HOW TO: Install Shadowsocks on Windows 10 with a batch script

Introduction and Summary:

Shadowsocks is an encrypted proxy for circumventing firewalls and geo-location restrictions.  It is similar to a VPN but simpler and has less features.  The client for Android is very simple to use and is the "gold" standard (in my opinion), but the Windows client also works well if you are able to configure it correctly.  The main issue I've run into with getting it working properly are related to folder permission in the Program Files directory.  Below are some instructions on how to download the client from github, then to copy it into the Program Files directory, and to set the permissions so that non-admin users can run the software correctly.

Prerequisites:

• A Windows computer
• Administrator access (to run the script)
• Download the following files from the Internet:

1. The latest Shadowsocks-windows client in a .ZIP file from github.com [LINK] (Shadowsocks-4.0.9.zip as of this writing)
2. The latest Simple-obfs-Cygwin client in a .ZIP file from github (OPTIONAL) [LINK] (I use the msys2-x86-64.zip file)

Instructions:

Unzip all of the files into a single directory.  You should end up with 4 files:

mysys-2.0.dll
obfs-local.exe
obfs-server.exe
Shadowsocks.exe

Create a new batch file in the same directory.  For the sake of this example, we'll call it InstallSSWin.bat

Copy the following text into your InstallSSWin.bat file:

@echo off

::Shadowsocks Windows Client Installation Batch File

::Step 1 - Create folders in "Program Files"
md "%ProgramFiles%\Shadowsocks"
md "%ProgramFiles%\Shadowsocks\temp"
md "%ProgramFiles%\Shadowsocks\ss_win_temp"
md "%ProgramData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Shadowsocks"

::Steup 2 - Set permissions so that all users can edit the contents of the folders
cacls "%ProgramFiles%\Shadowsocks" /e /p Users:C
cacls "%ProgramFiles%\Shadowsocks\temp" /e /p Users:C
cacls "%ProgramFiles%\Shadowsocks\ss_win_temp" /e /p Users:C


::Step 3 - Add shortcut to default programs files list
xcopy *.dll "%ProgramFiles%\Shadowsocks" /q /y
xcopy *.exe "%ProgramFiles%\Shadowsocks" /q /y
::xcopy *.lnk "%ProgramData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Shadowsocks" /q /y

::Step 4 - Set firewall rules
netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="Shadowsocks Allow - Shadowsocks (TCP)" dir=out action=allow program="C:\Program Files\Shadowsocks\Shadowsocks.exe" enable=yes protocol=TCP
netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="Shadowsocks Allow - Shadowsocks (UDP)" dir=out action=allow program="C:\Program Files\Shadowsocks\Shadowsocks.exe" enable=yes protocol=UDP
netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="Shadowsocks Allow - Privoxy (TCP)" dir=out action=allow program="C:\Program Files\Shadowsocks\ss_win_temp\ss_privoxy.exe" enable=yes protocol=TCP
netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="Shadowsocks Allow - Privoxy (UDP)" dir=out action=allow program="C:\Program Files\Shadowsocks\ss_win_temp\ss_privoxy.exe" enable=yes protocol=UDP

Run the batch file "as administrator" and the files should be copied into the directories and other settings will be made for you.

Note: The script will also copy a shortcut to the Window Start Menu if you create one in the installation directory beforehand.  The trouble is that Windows will try to prevent you from creating a shortcut to a non-existent target, so it's only useful if you are trying to install Shadowsocks on multiple computers and take the time to create a shortcut and copy it over into your installation directory on the next computer....at least that's what I've done :)

You should be able to find the Shadowsocks.exe file in C:\Program Files\Shadowsocks and run it successfully now.  Make shortcuts to your desktop and add your server configs.


Blog Formatting Guide:

• Text written in a FWF in GREEN is text file contents.
• Commands written in Consolas in BLUE are LOCAL Client Console Commands
• Commands written in Consolas in RED are REMOTE Server Shell Commands (usually in SSH)
• All commands in BOLD are CUSTOM user variables that your should change for your configuration.

Helpful References, for Shadowsocks:

Shadowsocks-libev on Github
Simple-obfs on Github

HOW TO: Build Shadowsock-libev from source on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | Specify Commit Version

Introduction and Summary:

Shadowsocks is an encrypted proxy for circumventing firewalls and geo-location restrictions.  Some Linux server repositories do not have packages or if they do, the packages might be old since the server and client are under constant development.  These commands will help to download and build a specific version/commit of Shadowsocks-libev server from source.  In this example, we will build version 3.1.3 (since I've had problems with every version after that).

Prerequisites:

• Linux Ubuntu 16.04 LTS Server
• Console Access
• Root level permissions
• The following Ubuntu packages (some might be obsolete or unnecessary, send me a message if you discover an improvement):

build-essential autoconf libtool libssl-dev libpcre3-dev zlib1g-dev libev-dev git automake init-system-helpers pkg-config asciidoc xmlto libmbedtls-dev libc-ares-dev

Instructions:

Chose the "commit" that you want to build from.  Here's the master list of commits available which are identified by a 7 digit code.  Replace 85a64ae with the commit version you want.

When logged into the server, run the following commands:

cd /tmp
git clone https://github.com/shadowsocks/shadowsocks-libev.git
cd shadowsocks-libev
git checkout 85a64ae
git submodule update --init --recursive
./autogen.sh
./configure
make
sudo make install
cd ..
rm shadowsocks-libev -r -f

NOTE: The entire set of commands can be chained together in one long command:
cd /tmp && git clone https://github.com/shadowsocks/shadowsocks-libev.git && cd shadowsocks-libev && git checkout 85a64ae && git submodule update --init --recursive && ./autogen.sh && ./configure && make && sudo make install && cd .. && rm shadowsocks-libev -r -f

Blog Formatting Guide:

• Commands written in Consolas in BLUE are LOCAL Client Shell Commands (I'm running an Ubuntu local client)
• Commands written in Consolas in RED are REMOTE Server Shell Commands (usually in SSH)
• All commands in BOLD are CUSTOM user variables that your should change for your configuration.

Helpful References, for Shadowsocks:

Shadowsocks-libev on Github

Simple-obfs on Github

Step-by-Step: Install OpenWRT on the Xiaomi Wifi Mini router from a Windows Computer (2018 edition)

The Xiaomi Mini wifi router has a low price and spacious ROM (16MB) and RAM (128MB) for easily supporting a VPN service on a OpenWRT/LEDE installation.  Thanks to the hard work by the community it’s fairly straight-forward to replace the Stock OEM firmware with LEDE.

PREREQUISITES

A. A computer with a web browser for downloading the files, registering a Xiaomi account, and capable of running SSH.

B. The LEDE Installation File from | download.openwrt.org

• miwifi-mini-squashfs-sysupgrade.bin

C. A Xiaomi Account for registering the router | https://account.xiaomi.com/pass/register

D.  The Developer edition of the Router ROM from Xiaomi | http://www.miwifi.com/miwifi_download.html

• Click the ROM graphic, scroll down to find “ROM for Mini 开发版”

E. A mobile device with Xiaomi’s router app installed | Google Play Link | Xiaomi APK

F. The customized SSH BIN file from Xiaomi.  This file can only be downloaded after registering the router with the Router app on your phone or tablet and it’s unique to each router since the ROOT password is apparently baked into it | Xiaomi SSH Site

G. A physical Ethernet connection to the router’s LAN ports (white colored).  Note: You can do most of the process on Wifi, but not all of it, so I recommend starting with Ethernet to simplify the process.

H. A USB drive formatted to FAT32 for installing the SSH BIN and LEDE BIN files to the router. The file is small, so the USB drive doesn't have to be big.

I. PuTTY for Windows to run SSH commands | Download page

Initial Setup of the Router

1. Connect a network patch cable from your Internet equipment to the WAN Uplink port (blue colored).
2. Connect a Windows computer to one of the Ethernet switch ports on the router (white colored).
3. Connect the router to power.
4. Launch a web browser and connect to the administrator console by going to the following address:
http://192.168.31.1, If you cannot reach the administrator console:

• Check the IP address on your computer and verify the it starts with 192.168.31
• Verify that you have any VPN software running on your computer that it is turned OFF
• Verify that the OS Proxy settings are disabled in “Internet Options”

5. Follow the setup wizard and configure the router.

• Note: It will ask you to set the wifi and the administrator password. Set it to 1234567890
• Note: All settings made during this process will be erased later, so don’t spend time making it nice...

After you complete the setup wizard, the router will reboot.

Unlock the Router's Firmware

1. Download the "Developer" ROM from Xiaomi, if you haven’t already (see pre-reqs step D).
2. Manually flash the Developer ROM through the web app console.  (Select the 3rd tab option, select the last menu item, and click the first command button to upload the file, click the right-hand button to confirm the installation of the new ROM. (It’s all in Chinese, so I’m trying to be helpful here, not condescending :-)

4. Install the Mi Wifi app on a mobile device (see pre-reqs step E)

5. Connect your mobile device to the Xiaomi MINI's wifi network

6. Sign-in to the mobile app with a "Mi" account or create a new one and then sign in. As of this writing, no personal information is needed other than an email account.

7. The app should detect the router.  Sign into the Wifi Router inside the app using the admin password you set during setup (in this example we set it to 1234567890) .  The router should now be registered to your Xiaomi account, our “Bound” as Google Translate says.

8. Download the the SSH BIN patch file at https://d.miwifi.com/rom/ssh. It's supposed to be custom and unique for your router, so I'm imagining it's because the BIN files needs your router's root password baked in.

<screenshot>

9. While you're at the Xiaomi SSH site copy down the "root" password from the page; you’ll need it for SSH later.

<screenshot>

10. Copy the miwifi_ssh.bin file from your computer to a USB drive formatted with FAT32.

11. Insert this USB drive into the USB port on the back of the Xiaomi router

12. Unplug the router's power cable.

13. Use a tool (like a straightened paperclip) to press down the reset button on the back of the router and hold it in.  While keeping the button pressed down, reconnect the power cable...not a task for the manually challenged. The yellow status light will come on at the front of the router. After about 10 seconds the yellow status light will begin to blink indicating that the router is now installing the SSH BIN file.  Once the yellow light is flashing like this you can release the reset button.

14. After the SSH file is installed, the router will reboot and the yellow light will become steady again during the boot process.  After the router is done booting, the status LED will turn a steady "blue" color.

15. Sign into the router using PuTTY on your Windows computer, using SSH (not Telnet) and enter the enter the root password from the Xiaomi website

• Note: On Linux, you can run ssh root@192.168.31.1 (this command works on a Windows computer as well if you've installed OpenSSH for Powershell from github)

<screenshot>

You're in! Enjoy your new super powers wisely

Install OpenWRT Stable Edition

1. Download the following LEDE BIN files from the Stable tree | Download Page (see pre-reqs step B)

2. Remove the USB drive from the router, copy the BIN file to it, and then re-insert the USB drive back into the router.

3.  Within the SSH console in PuTTY, use these commands check the MTD layout on the router to make sure you don't damage it:

cat /proc/mtd

4. If you find a line "OS1" in the text output from this command go ahead with flashing:

cd /extdisks/sda1

ls

5. Verify that the BIN file is in this directory from the text output. If it is, flash the ROM:

mtd -r write /extdisks/sda1/lede-17.01.4-ramips-mt7620-miwifi-mini-squashfs-sysupgrade.bin OS1

After flashing is complete, the router will reboot several times. It can seem to take a long time and interrupting the process can damage your router, so wait about 10 minutes to ensure that the firmware is installed properly before doing anything to the router.  The WebUI is not always accessible on first boot after all of the flashing steps, so power off the router and power it back-on by disconnecting the power plug and plugging it back in.

Also, please note that the OpenWRT OS defaults to the red color of the led instead of the orange/blue during and after finishing the boot that Xiaomi uses. (Need to double-check this with the newest build)

You're now running OpenWRT! Enjoy your more secure and flexible router.

REFERENCES

Xiaomi SSH Website After Registering Your Device in the App

小米ID：0000000000
已绑定1台小米路由器
Xiaomi_AAAA(小米路由器3增强版)root密码 xxxxxxxx下载工具包
工具包使用方法：小米路由器需升级到开发版0.5.28及以上，小米路由器mini需升级到开发版0.3.84及以上，小米路由器3即将支持。注意：稳定版不支持。
请将下载的工具包bin文件复制到U盘（FAT/FAT32格式）的根目录下，保证文件名为miwifi_ssh.bin；
断开小米路由器的电源，将U盘插入USB接口；
按住reset按钮之后重新接入电源，指示灯变为黄色闪烁状态即可松开reset键；
等待3-5秒后安装完成之后，小米路由器会自动重启，之后您就可以尽情折腾啦 ：）

Google Translate of Website
Has been bundled with a millet router
Xiaomi_AAAA (millet router 3 enhanced version) root password xxxxxx download kit
Toolkit to use: millet router to be upgraded to the development version of 0.5.28 and above, millet router mini to be upgraded to the development version of 0.3.84 and above, millet router 3 is about to support. Note: Steady version does not support.
Please download the toolkit bin file to U disk (FAT / FAT32 format) root directory, to ensure that the file name miwifi_ssh.bin;
Disconnect the power supply millet router, the U disk into the USB interface;
Hold down the reset button and then re-access the power, the indicator light to yellow flashing state can release the reset button;
Wait 3-5 seconds after the installation is complete, millet router will automatically restart, then you can enjoy tossing :)