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ConfigServer (CSF, Mail Scanner, Exploit Scanner etc) CLOSING DOWN
https://configserver.com/announcement/
Way to the Web Ltd and Configserver.com will be closing down permanently on 31 August 2025. The server software market has changed drastically in the more than 25 years since our company began, and we now find the business is no longer profitable so must come to an end.
This closure affects all of our commercial software including ConfigServer Exploit Scanner (cxs), MailScanner Front-End (MSFE), and Outgoing Spam Monitor (osm). It also affects our free software including ConfigServer Security and Firewall (csf), ConfigServer Mail Queues (cmq), ConfigServer Mail Manage (cmm), ConfigServer Modsecurity Control (cmc), and ConfigServer Explorer (cse).
After 31st August, there will be no further support, downloads, or license IP changes available.
In order to continue using any of our commercial software after the 31st of August, you must update the software to the latest version. If not updated, any of our commercial software products will cease to function and cannot be reactivated once the download and license servers are shut down.
We have prepared a list of FAQs to assist you with any questions you may have. If your question is not answered here, feel free to email us or log a ticket on the helpdesk between now and 31st August.
Comments
Really sad news.
CSF has been a big help many times over the years, from initial security audits (its "Check Server Security" tool) to fighting basic D(DoS) attacks and just keeping a generally good eye on things with its email alerts and such.
Granted, I don't use it on any servers right now, but nevertheless, I have customers that I know use and rely on it for certain things.
And yes - it's not irreplaceable, but it did a great job - with the benefit of being free and open-source.
that's tough, been around that long, that's crazy.
Very sad news. Csf makes it so easy.
Sad to see this software go. It was always one of the first things I installed on a new cPanel server.
what a sad news 🙁
Sometimes good people find it hard to change. Morals, ethics and beliefs can become overpowering. Sad to hear. CSF is one of the few software, I never had to run to patch because of a security flaw or go to the vendor screaming it's not working.
It's really sad to see them shut down.
This is sad news for the web hosting industry (WHI), but it confronts us with a harsh reality.
The WHI is built on the foundation of open-source and free tools. While many hosting operators generate substantial revenue from these platforms, the developers who create and maintain the essential tools are often overlooked and under-supported.
We hope that ConfigServer will allow its free tools to be forked and distributed via GitHub. Otherwise, a vital and trusted tool like CSF will become inaccessible to the community that grew to depend on it, leaving a significant gap in Linux server security.
Sad news...
This is extremely sad.
https://download.configserver.com/csf/license.txt
Not sure that's exactly opensource... I'm building an opensource alternative using AI, lol.
Yep, definitely not an open source:
We're willing to maintain and sponsor the development of an open-sourced fork of CSF.
Our team sent a formal letter to Way to the Web asking for their permission to do so, or at least to change the license to a recognized open-source license (like MIT or GPL) .
Reading the FAQ section below I noticed at the very end (I seem to have missed this earlier),
Assuming they do this, it would be pretty good as the product itself is solid, can't really see any flaws at all.
It's sad news
Indeed, it'd be cool.
Woah, that would affect a lot of current installations for sure, but anyways farewell to a really awesome software.
That’s sad. They made awesome software
i'm sad for MSFE, we use it on every server
It is not sad, it is cataclysmic event! There is no alternatives for free.
https://downforeveryoneorjustme.com/configserver.com?proto=https reports the same (so no, not my internet).
Wondering if they've pulled the plug early....
As per their response to my email, they may be publishing it to their github. If they do, all their free scripts will be there. I'd be willing to rename the project and sort a drop-in one, with new features, all open-source so everyone could contribute.
Fingers crossed, so many folks and products run CSF Firewall - including Centmin Mod!
The announcement is on wayback:
https://web.archive.org/web/20250731034859/https://configserver.com/announcement/
That’s genuinely sad news
Will your free scripts continue to work after the 31st of August?
Yes, ConfigServer Mail Manage (csm), CS Mail Queues (cmq), CS Modsecurity Control (cmc), CS Explorer (cse) and ConfigServer Security & Firewall (csf) will continue to work. They will no longer be updated, however, and will not be available for download or install.
https://github.com/waytotheweb/scripts
Centmin Mod rocks!!! And you rock!
Cheers Mike. The good news is I already modified the CSF v14.24 codebase to remove their hardcoded download and update URLs, etc, and created a Centmin Mod version that I will be testing. This is a temporary measure until we see how the CSF open source release goes ^_^
They probably don't care, but the current license states that you must not "modify, adapt, merge, translate, decompile, disassemble, or reverse engineer the Product"...
Yeah, I know. Not using my version yet - just preparing and testing for the worst-case scenario for my usage case
Has now changed to: