-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 0.9.5 was released on February 28th, 2000.
-
-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.
-
-There is some documentation about certificate extensions and PKCS#12
-in doc/openssl.txt
-
-The original SSLeay documentation is included in OpenSSL as
-doc/ssleay.txt. It may be useful when none of the other resources
-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.
-
-Most components of the openssl command line tool try to use the
-file $HOME/.rnd (or $RANDFILE, if this environment variable is set)
-for seeding the PRNG. If this file does not exist or is too short,
-the "PRNG not seeded" error message may occur.
-
-
-* Why does the linker complain about undefined symbols?
-
-Maybe the compilation was interrupted, 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).
-
-In case you get errors about the following symbols, use the config
-option "no-asm", as described in INSTALL:
-
- BF_cbc_encrypt, BF_decrypt, BF_encrypt, CAST_cbc_encrypt,
- CAST_decrypt, CAST_encrypt, RC4, RC5_32_cbc_encrypt, RC5_32_decrypt,
- RC5_32_encrypt, bn_add_words, bn_div_words, bn_mul_add_words,
- bn_mul_comba4, bn_mul_comba8, bn_mul_words, bn_sqr_comba4,
- bn_sqr_comba8, bn_sqr_words, bn_sub_words, des_decrypt3,
- des_ede3_cbc_encrypt, des_encrypt, des_encrypt2, des_encrypt3,
- des_ncbc_encrypt, md5_block_asm_host_order, sha1_block_asm_data_order
-
-If none of these helps, 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.
+The FAQ is now maintained on the web:
+ https://www.openssl.org/docs/faq.html
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