REST client that does not need installation - rest

We have a locked down customer environment in which we do not have rights to install anything. In this environment, I need to call some REST services in order to troubleshoot them.
In my local development environment, I normally use Postman (Chrome plugin) or Advanced REST client. However, since the customer environment is locked down, I can't install Chrome (they have IE 11) or Adv. REST client.
Is there any REST client that I can just copy and use, without the need for installation?

I am under the same constraints. To test a RESTful API, I installed a portable Chrome version(doesn't require admin permission) in which I installed postman.
You can find a portable chrome edition with a simple google search.
You can also install a portable firefox edition and install a plugin to simulate REST requests like HttpRequester here.
You can also use SOAP UI from here https://www.soapui.org/. Make sure to choose the open source version for a free edition. Also, when installing making sure to change the installation path to a folder you have permission to write in, for instance a folder in your Desktop. Here's the doc on how to use it: https://www.soapui.org/soapui-projects/soapui-projects.html

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Distributing Windows Application through internet

We have window application developed in .Net and want perfect deployment technology
which enables easy application installation and upgrading.
The client can be accessed from anywhere in the world where an Internet connection is available.
In future we want the same deployment technology for provide support user's who use Window 7 and
Window 8
Looking at the the initial requirement we have decided to use Click Once technology
but found many issues in the deployment. They are below
You will need to sign a Click Once application with trusted certificate
otherwise it is blocked and instantly removed by Antivirus program.
ClickOnce may not be supported by all browsers , the behavior are different in IE and
other browser
ClickOnce to doesn't install components into the GAC , doesn't installed in the program
files rather it install and maintain user wise in the client machine.
ClickOnce has issue with proxy network and unable to customize the setup screen.
Community has faced many issues with ClickOnce Setup and does not have enough solution or
updates on Click Once technology solution
Do we have perfect deployment solution for window app over internet other than ClickOnce? Which methodology is widely used for window app deployment over internet?
Which deployment technology provide better success rate for easily maintenance and version update for the Window app over internet ?
You could build it as a standard executable and create an installer. A good way to make an installer is InnoSetup. However, the user has to have .Net Framework already installed.
As of Windows Vista, version 2.0 is included, Windows 7 includes 3.5, and Windows 8 includes 4.5. If you change the target .Net Framework of your application you can target these systems. Go to Properties > Target Framework > Choose 2.0, 3.5, or 4.5 (client profile if available).
As for updates, you should implement this in your application on your own or get another third-party updater. I don't know any good ones though.

Building customer based installation packages with install4j

I am developing an application which has customer specific configuration (2 text and 2 binary files). The use case supposes that customer downloads an installation package (I am going to use install4j) and install it on target platform (Mac or Windows). So all installation packages should be different for different customers.
I am considering 2 possible scenarios for implementation:
Generate new installation package per customer request on server side (cons: I need to have install4j for Linux, which is server platform)
Have a half-generated installation package and inject customer data somehow to the package by customer request (cons: I am not sure this is quite possible at all)
I never used install4j before and don't know how to implement 1 or 2. Their documentation is far from ideal. They doesn't have examples or consider cases like this, so any suggestion is very appreciated.
You cannot modify an installer after it has been built. The main reason is that it would break code signing. So you would need to generate a new installer for each configuration. If you deploy on Mac OS X and Windows, you need install4j Multi-Platform Edition which also works on Linux.
Alternatively, you could ask the user to provide credentials in the installer, then you could download the appropriate files on demand with "Download file" actions.

Deliver application's GUI via browser

I need to show to a user an interface of some application running on a server using a browser. It should be like RDP-client for a single application on a server.
Are there any solutions or services that can implement following functionality? Maybe Citrix?
Thanks in advance!
This looks like what you're looking for:
http://freerdp.net/
About FreeRDP-WebConnect
FreeRDP-WebConnect is an open source gateway for accessing RDP
sessions using any HTML5 compliant browser. In particular it relies on
the Canvas and the WebSockets feature. FreeRDP-WebConnect is a
subproject of the FreeRDP project.
On the server side, a standalone daemon - written in C++ - provides a
Web page via HTTPS (or HTTP, if configured) and uses FreeRDP libs to
connect as a client to any RDP session. The server side WebSockets
implementation handles current RFC6455 only, so browsers that
implement the older drafts do not work. With RFC6455 being raised to
the "Proposed Standard" level, this should change now really soon.
I would create an account on the server for the user, and only give it access to the one application it needs access to.
You can use Cameyo. To start, create yourself a free account, and click on "Add App". If your installer supports unattended installation, you simply need to submit it. Otherwise, you can build a Cameyo package locally and send it in. It will then be playable as HTML5.
You don't indicate what server you are running on.
As an alternative to FreeRDP-Webconnect cited above, also open source and also using FreeRDP as rdp client through an HTTP gateway, there is Myrtille.
FreeRDP-WebConnect embeds a standalone daemon written in C++ to provide a web page via HTTP(S), and so will also work on Linux servers, while Myrtille have a IIS/.NET (C#) implementation and an MSI installer, thus is more intended for Windows Servers.

Can a ClickOnce deployed app be silently mass installed?

I have a smart client app (WinForms/WPF) currently deployed using ClickOnce.
A particular client has expressed the desire to silently deploy the app to it's intranet network users as part of its nightly/weekly client PC update service - presumably via MS Systems Management Server (SMS) and Group Policy or similar (I don't understand the exact mechanisms). As such, they've requested a .MSI installer instead.
So a few questions for confirmation (along with my thoughts on answer - am more than happy to be wrong!):
Can a ClickOnce app be silently installed en-mass by admin???
My thoughts: No, because ClickOnce is a per-user installation this would be difficult unless the user is actually logged in at time of remote installation.
Is there a tool to convert a ClickOnce app/project's settings to a simple MSI installer project (e.g. Visual Studio Deployment Project)???
My thoughts: Not in the box, but would love a tool to repeatedly copy/use settings from the ClickOnce config to the deployment project - e.g. ProductName, Version, File Associations etc. This way we only maintain one set of deployment settings.
Any other alternatives for this scenario to get 'er done quick...?
I don't think you can install a ClickOnce application silently, certainly not with SMS. And I don't know of any tool that does that, but it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. ;-)
The idea of deploying a shortcut is an interesting thought. Have you ever noticed that if you leave a shortcut on the desktop even after the application is uninstalled, if the user clicks on it, it reinstalls the application?

Windows authentication with Eclipse

I use Eclipse daily for software development and those of you that use it know that you download plugins and updates regularly. The company I work for has Bluecoat installed, which blocks all of the updates. However, the update URLs are not blocked in Internet Explorer. With this said, the problem seems to be that Eclipse is not using Windows authentication when it requests updates from the URLs. Is there a way to set Eclipse up so that it acts like IE?
That could be linked to the proxy and not to Bluecoat:
If IE does authorized the access to update URLs, it must do so through an authenticated proxy connection.
If you do have such a setting (proxyname:port , user/password), you should report that setting on your eclipse, in order for p2 within that eclipse to use those same settings.
(Menu Preferences : General / Network Connections)