mirror of
https://github.com/openssl/openssl.git
synced 2024-11-27 05:21:51 +08:00
128 lines
4.9 KiB
Plaintext
128 lines
4.9 KiB
Plaintext
OpenSSL - Frequently Asked Questions
|
|
--------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
* Which is the current version of OpenSSL?
|
|
* Where is the documentation?
|
|
* How can I contact the OpenSSL developers?
|
|
* Do I need patent licenses to use OpenSSL?
|
|
* Is OpenSSL thread-safe?
|
|
* Why do I get a "PRNG not seeded" error message?
|
|
* Why does the linker complain about undefined symbols?
|
|
* Where can I get a compiled version of OpenSSL?
|
|
|
|
|
|
* Which is the current version of OpenSSL?
|
|
|
|
The current version is available from <URL: http://www.openssl.org>.
|
|
OpenSSL 0.9.4 was released on August 9th, 1999.
|
|
|
|
In addition to the current stable release, you can also access daily
|
|
snapshots of the OpenSSL development version at <URL:
|
|
ftp://ftp.openssl.org/snapshot/>, or get it by anonymous CVS access.
|
|
|
|
|
|
* Where is the documentation?
|
|
|
|
OpenSSL is a library that provides cryptographic functionality to
|
|
applications such as secure web servers. Be sure to read the
|
|
documentation of the application you want to use. The INSTALL file
|
|
explains how to install this library.
|
|
|
|
OpenSSL includes a command line utility that can be used to perform a
|
|
variety of cryptographic functions. It is described in the openssl(1)
|
|
manpage. Documentation for developers is currently being written. A
|
|
few manual pages already are available; overviews over libcrypto and
|
|
libssl are given in the crypto(3) and ssl(3) manpages.
|
|
|
|
The OpenSSL manpages are installed in /usr/local/ssl/man/ (or a
|
|
different directory if you specified one as described in INSTALL).
|
|
In addition, you can read the most current versions at
|
|
<URL: http://www.openssl.org/docs/>.
|
|
|
|
For information on parts of libcrypto that are not yet documented, you
|
|
might want to read Ariel Glenn's documentation on SSLeay 0.9, OpenSSL's
|
|
predecessor, at <URL: http://www.columbia.edu/~ariel/ssleay/>. Much
|
|
of this still applies to OpenSSL.
|
|
|
|
The original SSLeay documentation is included in OpenSSL as
|
|
doc/ssleay.txt. It may be useful when none of the other ressources
|
|
help, but please note that it reflects the obsolete version SSLeay
|
|
0.6.6.
|
|
|
|
|
|
* How can I contact the OpenSSL developers?
|
|
|
|
The README file describes how to submit bug reports and patches to
|
|
OpenSSL. Information on the OpenSSL mailing lists is available from
|
|
<URL: http://www.openssl.org>.
|
|
|
|
|
|
* Do I need patent licenses to use OpenSSL?
|
|
|
|
The patents section of the README file lists patents that may apply to
|
|
you if you want to use OpenSSL. For information on intellectual
|
|
property rights, please consult a lawyer. The OpenSSL team does not
|
|
offer legal advice.
|
|
|
|
You can configure OpenSSL so as not to use RC5 and IDEA by using
|
|
./config no-rc5 no-idea
|
|
|
|
Until the RSA patent expires, U.S. users may want to use
|
|
./config no-rc5 no-idea no-rsa
|
|
|
|
Please note that you will *not* be able to communicate with most of
|
|
the popular web browsers without RSA support.
|
|
|
|
|
|
* Is OpenSSL thread-safe?
|
|
|
|
Yes. On Windows and many Unix systems, OpenSSL automatically uses the
|
|
multi-threaded versions of the standard libraries. If your platform
|
|
is not one of these, consult the INSTALL file.
|
|
|
|
Multi-threaded applications must provide two callback functions to
|
|
OpenSSL. This is described in the threads(3) manpage.
|
|
|
|
|
|
* Why do I get a "PRNG not seeded" error message?
|
|
|
|
Cryptographic software needs a source of unpredictable data to work
|
|
correctly. Many open source operating systems provide a "randomness
|
|
device" that serves this purpose. On other systems, applications have
|
|
to call the RAND_add() or RAND_seed() function with appropriate data
|
|
before generating keys or performing public key encryption.
|
|
|
|
Some broken applications do not do this. As of version 0.9.5, the
|
|
OpenSSL functions that need randomness report an error if the random
|
|
number generator has not been seeded with at least 128 bits of
|
|
randomness. If this error occurs, please contact the author of the
|
|
application you are using. It is likely that it never worked
|
|
correctly. OpenSSL 0.9.5 makes the error visible by refusing to
|
|
perform potentially insecure encryption.
|
|
|
|
|
|
* Why does the linker complain about undefined symbols?
|
|
|
|
Maybe the compilation was interruped, and make doesn't notice that
|
|
something is missing. Run "make clean; make".
|
|
|
|
If you used ./Configure instead of ./config, make sure that you
|
|
selected the right target. File formats may differ slightly between
|
|
OS versions (for example sparcv8/sparcv9, or a.out/elf).
|
|
|
|
If that doesn't help, you may want to try using the current snapshot.
|
|
If the problem persists, please submit a bug report.
|
|
|
|
|
|
* Where can I get a compiled version of OpenSSL?
|
|
|
|
Some applications that use OpenSSL are distributed in binary form.
|
|
When using such an application, you don't need to install OpenSSL
|
|
yourself; the application will include the required parts (e.g. DLLs).
|
|
|
|
If you want to install OpenSSL on a Windows system and you don't have
|
|
a C compiler, read the "Mingw32" section of INSTALL.W32 for information
|
|
on how to obtain and install the free GNU C compiler.
|
|
|
|
A number of Linux and *BSD distributions include OpenSSL.
|