NetRelay is a standalone program written in the Java programming language. It is Java 2 compatible and was compiled with the Java Development Kit version 1.2 from Sun Microsystems. NetRelay is a program that simply waits for an incoming Internet-compatible TCP connection. When NetRelay receives a TCP connection, it creates a new outgoing connection to another pre-configured Internet address. The incoming data stream is encrypted before forwarding the data to the outgoing connection. NetRelay can be configured with encryption disabled for applications in which only data forwarding is desired.

     NetRelay uses a 128-bit "strong" encryption algorithm based on the Data Encryption Standard (DES). NetRelay requires an encryption extension compatible with the Java Cryptography Extension (JCE), which is available for download from Sun Microsystems to domestic programmers. The JCE version 1.2 was used in developing NetRelay. Sun's JCE cannot be exported for use by foreign programmers, but a cryptography extension that is compatible with JCE version 1.2 is available from the Australian Business Association and has been tested with NetRelay.