How to Install Shrew Soft VPN (ike) on Ubuntu 20.04: A Step-by-Step Guide

Introduction

Are you looking to install Shrew Soft VPN (ike) on Ubuntu 20.04 but facing difficulties? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk you through the process of installing the ike package on Ubuntu 20.04. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced user, this step-by-step tutorial will help you get Shrew Soft VPN up and running on your Ubuntu system.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, make sure you have the following prerequisites:

1. Ubuntu 20.04 installed and updated.
2. Internet connectivity to download the necessary packages.

Checking Package Availability

The ike package was dropped from the official Ubuntu repositories after Ubuntu 18.04. However, there’s still a way to install it on Ubuntu 20.04. Let’s first check if the package is available in any third-party repositories:

1. Open a terminal by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T.
2. Enter the following command to update the package lists:sqlCopy codesudo apt update
3. Now, let’s check if the ike package is available using the apt-cache command:sqlCopy codeapt-cache search ike If the package is listed, you can proceed to Step 2. Otherwise, we’ll explore an alternative method to install ike.

Installing ike from Source

Since the ike package is not available in the official repositories, we can build and install it from source. Follow these steps:

1. Open a terminal.
2. Install the necessary build tools and dependencies:Copy codesudo apt install build-essential libssl-dev libaudio-dev libqt4-dev qt4-qmake
3. Download the ike source code from the Shrew Soft website. Visit the following URL and download the appropriate source archive for your system:arduinoCopy codehttps://www.shrew.net/download/ike
4. Extract the downloaded archive using the following command (replace <archive_name> with the actual name of the downloaded file):phpCopy codetar -xvf <archive_name>.tar.gz
5. Change to the extracted directory:bashCopy codecd <extracted_directory>
6. Run the following commands to configure, build, and install ike:goCopy code./configure make sudo make install
7. After the installation is complete, you should be able to run ike from the terminal:Copy codeike

Alternative Method: Using Ubuntu 18.04

If building from source seems too complex, an alternative method is to use Ubuntu 18.04. The ike package is still available in the official repositories for Ubuntu 18.04. Follow these steps:

1. Install Ubuntu 18.04 alongside Ubuntu 20.04 or use a virtual machine.
2. Open a terminal in Ubuntu 18.04.
3. Install the ike package using the apt command:Copy codesudo apt install ike

Conclusion

By following this guide, you should now have Shrew Soft VPN (ike) successfully installed on your Ubuntu 20.04 system. Whether you chose to build from source or use Ubuntu 18.04, you can now enjoy the benefits of this powerful VPN client. Keep in mind that building from source gives you the flexibility to customize and modify the installation according to your specific needs.