Connecting to Dune Securely

At the dawn of MUDs encryption wasn't widely available. Telnet was the protocol of choice and everything (including your password!) was sent over the Internet unprotected.

Since then the Internet and privacy expectations have evolved and encryption is the norm. You may already be used to visiting websites that use HTTPS instead of HTTP.

Dune too has evolved and now supports connecting over a transport layer security (TLS) protected port (6788). This port uses the same technology as HTTPS to let you connect to Dune with encryption to protect your password and other data and should be preferred where possible over the legacy telnet port (6789).

Not every MUD client supports connecting with TLS. Here is a list of clients we know work, and information on how to configure them correctly.

• Mudlet - how to connect securely.
• TinTin++ - how to connect securely.
• Tinyfugue - how to connect securely.

Outside of dedicated MUD clients there are two other options that will let you connect to Dune securely, albeit without niceties like triggers and fancy scripting.

• telnet-ssl
  • Available on most Debian/Ubuntu systems with apt get install telnet-ssl
  • Connect with

    telnet-ssl -z ssl dunemud.net 6788

  • See man page for more.
• openssl s_client
  • Available on most Linux/MacOS systems out of the box.
  • Connect with

    openssl s_client -connect dunemud.net:6788

  • Note: Doesn't support Telnet protocol (e.g noecho options).

These MUD clients are known to only work with Telnet. We do not recommend using them for this reason.

• CMud and Zmud
• TinyFugue (without patches)