<s>
WinGate	B-Application
is	O
an	O
integrated	O
multi-protocol	O
proxy	B-Application
server	I-Application
,	O
email	B-Protocol
server	I-Protocol
and	O
internet	B-Application
gateway	I-Application
from	O
Qbik	O
New	O
Zealand	O
Limited	O
in	O
Auckland	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
first	O
released	O
in	O
October	O
1995	O
,	O
and	O
began	O
as	O
a	O
re-write	O
of	O
SocketSet	O
,	O
a	O
product	O
that	O
had	O
been	O
previously	O
released	O
in	O
prototype	B-Application
form	O
by	O
Adrien	O
de	O
Croy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WinGate	B-Application
proved	O
popular	O
,	O
and	O
by	O
the	O
mid	O
-	O
to	O
late	O
1990s	O
,	O
WinGate	B-Application
was	O
used	O
in	O
homes	O
and	O
small	O
businesses	O
that	O
needed	O
to	O
share	O
a	O
single	O
Internet	O
connection	O
between	O
multiple	O
networked	O
computers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
introduction	O
of	O
Internet	B-Protocol
Connection	I-Protocol
Sharing	I-Protocol
in	O
Windows	B-Device
98	I-Device
,	O
combined	O
with	O
increasing	O
availability	O
of	O
cheap	O
NAT-enabled	O
routers	B-Protocol
,	O
forced	O
WinGate	B-Application
to	O
evolve	O
to	O
provide	O
more	O
than	O
just	O
internet	B-Protocol
connection	I-Protocol
sharing	I-Protocol
features	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Today	O
,	O
focus	O
for	O
WinGate	B-Application
is	O
primarily	O
access	O
control	O
,	O
email	B-Protocol
server	I-Protocol
,	O
caching	O
,	O
reporting	O
,	O
bandwidth	O
management	O
and	O
content	O
filtering	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WinGate	B-Application
comes	O
in	O
three	O
versions	O
,	O
Standard	O
,	O
Professional	O
and	O
Enterprise	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Enterprise	O
edition	O
also	O
provides	O
an	O
easily	O
configured	O
virtual	B-Application
private	I-Application
network	I-Application
system	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
also	O
available	O
separately	O
as	O
WinGate	B-Application
VPN	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
current	O
version	O
of	O
WinGate	B-Application
is	O
version	O
9.4.5	O
,	O
released	O
in	O
October	O
2022	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Versions	O
of	O
WinGate	B-Application
prior	O
to	O
2.1d	O
(	O
1997	O
)	O
shipped	O
with	O
an	O
insecure	O
default	O
configuration	O
that	O
-	O
if	O
not	O
secured	O
by	O
the	O
network	O
administrator	O
-	O
allowed	O
untrusted	O
third	O
parties	O
to	O
proxy	O
network	O
traffic	O
through	O
the	O
WinGate	B-Application
server	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
made	O
open	O
WinGate	B-Application
servers	O
common	O
targets	O
of	O
crackers	O
looking	O
for	O
anonymous	O
redirectors	O
through	O
which	O
to	O
attack	O
other	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
WinGate	B-Application
was	O
by	O
no	O
means	O
the	O
only	O
exploited	O
proxy	B-Application
server	I-Application
,	O
its	O
wide	O
popularity	O
amongst	O
users	O
with	O
little	O
experience	O
administering	O
networks	O
made	O
it	O
almost	O
synonymous	O
with	O
open	O
SOCKS	O
proxies	O
in	O
the	O
late	O
1990s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Furthermore	O
,	O
since	O
a	O
restricted	O
(	O
two	O
users	O
)	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
product	O
was	O
freely	O
available	O
without	O
registration	O
,	O
contacting	O
all	O
WinGate	B-Application
users	O
to	O
notify	O
of	O
security	O
issues	O
was	O
impossible	O
,	O
and	O
therefore	O
even	O
long	O
after	O
the	O
security	O
problems	O
were	O
resolved	O
there	O
were	O
still	O
many	O
insecure	O
installations	O
in	O
use	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
versions	O
of	O
the	O
Sobig	O
worm	O
installed	O
an	O
unlicensed	O
copy	O
of	O
WinGate	B-Application
5	O
in	O
a	O
deliberately	O
insecure	O
configuration	O
to	O
be	O
used	O
by	O
spammers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
installations	O
used	O
non-standard	O
ports	O
for	O
SOCKS	O
and	O
WinGate	B-Application
remote	O
control	O
and	O
so	O
in	O
general	O
did	O
not	O
interfere	O
with	O
other	O
software	O
running	O
on	O
the	O
infected	O
host	O
computer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
resulted	O
in	O
some	O
antivirus	B-Application
software	I-Application
incorrectly	O
identifying	O
WinGate	B-Application
as	O
malware	O
and	O
removing	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
