Version 2024R2 Released

Auron Software has launched a major update to its Auron SMS Server, introducing High Availability (HA) as the key feature. This update is a significant advancement for businesses that rely on SMS and messaging, improving system reliability and uptime.

With the introduction of High Availability, the SMS Server can now remain operational even during system failures. Previously, a single server setup posed risks for critical messaging applications. However, with HA, businesses can now deploy a two server setup where a secondary server actively monitors the primary server. As a result, this enables automatic failover if any issues arise, ensuring minimal downtime. This is especially important for industries such as finance, healthcare, and logistics, where uninterrupted communication is crucial.

SMS Server

The Auron SMS Server is a Windows server application that helps businesses integrate instant messaging and email into their business processes. The Auron SMS Server is commonly used to set up OTP systems, send appointment reminders, or send alerts. Additionally, because the Auron SMS Server can automatically process and reply to incoming messages, it is also commonly used for remote control applications or applications where customer confirmation is required.

Upgrading

For customers with a valid maintenance license, this update is available as a free upgrade. Auron Software also provides detailed guides to help users set up and use the new HA feature.

This update sets a new standard for operational reliability, making Auron SMS Server a vital tool for businesses looking to improve their messaging infrastructure.

For a full list of changes and upgrade instructions, please refer to the release notes. Detailed steps for setting up High Availability are available in the configuration section of the knowledge base.

The update is fully backward compatible with version 2024. You can test it by downloading a fully functional, 30-day free trial of Auron SMS Server 2024R2 here.

The Auron SMS Server 2024 is the next major version update of the Auron SMS Server. The Auron SMS Server is a Windows server application to help you integrate instant messaging and E-mail into your applications. Use it to connect to multiple SMS providers and send alerts, notification or mass mailings.

Our typical customers are banks, hospitals as well as customer support departments. The software is most commonly used for:

• Sending out transaction confirmations
• As middleware for 2FA or MFA applications
• Send automated notifications to customers or staff
• Interact with your customers or staff
• Various M2M applications
• Etc..

Improvements in version 2024

This release has seen a lot of important improvements across the board. The most important improvements are:

• Transitioned from the SQL Native Client driver to the MSOLEDBSQL, ensuring compliance with Microsoft’s updated security standards.
• Updated dependencies, including moving LocalDB to version 2022 for trial users.
• We’ve added examples that demonstrate how to use the internal message broker system that makes the Auron SMS Server responsive. With these examples connect into the notification system and setup custom notifications to make your own application more responsive.
• As well as many other improvements. Find a complete list in the release notes.

HTTP SMS and WhatsApp channels

Many providers are using HTTP to send and receive instant messages through their service. This is a list of providers that work well with the Auron SMS Server.

Setting up a new HTTP channel can sometimes be challenging as it requires a lot of technical knowledge since each provider has their own API.

Back in version 2022 we made the first big improvements by providing a streamlined setup for larger providers such as Twilio and InfoBip. With this release we’ve done even more to streamline the setup of completely new or unknown HTTP providers.

Try or upgrade

To try this version simply download the setup file here. After installation you can start a 30 day fully functional trial. The trial is in no way limited and will give you an excellent idea of the Auron SMS Server.

Upgrading is easy as well. Just download the same setup file, run it, and follow the instructions. The setup automatically upgrades your configuration.

Make sure that any existing C#, VB.Net or other compiled code that uses the Auron SMS Server API is recompiled after the upgrade. Also, always be sure to make a backup of your server and database before the upgrade.

Today we’re releasing another big update: The Auron SMS Component 7.2. In this version we’ve had the focus on improving the Auron SMS Agent for Android in addition to the component itself.

Auron SMS Component

The Auron SMS Component is an easy to use programming and scripting library for Microsoft Windows. You can use it for SMS as well as WhatsApp and a lot more.

Here are some common usages:

• Integrate SMS notifications from your Powershell or VBScript automations
• Setup SMPP client or server connections for high performance / high volume SMS sending
• Setup your own portable HTTP server to receive incoming WhatsApp messages or delivery reports from HTTP enabled SMS providers
• Quickly setup your own HTTP enabled API for your customers

Find the full documentation in our knowledge base. Find many programming and scripting examples on our GitHub page.

Auron SMS Agent for Android

With the Auron SMS Agent for Android you can send SMS from your PC using your Android phone. The Android SMS Agent is a small and easy to use application that runs on your phone and uses your WIFI connection to connect with the SMS Component.

It makes a lot of sense to use your Android phone for sending SMS. It’s a lot faster than most GSM modems and very reliable as well.

Find a full description on the Auron SMS Agent for Android page.

Improvements in SMS Component 7.2

In version 7.2 the Auron SMS Agent for Android has been greatly improved. It was already the fastest way to send SMS without using SMPP or HTTP. In version 7.2 you can have the application run in the background as well.

In addition we’ve taking another look at the Auron SMPP Simulator. The Auron SMPP Simulator is included with the Auron SMS Component and is a great way to performance or reliability test your SMPP client.

With the Auron SMPP Simulator you can now setup secure SMPP connections using TLS 1.2 or 1.3. You can select a security certificate from either your local machine or local user store.

Find the full list of changes in the release notes.

Download and try

Try the Auron SMS Component 7.2 today by downloading and installing the fully functional 30-day trial version.

You can also add the Auron SMS Component directly to your project by installing the nuget package from Visual Studio.

We’re happy to announce another major update for the Auron E-mail Component. In this new version we’ve made a number of improvements across the entire component but mainly in MIME encoding and decoding.

What is the Auron E-mail Component?

The Auron E-mail Component is an easy to use programming and scripting library for Microsoft Windows. You can use it directly from almost any scripting or programming environment to send or receive mails.

Use it when:

• You have to send notification e-mails from an server in PowerShell or VBScript.
• Your building an application that needs to search an IMAP inbox on Office 365.
• You want your Excel sheet to automatically E-mail the entire team

Find the full documentation in our knowledge base. Find many programming and scripting examples on our GitHub page.

Improvements in version 6.3

The big upgrade in version 6.3 is related to MIME encoding as well as decoding. We’ve been able to restructure and rework our engine with the goal of improving overall compatibility. You’ll notice this mostly in edge cases. For instance, when an e-mail declares a CP-1252 encoding instead of the more current ISO 8859-1 standard.

Improved MIME handling relates to the MIME structure as well. For instance an entirely binary e-mail now correctly presents as an empty e-mail with a downloadable attachment.

But of-course there have been other improvements as well. Find the full list in the release notes.

Download and try

Try the Auron E-mail Component today by downloading and installing the fully functional 30-day trial version.

You can also add the Auron E-mail Component directly to your project by installing the nuget package from Visual Studio.

Ensuring smooth communication between our computer programs is vital. That’s where Auron QuickServer steps in—a handy tool designed to make building and testing networking programs quicker and simpler. Build, test or simulate your TCP/IP socket applications with the Auron QuickServer.

Free and User-Friendly

Auron QuickServer is a tool that we having been developing and using in-house that we want make available for free. It’s crafted to make creating, testing, or simulating networking programs on Windows hassle-free. This tool streamlines the process, removing the unnecessary complexities usually associated with building programs that communicate with each other.

Setting up a program in Auron QuickServer is a straightforward process. Use the JavaScript feature in the QuickServer GUI to manage connections, all while having simple controls at your fingertips. Your changes to the JavasScript file are automatically and immediately effective.

Enhanced Security and Real-Time Monitoring

It’s easy to build a secure application. With just a click of the ‘Secure’ checkbox or the selection of a certificate, you can add TLS encryption to your applications.

In line with our commitment to quality, Auron QuickServer emphasizes real-time monitoring and logging. All actions are logged, providing developers with valuable insights into the application’s behavior. This helps with debugging, troubleshooting, and optimization.

Conclusion: A Robust Solution for Modern Networking

In summary, Auron QuickServer is a huge benefit for developers to build, test or simulate TCP/IP socket applications. Its user-friendly interface, streamlined setup process, robust security features, and versatile applications make it a go-to tool. With its emphasis on real-time monitoring and logging, Auron QuickServer is an indispensable resource in the toolkit of developers.

ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI, offers advanced language capabilities through OpenAI’s public API. With Auron Software, integrating ChatGPT into your applications becomes easy.

This article provides a guide on integrating the Auron SMS Server with the OpenAI API, enabling automated replies and image generation. Find a detailed technical explanation here.

Automatic Replies using OpenAI

OpenAI integrations offer a wide range of possibilities, including:

• Message Summaries: Generate concise summaries of messages or message chains for better understanding and organization.
• First-line Support: Integrate OpenAI with your knowledge base to provide instant support and answers to common queries.
• Wisdom Distribution: Generate intriguing and tangentially related statements based on user input.

To demonstrate the capabilities, let’s consider the following prompt and response:

The user sends a text to the Auron SMS Server which integrates with OpenAI to generate a response.

Image Generation using OpenAI

Another exciting integration possibility with OpenAI is image generation, which can add a fun and engaging element to your interactions.

In our example you can send an email with the subject line ‘DALL-E’ and include a description of the desired image in the body. OpenAI will reply with an image based on your description.

For example sending:

A person sending a text message in a city in the near future

Results in this image:

In conclusion

We are in an exciting era of AI advancements, with immense potential showcased by the progress made.

Stay at the forefront with Auron Software. Start experimenting now by downloading a free 30-day trial of the Auron SMS Server.

Follow this guide to effortlessly leverage ChatGPT’s capabilities for automatic replies and captivating image generation, enabling creative and interactive experiences.

We proudly present the Auron SMS Server 2023! With this major upgrade, we bring you many new features, and 2 main focus points: Database integration and Performance.

In this article we’ll introduce both points of focus and discuss some of the other new features as well. And as always, the full list with all the new features is available in the release notes.

Database Integration

The Auron SMS Server now has a direct database integration option. With this option you can send from, as well as receive into an external database.

With this feature the Auron SMS Server unlocks support for any ADO or ODBC enabled database such as:

• Microsoft SQL Server
• PostgreSQL
• MySQL / MariaDB
• Oracle
• And many more!

Performance

The new Auron SMS Server also includes a couple of big new features that increase performance and help with diagnosing performance related problems. The most important are:

• E-mail templates. Create templates for richly formatted HTML e-mails to speed up sending large batches of e-mail as well as to save space in your database. With an e-mail template each individual message only contains the changing values.
• Show Queue Occupancy. Review queue occupancy for each channel and trigger in real-time. This will help you spot any congestion anywhere in the system immediately.
• Optimized message routing. The Auron SMS Server 2023 has seen a complete rewrite of our message routing algorithm with performance in mind.

Other features

There have also been a lot of general usability improvements and new features as well. The release notes contains the full list, but we’ll mention a few here:

• Filters in Campaigns / Bulk wizard. You can now specify custom filters when sending e-mails or instant messages from Excel files, any database source or Active Directory.
• Everything is syntax-highlighted. This means that it’s a lot easier to compose HTML e-mails or to find placeholders in the bulk wizard. But it also improves specifying filters for campaigns or configuring an HTTP interface.
• Copy any configuration element. Copy views, channels, triggers, routing rules or blocking rules easily. This makes it a lot easier to setup more complex installations.
• New message fields. We’ve added some extra fields for your convenience. Amongst others: The last trace message as well as the last trigger duration.

Try or upgrade

To try this version simply download the setup file here. After installation you can start a 30 day fully functional trial. The trial is in no way limited and will give you an excellent idea of the Auron SMS Server.

Upgrading your existing installation is easy as well. Just download the same setup file, run it, and follow the instructions. The setup automatically upgrades your configuration.

Make sure that any existing C#, VB.Net or other compiled code that uses the Auron SMS Server API is recompiled after the upgrade. Also, always be sure to make a backup of your server and database before the upgrade.

Just simply sending a message through a cloud provider API is fairly easy for many software developers. But in doing so you’ll gloss over some important concerns.

This article details the added value of relying on the Auron SMS Server to integrate with your cloud SMS provider(s). Here are some of the most important benefits:

1. Continuity

Your service shouldn’t fail. This means that if your cloud provider is unable to send a message you need to:

• Retry on a different channel; Try sending as SMS instead of WhatsApp for instance.
• Retry with a different provider; Maybe your provider is down or there’s an interruption in your internet connection.
• Retry at a different time; It may be a temporary outage.
• Escalate by notifying your team. Automatically notify your tech team when messages aren’t coming through.

All of these things are easy to setup in the Auron SMS Server while some of these things are impossible to setup with any cloud messaging provider.

2. Uniformity

Each cloud messaging provider has their own unique programming API. Switching between providers requires a rewrite of expensive integration code. In addition, each provider has their own dashboard to wade through sent or received messages.

Instead you need to have:

• A single, searchable message store; All your message in the same place. Easy to search and inspect. Each message has a clear status and trace log.
• A single API for everything; Send and receive through any (cloud based) provider in the same way. Whether you’re sending SMS, WhatsApp or E-mail.
• No-code messaging provider integrations; Add new messaging providers and new messaging routes without having to program anything.

The Auron SMS Server Manager is the front-end of your configuration. The open-source Web Messenger is the way your office interacts with the Auron SMS Server. Tons of integration options make it easy to connect into existing software as well.

3. Flexibility

Every thriving business is always changing. The software stack you’re investing in must be able to keep up:

• Update your business rules without interruption of service; Add, remove and modify channels, routing rules and triggers at run-time.
• Import and move your configuration between a test and production server; It’s easy to maintain a test server and only move to production when everything is ready and tested.
• While enjoying maximum performance and minimal latency; All of this is built with performance and responsiveness in mind.

The Auron SMS Server is powered by its message bus architecture. This is a low-latency, high-volume industrial strength message bus that has earned it stripes and is ready for the future.

4. Confidence

The most important benefit is the confidence that your application is reliable and can run unattended.

And to show how we’re confident in this as well you can download a completely free fully functional 30-day trial!

And if you need any help with testing, don’t hesitate to contact us.

On October 1st in 2022 Microsoft is going to disable basic authentication in Exchange Online and Office 365. With Auron Software, you won’t miss a single e-mail.

This change affects anyone currently integrating with Office 365 using SMTP, POP3, or IMAP. It’s no longer possible to simply specify a username and password to send or receive email. Instead, you are recommended to use Modern Authentication (OAuth2).

In the following sections, we’ll cover how to prepare, how to configure OAuth2 in the Auron SMS Server and how to configure OAuth2 in the Auron E-mail Component.

How to prepare for OAuth2

In either case, you’ll need a client ID. This client ID identifies your application with Microsoft, ensuring that the Microsoft login page knows which application requires authentication.

Auron Software does not provide a generic client ID because client ID’s are vulnerable to spoofing attacks if they are leaked. In a spoofing attack, a hacker could pretend to be your application. That’s why it’s always much more secure to use your own client ID and to keep it confidential.

The next step is to make sure that SMTP, POP and IMAP is available on your Office365 account. Follow these instructions to confirm their availability.

For the Auron SMS Server

If you’re an Auron SMS Server customer, the next step is to verify your software version. Auron Software supports OAuth2 starting from version 2022, provided you have a professional or SMSC license.

You can verify this by starting the Auron SMS Server Manager and navigating to Help -> About.

If you’re not already using version 2022, you’ll need to upgrade. Before upgrading please review the release notes of version 2022 to get an overview of the changes and the upgrade instructions.

In version 2022 you can navigate to the channel settings of your e-mail channels and change the authentication setting to ‘OAuth’. For each channel you’ll always find the OAuth Authorizer which helps you grant access to the e-mail channel using your client ID.

And that’s it. You should now be all set and October 1st will pass without a hitch.

For the Auron E-mail Component

If you’re an Auron E-mail Component customer your component version should be 6.0 or higher, with either a Professional or Distribution license. If you’re not yet on version 6.0, you’ll need to upgrade.

Before upgrading please review the release notes for version 6.0 for an overview of the changes and the upgrade instructions.

If you’re on version 6.0, you can make use of the new OAuth2 object. This object helps you authenticate with OAuth2 and renew your bearer token.

Authenticate with OAuth2

Authenticating with OAuth2 involves directing the user to the Microsoft login page and obtaining your bearer token and refresh token.

To do this, you’ll need to know the endpoint URLs and scope values to configure. We’ve documented these values for Microsoft Office 365 here.

It’s also important to note that Office 365 only allows desktop applications to use the ‘Device Code Flow’. The OAuth2 object supports authentication exclusively for desktop applications.

Refreshing your bearer token

The OAuth2 object can assist with refreshing your bearer token. This process works in the background and does not require any user interaction. You can use it in both web applications and desktop applications.

Examples

The E-mail component examples now include a lot of OAuth2 related working examples.

With these examples and the new OAuth2 object you’ll be able to upgrade your applications and have October 1st pass without a hitch!

The Auron SMS Server 2022 greatly improves on e-mail security with the addition of modern authentication (OAuth2). In addition the SMS Server is now finally accessible through your web browser.

In this article we’ll introduce some of the most notable new features in the Auron SMS Server 2022. You can find the full list of all of the new features in the release notes.

Modern Authentication (OAuth2)

Modern authentication is the term Microsoft uses for OAuth2. OAuth2 greatly improves e-mail security and both Microsoft and Google are working toward moving to OAuth2 exclusively.

With OAuth2 you’re no longer storing your e-mail password in the e-mail channel configuration. Instead the channel guides you to the login portal of your e-mail provider. This way your e-mail provider can also inject additional security measures such as multi-factor authentication or key-card authentication.

OAuth2 support is also available for use in trigger scripts in case you need to authorize with OAuth2 to use an external API.

Auron Web Messenger

The SMS Server 2022 finally has a web interface. Use the Auron Web messenger to send SMS, WhatsApp or E-mail messages from your browser through any of the channels you’ve configured in the SMS Server.

The web messenger was already available after the setup as one of the example projects. It’s now a first-class citizen and you can automatically configure it from the configuration wizard during setup.

The full source code for the web messenger is also available as it still has it’s place in the example project folder as well.

Specialized Channel Wizards

It’s now easier than ever to setup a connection to the most common providers. We’ve added specialized channel wizard for Spryng, Twilio and Infobip as well as our own test and demonstration gateway. This means that if you want to connect to any of them you just have enter you account details and the channel will automatically be created.

Try or upgrade

To try this version simply download the setup file here. After installation you can start a 30 day fully functional trial. The trial is in no way limited and will give you an excellent idea of the Auron SMS Server.

Upgrading is easy as well. Just download the same setup file, run it, and follow the instructions. The setup automatically upgrades your configuration.

Make sure that any existing C#, VB.Net or other compiled code that uses the Auron SMS Server API is recompiled after the upgrade. Also, always be sure to make a backup of your server and database before the upgrade.