Web Security and Commerce

SSLeay

SSLeay is a freely available implementation of the Netscape 3.0 SSL protocol. It is the cryptographic engine that drives the Apache-SSL server.

The SSLeay system installs in the directory /usr/local/ssl. It contains the following subdirectories:

CA

The certification authority directory, used if you wish to run your own CA.

bin

Contains the executable programs, which make up the SSLeay package.

certs

Holds the actual X.509 server public key certificates, used by SSL servers on your system.

include

The C language #include files needed for compiling other programs that use the SSLeay library packages.

lib

The actual C language libraries, which are linked with other programs that use SSLeay.

private

Holds the private key certificates used by the SSL servers on your system.

SSLeay can be freely used outside the United States. Within the United States, its use is governed by the patents on public key cryptography.

SSLeay Examples

Michael Grant has created several small programs that demonstrate how to use SSLeay to create a secure SSL server and client. The programs run under Solaris 2.5. They are included here with his permission.

SSLeay Client

Here is the program:

/* client.c To compile: cc -g -c -I/usr/local/SSLeay-0.6.4/include client.c cc -g client.o -L/usr/local/SSLeay-0.6.4/lib -lssl -lcrypto -lsocket -lnsl -o client This program implements a simple client which connects to the server by a TCP/IP connection, and then starts SSL on the connection. It sends some data, then waits for some data ...