SSL in VB? 1

[chaitu]

Is it possible to use SSL, when establishing connectivity to Internet, through a VB code?

If yes, is there any API and/or a function to do this.

All I want is,
I am using InternetConnect() function, but I want to do this with SSL. Is it possible?

cheers,
Chaitu

 

[mostevil]

I've also been looking into this. It seems to be a big chunk thats missing from the internet API's.

The only answer seems to be to use third party com/activeX solutions. There are some on component source and I'm trying one from Dart Communications as we speak. The down side of this is that they all seem to weigh in at around $500 US. Not very impressive for something that you'd expect to be a part of the internet SDK's.

I know it's a little late to reply to this thread, but it's already cost me a few days and I hope it can save someone else similar efforts.

 

[dilettante]

Have you considered the WinHTTP API or the WinHTTPRequest Object?

This was designed as a server technology, and is much more robust than WinInet. It has some limitations however: it requires NT4 & IE 5.01, or else Win2000 (which includes IE 5.01 or later).

To use SSL you'll need a client certificate, but you might be able to "borrow" IE's from the client machine's local certificate store. I haven't tried this.

While meant as a "server side" technology, this doesn't mean you can use it to create an HTTPS server. It was designed to allow server-side logic at the web server to perform "client" actions against a second server. SOAP transactions, "web scraping" and so on. In other words your web server was to look like a browser to a second web server. In other words, there's nothing like a Bind or Listen method.

I'm pretty sure this is about all it can be used for. It wouldn't offer something like an SSL version of a raw TCP socket for general-purpose communication. It only does HTTP/HTTPS.

You'd use this to build a browser from scratch for example, or maybe a client that acts like a browser (from the server's poit of view) but does something else, like web crawling or HTTP file downloads. Or a custom client that interacts with a server using SOAP.

You didn't give specifics, so I can't say whether it might meet your needs.

See

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/winhttp/http/winhttprequest.asp

 

[JohnYingling]

I use the WebBrowser control and do nothing special to communicate lawfully with a Credit Bureau site that requires Https communication. The certficate is on their side. I use DHTML calls on the resulting Document to fill in and navigate four screens.

http://www.VBResizer.com

Forms/Controls Resizing/Tabbing Control

http://www.VBCompare.com

Compare Code (Text)

http://www.VBSortGen.com

Generate Sort Class in VB or VBScript

 

[mostevil]

dilettante, thanks, I think this is the kind of thing I've been searching for.

"a custom client that interacts with a server using SOAP."
thats exactly what I've been trying to do

I've just found the INet control (microsoft internet controls) that looks like it might be capable too. It has an option to use https. I'll do some testing with both and see where it takes me. I'm sure there must be others out there struggling with similar issues.