel connects to the geo.tunnel.smartbear.com server through port 443. It is important that proxies and firewalls running in your network allow connection to this URL and port.

However, if your organization uses the Enterprise Connection Manager, then the connection to this URL and port is needed for that Manager. The tunnels that users set up on their machines don’t need it.

After the tunnel is up and running, you can create or run your tests as you regularly do. For details, see the following links:

Important notes:

• When you have the tunnel up and running, tests of all types — live, screenshots, automated (Record and Replay, Selenium, and others) — will send their traffic through that tunnel.

• It’s important to check if the tunnel is on before you start testing. See how you can do this.

• Due to specifics of some operating systems and browsers, the URLs that include localhost, local or 127.0.0.1 may not open through the tunnel. For information on possible workarounds, see How to refer to local resources.

Option 1 – From the website

Regardless of the way you started the tunnel, you can close it on the CrossBrowserTesting website: open the Secure Tunnel dialog box and click Disconnect:

Click the image to enlarge it.

Option 2 – From your computer

You can also close the tunnel from the desktop app — click Disconnect or Logout for this:

Click the image to enlarge it.

“Disconnect” will close the tunnel, but will keep you logged in, so you can quickly recreate the tunnel with the same or other parameters. “Logout” will close the tunnel and log you out.

Option 3 – From the command line

For information on the tunnel work mode and parameters, see Tunnel Settings.

• If you connect to the Internet via proxy that requires authentication, you need to set up tunnels via the SecureTunnel command-line utility and use certain command-line parameters to specify the proxy settings.

• You can use the SecureTunnel desktop app in automated tests. However, the command-line utility is more convenient for this as you can easily automate its start and stop.

• If you run several concurrent tests that require different tunnel types, you can set up a named tunnel. To do this, use the command-line utility.