Start me up wrote on 2025-11-03, 03:48:

Здравствуйте ATauenis,
as you probably know, most people who use old browsers are using old operating systems. Using an old browser is - in most cases - no benefit compared to using a newer version. We just use it, because the new versions don't run on old operating systems. So your main audience are people using old operating systems.

Yes, WebOne is intended to provide Internet access via old browsers from old operating systems and, probably, old hardware.

Most of people who want this, are also using a some other modern PC and a local network router (WiFi or wired, not matter, in most cases that device contains both function). So it is not a problem to connect an old PC and an modern PC to same network, and map Internet traffic from old PC to modern PC. And even if there are no modern PC or if it is more nice to have it turned off when using old PC, WebOne can run on $35 microcomputers like Raspberry Pi (a better choice) or even Android smartphone (an used 2-3 years old phone may cost $0 in some cases, but Android is a bit difficult OS than plain Linux).

I can't imagine any environment where there is only old PC and nothing newer presents nearby.

LSS10999 wrote on 2025-11-03, 04:53:

Don't know if self-contained releases can be made work with Win7/2008 R2, however.

They are starting on Win7, but the main process is eating 99% of system RAM and crashes due to out-of-memory error in few minutes. This is a bug of .NET 7 and up. Microsoft knows this since .NET 7 beta test, but they're don't want to fix.

LSS10999 wrote on 2025-11-03, 04:53:

In fact, even .NET 6.0 normally required some ESU stuffs to work properly with Win7/2008 R2

Hmm, I have tested .NET6-based WebOne (v0.12 and up) on Win7 since start of development, and found no problems on ESU-less systems. The required updates are released near ~2015, and other are released few years before 2020 (updates need to start the app are even included in 2013 ISO image of Windows 7 SP1, which I also used some time, but it lacks modern TLS support).

Also I have used Visual Studio 2019 with some tweak to support .NET6 SDK, and experienced no problems at all (until some last its update, so frozen updates on 6.0.133). Sadly, but the tweak does not work with .NET8 SDK, and I cannot continue use VS 2019 (even however SDK CLI is working, its MSBuild v17 is not supported by VS 2019, and it still using own MSBuild v16, which is banned by SDK code, so the tweak works only on a half).

Theoretically it is possible to continue publish NET6-based releases, compatible with Win7, as before, but this will need a bit difficulty build scripts. As the procedure looks as change "webone.csproj", then build via NET6 SDK, then change it back to original state.

LSS10999 wrote on 2025-11-03, 10:26:

I don't think it's easy to target older OSes directly so as to, like you said, be able to run WebOne on the same machine that would be browsing the web with it.

Also modern HTTPS processing, image files converting, takes a lot of CPU and RAM resources. It is very minor on modern multicore systems starting from Sockets 775/AM3+, but enough fat on older. Even Pi 1B requires a CPU overclock to get a near-reasonable performance.

ATauenis wrote on 2024-05-29, 11:05:

With latest version of WebOne and update of Escargot, now all versions of MSN Messenger (1.0 - 2009) are working on all OSes. Previously there were problems with version 4.7 and up on Windows 9x/2000 and pre-SP3 XP. Now, all are working. So it's now possible to run MSN Messenger 5.0-7.0 under Windows 98 and successfully connect it to Escargot network. As well as "classic" Messenger 4.6.

Hi, I am trying to connect MSN Messenger 5.0 to escargot.chat on Windows NT4
I have setup WebOne proxy, but I am unable to get MSN Messenger 5.0 to login, but I read the above quote that says all versions on all OSes. Is this possible? I also read elsewhere that older OSes do not support the correct ciphers, so I am confused as to which is possible.

I am using WebOne 0.18 running on WinSvr 2025 VM.

Windows NT4.0 is running on physical Thinkpad T42

Thanks

Edit, I should of said that MSN Messenger 4.6 is connecting to escargot ok, tried to edit post, but I dont see edit button on VOGONS

bedrock wrote on 2026-01-13, 14:25:

MSN Messenger 4.6 is connecting to escargot ok

bedrock wrote on 2026-01-13, 14:23:

but I am unable to get MSN Messenger 5.0 to login

This is because you need to configure NT4 to use proxy in Internet Properties (MS IE settings) for all protocols (not via MSN settings), and also need to enable old ciphers in Windows Server 2025 registry:
https://github.com/atauenis/webone/wiki/HTTPS … ws-server-hosts

MSN Messenger 4.7+ uses same ciphers as installed MS Internet Explorer. And 4.6 and earlier are don't using any ciphers (and are using own proxy settings; all newer versions really using system proxy setting, not own).

bedrock wrote on 2026-01-13, 14:23:

I also read elsewhere that older OSes do not support the correct ciphers, so I am confused as to which is possible.

https://github.com/atauenis/webone/wiki/HTTPS … SL#used-ciphers

bedrock wrote on 2026-01-13, 14:25:

tried to edit post, but I dont see edit button on VOGONS

Look to the button with a pencil icon.

Thank you for the reply. I believe I have the proxy settings correctly in IE6 on WinNT 4, but I hadn't imported the old ciphers onto my proxy server VM. I have now, but unfortunately it has made no difference. Please let me know if this is the right place for support or I should open an issue on github page?

I'm don't see attempts to access MSN login server in log. Below is an example how it should look.

14.01.2026 12:09:10.894+417196 >CONNECT nexus.passport.com:443 (192.168.159.13)
14.01.2026 12:09:10.986+254534 >[nexus.passport.com] GET /rdr/pprdr.asp (192.168.159.13)
14.01.2026 12:09:10.986+285027 Fix to https://msnmsgr.escargot.chat/rdr/pprdr.asp internally
14.01.2026 12:09:10.986+286204 >Downloading content...

Probably this is because the MSN Messenger client attempts to connect to it bypassing proxy.

Try to specify this configuration:

This is under XP, but I have previously tested with NT4, and it worked too.

If this don't help, try to open anything via HTTPS in MSIE6, say, https://google.com. Does it working via WebOne?

Version 0.18.1 is ready.

• Added support for online playback of MP3 music via WinPlay3.
• Added fix for MSIE 7.0 initial start page.
• Added fix for Windows 95 initial start page of MSIE 3.0 on some languages.
• Added fix for Windows 98 initial start page of MSIE 4/5 on some languages.
• Added fix for Mozilla 1.x, Netscape 6.x/7.x SSL support.
  Note: if you're upgrading from previous WebOne versions, it's need to rebuild and reimport WebOne CA Root Certificate.
• Added fix for Google new start page's telemetry flood.
• Added support for using Yt-dlp with external JS engines to download from YouTube.
  Specify in your WebOne configuration file at [WebVideoOptions] -> js-runtimes=node or js-runtimes=quickjs, which engine to use. Or don't specify anything if Deno is installed. More details here.
• Fixed passing some arguments to Yt-dlp or FFmpeg, used in Retro Online Video Player.
• (Windows builds) Updated bundled Yt-Dlp version.
• Fixed possible 100% CPU load and server freeze in case of inability to write messages to log file.
• Improved performance in HTML/CSS/JS/XML processing.
• Improved performance in non-HTTP tunnel modes (such as IRC-proxy-IRC, IRC-proxy-IRCS, IRCS-proxy-IRCS).

Download page: https://github.com/atauenis/webone/releases/tag/v0.18.1

Hello! I am using WebOne version 0.18.1 (self contained, as the version of visual studio it supports does not work in windows 7) on a local machine, trying to get internet explorer 8 to work, and it keeps giving this stream of lines for a while:

It keeps saying this for a while, until eventually the page gets timed out. Do you know any fix for this error? I already added things such as SSL certificates, so I don't know exactly what the problem is. I suspect its the fact it keeps pinging web.archive.org:443, but I don't know how to fix it.
Thanks in advance.

UPDATE: I have managed to get rid of thatlooping that caused webone and ie8 to time out, but now I am stuck with another error screen

It appears in every site I try to enter, and I haven't been able to figure out a way to get through it. Do you know the fix, by any chance?
Here is my current webone.conf file, if you find it necessary.

I will keep you updated if I encounter any other errors.
Thanks again in advance.

@ATauenis : First of all this is an awesome project, thanks! Sorry for the noob question but when I try this in IE 5 in Win98 SE, it looks like this on my end (see picture attachments). Is this intended? I double-clicked WebOneCA certificate on my Win98 machine and installed the certificate that way, and on the host Win10 machine I created inbound and outbound rules allowing port 8080. Is there any step I missed that will enable proper rendering in Win98's IE5? I ask this because in the first post itself you had posted a screenshot with Internet Explorer properly rendering vogons website

TopSuperDude wrote on Today, 02:08:

UPDATE: I have managed to get rid of thatlooping that caused webone and ie8 to time out, but now I am stuck with another error screen

The attachment Untitled.jpg is no longer available

It appears in every site I try to enter, and I haven't been able to figure out a way to get through it. Do you know the fix, by any chance?

Hello. Request-loop can be fixed by uncommenting

1UpperProxy=no

in webone.conf file. Without this line (default state), both IE and WebOne tries to open everything via WebOne, and no byte sends to real Internet, so nothing works. With line WebOne will access Internet directly, and IE8 will use WebOne to connections.

xtreger wrote on Today, 06:04:

Sorry for the noob question but when I try this in IE 5 in Win98 SE, it looks like this on my end (see picture attachments). Is this intended?

Hello. It is as currently designed. WebOne does not fixing everything in stylesheets, and many sites still are displaying incorrectly. Especially under very old browsers like IE 5.

xtreger wrote on Today, 06:04:

I ask this because in the first post itself you had posted a screenshot with Internet Explorer properly rendering vogons website

That screenshot is made in 2019, when Vogons used different style (a SubSilver2 variation), which worked well in IE5/6. Really it were a popular forum skin from IE5 era with just other colors and images.

Now Vogons is using a different style, not based on any known (even not a ProSilver, which can be downgraded to phpBB 3.0 edition of it with more or less correct work just by a HTTP traffic patch), and it requires some like Firefox 40 or Chrome 40 to display. Via WebOne it is working in Firefox 3.6, 4.0 too with small amount of errors. But there is a big gap between Firefox 3 (and even 2.0) and MSIE 7 (forget about 5.0) in capabilities. So adapting the style for MSIE 5 is almost impossible. Theoretically it is possible to create a some kind of style-placeholder, which will implement at least colors. But it is a large work. In theory it is possible.

ATauenis wrote on Today, 09:11:

Hello. Request-loop can be fixed by uncommenting […]
Show full quote

TopSuperDude wrote on Today, 02:08:

UPDATE: I have managed to get rid of thatlooping that caused webone and ie8 to time out, but now I am stuck with another error screen

The attachment Untitled.jpg is no longer available

It appears in every site I try to enter, and I haven't been able to figure out a way to get through it. Do you know the fix, by any chance?

Hello. Request-loop can be fixed by uncommenting

Copy code to clipboard

1UpperProxy=no

in webone.conf file. Without this line (default state), both IE and WebOne tries to open everything via WebOne, and no byte sends to real Internet, so nothing works. With line WebOne will access Internet directly, and IE8 will use WebOne to connections.

Thank you for replying, your command did partially fix the issue (now it doesn't seem to keep pinging web.archive.org:443, but now I am getting different problems for different kinds of sites I try to access.)
The only site that managed to work was http://neverssl.com, but it did load for a long time which I assume is normal.
When I try to enter the site http://frogfind.com, it gives me a "server error" message which I haven't seen before on this program

In sites like msn.com, which, I know, probably arent the best testing sites, it appears to "load" the page but its entirely white, so I suspect no conversion to a way ie8 can support is happening.

However, in the large majority of sites I have tried to enter, I recieve the following message, followed by a janky version of the site (the conversion again, doesn't appear to work)

I suspect this is due to the need for Visual Studio of this version of WebOne which I don't have because windows 7 SP1 doesn't support it. I can, of course, switch to an older version of the program, and in that case I'd like your advice regarding which version would work better.

TopSuperDude wrote on Today, 11:48:

Thank you for replying, your command did partially fix the issue (now it doesn't seem to keep pinging web.archive.org:443, but n […]
Show full quote

ATauenis wrote on Today, 09:11:

Hello. Request-loop can be fixed by uncommenting […]
Show full quote

TopSuperDude wrote on Today, 02:08:

UPDATE: I have managed to get rid of thatlooping that caused webone and ie8 to time out, but now I am stuck with another error screen

The attachment Untitled.jpg is no longer available

It appears in every site I try to enter, and I haven't been able to figure out a way to get through it. Do you know the fix, by any chance?

Hello. Request-loop can be fixed by uncommenting

Copy code to clipboard

1UpperProxy=no

in webone.conf file. Without this line (default state), both IE and WebOne tries to open everything via WebOne, and no byte sends to real Internet, so nothing works. With line WebOne will access Internet directly, and IE8 will use WebOne to connections.

Thank you for replying, your command did partially fix the issue (now it doesn't seem to keep pinging web.archive.org:443, but now I am getting different problems for different kinds of sites I try to access.)
The only site that managed to work was http://neverssl.com, but it did load for a long time which I assume is normal.
When I try to enter the site http://frogfind.com, it gives me a "server error" message which I haven't seen before on this program

The attachment Capture1.PNG is no longer available

In sites like msn.com, which, I know, probably arent the best testing sites, it appears to "load" the page but its entirely white, so I suspect no conversion to a way ie8 can support is happening.

The attachment Capture2.JPG is no longer available

However, in the large majority of sites I have tried to enter, I recieve the following message, followed by a janky version of the site (the conversion again, doesn't appear to work)

The attachment Capture3.JPG is no longer available

I suspect this is due to the need for Visual Studio of this version of WebOne which I don't have because windows 7 SP1 doesn't support it. I can, of course, switch to an older version of the program, and in that case I'd like your advice regarding which version would work better.

frogfind just gives "server error" to everyone

TopSuperDude wrote on Today, 11:48:

In sites like msn.com, which, I know, probably arent the best testing sites, it appears to "load" the page but its entirely white, so I suspect no conversion to a way ie8 can support is happening.

Probably WebOne is not properly working on Windows 7. When I have tested this last time MSN worked in IE via proxy (but the proxy have running on Windows 8.1). May be the system lacks some updates.

TopSuperDude wrote on Today, 11:48:

However, in the large majority of sites I have tried to enter, I recieve the following message, followed by a janky version of the site (the conversion again, doesn't appear to work)

ImageMagick utility needs latest Visual C++ Runtime.

TopSuperDude wrote on Today, 11:48:

When I try to enter the site http://frogfind.com, it gives me a "server error" message which I haven't seen before on this program

I'm see this error even under actual browser. Seems that FrogFind is no more working.