ICS - Internet Component Suite - V9.3 - Delphi 7 to RAD Studio 12 ================================================================= (Aka FPIETTE's Components) Revised: September 25, 2024 Release: V9.3 https://www.overbyte.eu/ https://wiki.overbyte.eu/ https://svn.overbyte.be/svn/ ICS is a free internet component library for all Delphi, C++Builder, BDS and RAD Studio versions. It includes TCP, UDP, raw sockets, clients, servers, as well as all the main high level protocols such as FTP, SMTP, POP3, NNTP, HTTP and more. ICS also supports SSL/TLS with the help of OpenSSL. ICS contains many sample applications developed over 25 years, used to develop and test ICS for Windows VCL and FMX applications. Pre-Built Samples ----------------- All the main ICS active samples are available as prebuilt executables, to allow ease of testing without needing to install ICS and build them all. They are available to download from the wiki pages: https://wiki.overbyte.eu/wiki/index.php/Main_Page as four separate zip files split into clients, servers, tools and miscellaneous samples. All are built with Delphi 11.3 and those SSL/TLS are built with OpenSSL embedded to needing external DLLs to be distributed. The zips include a few extra SSL certificate and other files to support the samples. These samples should not treated as commercial applications, they are merely to illustrate the type of applications the ICS components can be used to create. ICS Tool Samples ---------------- OverbyteIcsBatchDnsLookup Multiple DNS lookups using TIcsDomainNameCache component OverbyteIcsJoseTst SSL Json Object Signing (Jose) Demos, used for REST and OAUTH2 OverbyteIcsNetMon Internet Packet Monitoring Components, using TIcsMonSocket and TIcsMonPCap OverbyteIcsNetTools Network Tools Demo, uses all the main IP Helper functions and many other components OverbyteIcsNsLookup DNS lookups using the TDnsQuery component, all request types. OverbyteIcsPemTool SSL/TLS Certificate Tool, process certificates using TX509Base and TX509List OverbyteIcsPingTst Trace route and pinging using the TPing and TPingThread components OverbyteIcsWhoisCliTst Whois client, looks up servers automatically, using TIcsWhoisCli component OverbyteIcsWmiTst WMI functions, general purpose, update Windows IP addresses and DNS Server records OverbyteIcsX509CertsTst Download SSL X509 certificates from Let's Encrypt using TSslX509Certs component Getting Started with ICS ------------------------ ICS has a large number of sample application whose primary purpose is to test all the components and to learn about using those components and how to use them in your own applications. There are often several samples for a single protocol with different purposes, so this section should help get you started choosing the components and samples for your internet project. ICS often offers low and high level versions of components, the former allow your application to send the various commands used by the protocol but you need to send those commands in the correct order often dependent upon the result from earlier commands, so you need to understand the protocol, but have control over the commands. The high level components are quicker and easier to implement because they hide most of the protocol and offer complex methods instead such as download a file, they often include extra functionality. Historically, most ICS components are available on non-SSL and SSL versions, these notes assume you are using SSL/TLS components which are often essential today. Note most low level component need SSL/TLS adding using an SslContext and need SSL certificate chain checking added to applications, while the higher level components mostly already include the SslContext and chain checking and hide much of the SSL/TLS complexity making them faster to implement and easier to maintain as SSL changes. Create, Order or Review SSL/TLS Certificates -------------------------------------------- ICS contains many functions for processing SSL/TLS X509 certificates and private keys. TX509Base in unit OverbyteIcsWSocket may contain and server or client certificate, private key and one of more intermediate certificates, and has properties to display most of the certificate elements, all tested by sample OverbyteIcsPemtool. TX509List contains multiple certificates, typically a root store loaded from a PEM file. TMsX509List will load certificates from any Windows Certificate Store including private keys. TSslCertTools in unit OverbyteIcsSslX509Utils can read, create and save certificates, private keys, certificate requests and sign requests as a certificate authority. The OverbyteIcsPemtool sample can be used to create certificates and private keys in various RSA, EC and other formats, create certificate requests and sign requests as a certificate authority, and convert certificate files between different formats, by reading as one and saving as another, also combining keys and certificates in a file. Root stores and single certificates may be to be viewed. Certificates and private keys in Windows Stores may be viewed and deleted, and a PEM or PFX certificate bundle installed into any Windows Store. TSslX509Certs in unit OverbyteIcsSslX509Certs, tested by sample OverbyteIcsX509CertsTst which automatically downloads SSL/TLS X509 certificates from various issuers, including free certificates from Let's Encrypt, and commercial certificates from CertCentre AG. Supports ACME V2 protocol, and REST protocols for specific vendors. Domain and DNS validated certificates should generally be issued without intervention, other commercial certificates may take days to be approved. This unit may be added to ICS server applications using IcsHosts for automatic ordering, while the sample may be separately used to order certificates manually, including DNS validated wildcard certificates from Let'S Encrypt. All orders are kept in a database to allow automatic or manual re-ordering before expiry. Lookup Domain Names, DNS ------------------------ Simple DNS host look-ups using the DNS servers configured for Windows are done using the DnsLookup method in TSslWSocket and also the ReverseDnsLookup method, both fire an event with potentially multiple results, tested by sample OverbyteIcsDnsLook. These methods are used by almost all ICS components, although they currently only use the first IPv4 or IPv6 result returned, if more than one. TDnsQuery in unit OverbyteIcsDnsQuery allows more complex DNS requests to be made to specific DNS servers to get all DNS records such as MX or TXT, tested using sample OverbyteIcsNsLookup. It includes a list of public DNS servers including Google, Cloudfare, OpenDNS and others, and will access these sequentially if one does not respond. TDnsQueryHttps in unit OverbyteIcsSslHttpRest adds DNS over HTTPS for secure lookups. Also tested with sample OverbyteIcsNetTools. TIcsDomNameCache and TIcsDomNameCacheHttps cache forward and reverse DNS lookup requests, mainly for diagnostic components but also for servers logging remote access. May be configured to use Windows lookup, UDP/TCP using TDnsQuery or HTTPS, testing using samples OverbyteIcsBatchDnsLookup and OverbyteIcsNetTools. Unit OverbyteIcsWmi contains a number of functions for accessing a Windows DNS Server (Windows Server 2012 and later) to list DNS zones and zone records, and to add zone records, tested by sample OverbyteIcsWmiTst. The functions are also used by sample OverbyteIcsX509CertsTst to add DNS records for the ACME DNS challenge. Network Diagnostic Tools ------------------------ TPing and TPingThread in unit OverbyteIcsPing is used to ping any host to see if it's available on the internet, note some hosts may deliberately not reply, tested by samples OverbyteIcsPingTst and OverbyteIcsNetTools which both include trace route. TIcsWhoisCli in unit OverbyteIcsWhoisCli makes Whois requests to get details for the registrations of domain names and IP address ranges, tested by samples OverbyteIcsWhoisCliTst and OverbyteIcsNetTools. The component has a large list of Whois servers for various countries around the world. TIcsMonSocket in OverbyteIcsMonSock provides internet packet monitoring using raw sockets. TIcsMonPcap in OverbyteIcsMonPcap provides internet monitoring using the Npcap NDIS driver. There are both tested using sample OverbyteIcsNetMon which is similar to the WireShark diagnostic tool and can be used to monitor internet packets on a LAN, with filtering using TIcsMonFilterClass to include or exclude IPs, port or protocols. TIcsIpChanges in OverbyteIcsIpHlpApi monitors IP address changes and calls an event for new IPs configured or old ones removed. TIcsNeighbDevices in OverbyteIcsIpHlpApi builds a historic LAN MAC device and IPv4 and IPv6 address table using ARP, neighbourhood and IP range scanning with reverse host lookup. Both are tested with sample OverbyteIcsNetTools which also uses several other IpHlp functions including IP Connections list, Network Adaptors and Interfaces, IP Routing and Path tables, ARP tables and Network Statistics.