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Packet Sender Changelog

What's new in Packet Sender 8.6.5

Dec 28, 2023
  • Wake-On-LAN / Magic Packet generation tool
  • Showing full date in log (to support long-term testing)
  • A new built-in example for DNS over HTTPS. Note that examples are loaded upon initial install.

New in Packet Sender 8.6.3 (Dec 21, 2023)

  • Wake-On-LAN / Magic Packet generation tool
  • Showing full date in log (to support long-term testing)
  • A new built-in example for DNS over HTTPS. Note that examples are loaded upon initial install.

New in Packet Sender 8.5.2 (Oct 9, 2023)

  • Bug fix that prevented transitioning from HTTP/UDP sending.
  • Italian language translation (thanks Cifi79! #335)

New in Packet Sender 8.4.3 (Aug 21, 2023)

  • This update covers these underlying libraries:
  • Universal (Native ARM) binaries for Mac! It's finally here!
  • OpenSSL updated to 3.0.7 for Windows. This also uses the new Apache License, which does not require direct mentions.
  • Qt updated to 6.5.2 for Windows and Mac. This should improve 4K rendering.
  • There is one new feature update:
  • The Intense Traffic Generator CLI is now threaded and much faster (Windows and Mac only)

New in Packet Sender 8.3.5 (Mar 20, 2023)

  • Packet Sender now supports translations to:
  • English
  • Spanish
  • German
  • French
  • More importantly, the code has been reworked so more languages can be easily added. I hope to support more languages in future releases.
  • Other updates:
  • You can now launch the starter panel in read-only mode from the command line using --starterpanel option. This will be very helpful for control systems.
  • The {{TIME}} and {{DATE}} format can be customized.
  • The Windows version is now running Qt6. This should help with 4K rendering.
  • Traffic log can now be sorted
  • A starter panel is now bundled that demonstrates sending and panel transitions
  • Can now bypass the Linux gui test (using --gui)

New in Packet Sender 8.1.1 (Dec 19, 2022)

  • http mode on the CLI actually works now
  • Bug fix when recalling http versus tcp/udp packets in the main table
  • Intense Traffic generator now supports macros
  • CLI now supports macro translations
  • fix light mode TCP disconnect
  • CLI-only Packet Sender requires far fewer DLLs. Which ones to delete are noted in the README
  • Now code signing with a 3-year EV certificate (Windows virus checkers should be a little happier)
  • Added a VPAT and Contributor Covenant.

New in Packet Sender 8.0.9 (Jul 5, 2022)

  • HTTP(S) GET and POST support:
  • Packet Sender now has HTTP(S) POST/GET as first-class citizens! When doing persistent connections, it will render the HTML response.
  • When performing POST requests, you may specify data, and Packet Sender is smart enough to set the MIME type when making the request.
  • Panel Generator:
  • For developers of home automation and control systems (there are many of you!), and to support the very reasonable request of "How do I send multiple packets at once?", Packet Sender now has a Panel Generator feature.
  • See the updated README on how to use it. You can now create a button and list packet names inside the button. Click the button, and they all get sent out. You can also transition to a new panel or add delays. This allows very rapid prototyping of a complex control system.
  • CLI Intense Traffic Generator:
  • The intense traffic generator GUI gets a lot of use, but it is also pretty primitive. It will stay that way. The command line now has its own Intense Traffic Generator with more control knobs.
  • Multi-Line Editor:
  • Double-click either ASCII or HEX to bring up a new multi-line editor. The ASCII version is rendered in raw format for easy copy/paste.
  • Easier Portable Mode:
  • The portable version only requires "portableversion.txt" to become portable. This makes migrating to the newest version a lot easier.
  • Overhauled Documentation:
  • I hope everybody can find information they need easier. Stay tuned for much-requested tutorials, especially with the new panel generator feature.
  • Qt 5.15 and Qt 6.0 support:
  • Packet Sender is now built using Qt 5.15 but it has support up to the newest Qt 6 for those that want to compile using it. The AppImage is still using Qt5.9 via ifdef separators.
  • New Puppy Easter Egg:
  • My dog Bruce passed away last year. May his Easter Egg, Ctrl+DOG, that has been in there since Day 1 live on. I have added Ctrl+PUP for my new new puppy companions, Iris and Marigold.

New in Packet Sender 7.2.4 (Apr 2, 2021)

  • There is now a toggle switch for Dark Mode. It seems some of you actually prefer light mode (you monsters). The light mode is actually just dark styling turned off in attempt to better reuse the system OS style
  • Some touch-ups to the Dark Mode (maybe you will turn it back on?)
  • Macros now support re-use during persistent connections
  • The snapcraft snap has finally been fixed and a new build released
  • Complete from-scratch rewrite of the mobile apps, Android and iOS. The mobile apps are now pure native (Kotlin for Android, Swift for iOS).

New in Packet Sender 7.0.5 (Jul 27, 2020)

  • Dark Mode for all platforms!
  • Packet Starter set! Send immediately after installing!
  • Macro send support
  • Qt SDK upgrades
  • Installer upgrade (windows)
  • Lowercase executable (now for Mac --others already had it)
  • Socket race condition fix on persistent TCP
  • Long-overdue bug fix of empty TCP log entries
  • Multi-Send removed (was always buggy)
  • Clipboard copy modal prompt is now a quiet status bar notification
  • Persistent TCP UI is now a fixed-width font
  • Lots of compiler warnings cleaned up (the remaining warnings were very recently deprecated. They are left behind those so older compilers can still work.)

New in Packet Sender 6.2.3 (Jun 10, 2019)

  • Major additions:
  • IP-specific port binding.
  • For those that have multiple NIC or other complicated IP setups, this should be very helpful.
  • UDP flooding tool:
  • For when the normal send system is not enough, you can now hammer a target IP with packets to see if your device can handle it. This feature is experimental, but it is stable enough to be useful.
  • Minor enhancements:
  • Send UDP even if port is disabled.
  • Append r in persistent connections remembers last state.
  • Bug fixes:
  • Packet Sender Cloud is now UTF-8 to handle more characters.
  • Bug fix in named packets for command line parsing.

New in Packet Sender 6.1.25 (Mar 25, 2019)

  • Traffic log is significantly faster
  • The IPv4/IPv6 toggle is back.

New in Packet Sender 5.7.52 (Jun 26, 2018)

  • Noteworthy changes:
  • Unlimited servers (comma separate the ports)
  • Dark theme is now usable for Mac (making it look nice will have to wait)
  • Periodic TCP connection hang fixed in command line version
  • Qt version update
  • Also new:
  • Now using CI / CD support for more frequent and stable releases

New in Packet Sender 5.6.2 (Jan 11, 2018)

  • Cloud Support.

New in Packet Sender 5.4.2 (Sep 2, 2017)

  • This update fixes a UDP performance bug. UDP packets were doing additional DNS resolves that did not need to occur.
  • This was a pretty severe bug. There are no other fixes.

New in Packet Sender 5.4.1 Pre-release (Aug 9, 2017)

  • SSL Server support for the GUI.
  • File sending and copy to clipboard in persistent connection window
  • Upgrade to Qt 5.9
  • New macro: UNIQUE

New in Packet Sender 5.4 Pre-release (Aug 8, 2017)

  • Fixes:
  • SSL Server support for the GUI.
  • File sending and copy to clipboard in persistent connection window
  • Upgrade to Qt 5.9
  • New macro: UNIQUE

New in Packet Sender 5.3.1 (Aug 8, 2017)

  • SSL Client!. Also supported in persistent mode and on the command-line.
  • Session restore
  • File load option
  • DNS is now on-demand translated
  • Default TCP/UDP server ports are now dynamic
  • Command-completion in persistent window
  • Default copy format is now raw packet
  • Hotkeys (for automation through the GUI)
  • Gatekeeper on-launch bug fix for Mac

New in Packet Sender 5.3 Build 2017-02-18 (Feb 20, 2017)

  • SSL Client!. Also supported in persistent mode and on the command-line.
  • Session restore
  • File load option
  • DNS is now on-demand translated
  • Default TCP/UDP server ports are now dynamic
  • Command-completion in persistent window
  • Default copy format is now raw packet
  • Hotkeys (for automation through the GUI)
  • Gatekeeper on-launch bug fix for Mac

New in Packet Sender 2016-10-13 Pre-release (Oct 14, 2016)

  • The goal of this update is to better support macOS Sierra.
  • All the internal libraries were updated

New in Packet Sender 2016-07-23 (Jul 25, 2016)

  • Console version no longer requires GUI libraries. It is truly a "console" app
  • Lots of bug fixes with Persistent TCP
  • Console version now loops and waits the desired -w time
  • Note that zero is valid and can be used for dynamic binding

New in Packet Sender 2016-03-20 (Mar 21, 2016)

  • Persistent TCP Server. The UI dialog now appears.
  • Resend via persistent TCP renders UI dialog and keeps sending.
  • The HEX field is a lot smarter. Should be a lot easier to paste data.

New in Packet Sender 2016-02-23 (Feb 24, 2016)

  • Smart Responses and Macros:
  • Packet Sender now supports smart replies. See the new "Smart Responses" tab for more details.
  • Macros are now supported in Smart Responses: {{TIME}}, {{DATE}}, {{UNIXTIME}}, {{RANDOM}}
  • EBCDIC:
  • Packet Sender now has EBCDIC support in smart replies and as a keyboard shortcut on the ASCII screen.

New in Packet Sender 2016-01-24 (Jan 25, 2016)

  • Packet Sender now has an IPv4 / IPv6 toggle switch for its built-in servers. Click to toggle between them.

New in Packet Sender 2015-12-12 (Jan 23, 2016)

  • The combined IPv6/IPv4 engine that Qt now uses has shown to be very unreliable for Packet Sender's IPv4's persistent connections. Packet Sender's IPv6 bindings have been reduced until a better solution can be found.

New in Packet Sender 2015-12-05 (Dec 7, 2015)

  • Settings Save bug (TCP Server setting was getting lost)
  • Resend supports a single decimal point
  • Exit Resending after X number of sends
  • New IPv4 Subnet Calculator
  • Updated to Qt 5.5 libraries
  • Low level port number warnings
  • Resend warning if persistent connection set
  • Data size tooltip

New in Packet Sender 2015-08-22 (Aug 24, 2015)

  • Settings Save bug (TCP Server setting was getting lost)
  • Resend supports a single decimal point
  • Exit Resending after X number of sends
  • New IPv4 Subnet Calculator
  • Updated to Qt 5.5 libraries

New in Packet Sender 2015-05-27 (May 28, 2015)

  • Bug fixes related to settings

New in Packet Sender 2015-05-10 (May 11, 2015)

  • This is the first full release of Packet Sender that supports the new splitter-based UI and persistent connections:
  • Persistent Connections
  • Modern split UI
  • Menu system

New in Packet Sender 2015-04-19 (Apr 20, 2015)

  • Portable mode
  • Read in file from command line
  • Save traffic log

New in Packet Sender 2015-02-13 (Feb 14, 2015)

  • Packet Sender for Desktop is now open source
  • New vector-based logo
  • Bug fix in quick-disable/enable
  • Migrated to Qt 5.4
  • Forums are closed (spammers killed it).

New in Packet Sender 2014-10-07 (Oct 8, 2014)

  • Initial launch of forums.
  • Multi-Send.
  • Quick-send from traffic log selected packets.
  • Packet Export/Import.
  • Rolling traffic log support.
  • Numerous configuration settings added:
  • Copy raw packet data to clipboard.
  • Receive before send.
  • Connection delays for slow devices.
  • Command line interface default binds to 0.
  • Universal (XP through 8.1) Windows installer.
  • Migrated to Qt 5.3
  • Some rework of the "About" section.

New in Packet Sender 2014-02-22 (Feb 25, 2014)

  • TCP connections are now fully threaded (no more UI freezes).
  • Brand new and highly capable command line interface. (Run PacketSender --help)
  • Some mild UI enhancements to make sending easier.
  • Ubuntu version brought up to date.
  • Windows XP now separated. (Users, consider migrating )
  • Qt 5.2

New in Packet Sender 2013-11-18 (Nov 19, 2013)

  • Copy to Clipboard button on traffic log.
  • Name prompt for traffic log.

New in Packet Sender 2013-11-11 (Nov 19, 2013)

  • Bad installer on Windows. No other changes made.

New in Packet Sender 2013-11-09 (Nov 12, 2013)

  • Searching packets from traffic log.
  • Fixed some traffic log stability problems.

New in Packet Sender 2013-11-05 (Nov 8, 2013)

  • Added resending packets at user-specified intervals.
  • Traffic log sped up significantly.
  • Packet searching.
  • Table headers (both saved packets and traffic log) can be rearranged.
  • Response packet for TCP actually works now.
  • Response packet data can be manually updated.
  • About / License stuff moved to another tab.
  • Internal libraries updated.

New in Packet Sender 2013-05-20 (Sep 26, 2013)

  • Saving is less quirky.
  • Domain names can be used in IP address line. Packet Sender will do a quick lookup to find the IP.
  • Internal libraries updated.