Openfire is a free chat application and web server developed by Webhosting Australia. Openfire uses the XMPP standard and can be used as a private and dedicated chat application or open to the public internet for chat room sharing and in-browser file sharing. It is free to download and requires no downloads for personal use. It can also be used as a networked application, where one PC is connected to a cluster of PCs via a router or a wireless LAN. The application uses a plug-in that connects the IM software and browser to the Openfire software. This makes the software easy to install and configure on a home network with minimal experience using IM software.
Openfire allows users to communicate by exchanging text files using various features such as HTML chat, Java chat, file storage, file transfer, image attachments, file downloading and a variety of other options. It offers features that allow the user to share files among the participants on the server by uploading files through the desktop and the Internet Explorer browser or by allowing the users to upload their own file files from the Internet browser and email the participants in the chat room. The software has various plugins for users to use. A plugin can be configured on the server for various tasks such as file storage and file uploads. The files are encrypted before being uploaded and the encryption can be changed depending on the user's preference. The Openfire web server also has the capability of opening files in Windows Explorer as a browser, which makes the chat room user friendly and convenient to use. The software also includes tools for managing the chat room such as creating and editing rooms, sending messages to members and removing members from the server.
The application and server are very easy to install and manage as it is compatible with all major versions of Windows and free software such as Microsoft Outlook, Windows Live Messenger and Skype. It also supports Windows Mobile, Linux, UNIX and Apple Macintosh operating systems. It can be installed on either the personal computer or on a shared server. The application uses a simple installation wizard which guides the user through the entire process of installation. Once installed, the application and server software can be used with no configuration required. Since it runs completely in the background, the users will not need to open the program every time they want to use it.
