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SSL support for Lynx 2.8.5pre.1
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-- adapted from http://www.mentovai.com/lynx/
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Lynx, in its unmodified form, will not allow you to make secure socket layer
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(SSL) connections. SSL is used for the secure transfer of information over the
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Internet. Many sites are now requiring SSL to ensure security for themselves
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and their users. With a version of Lynx modified to support SSL, Lynx users
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can now visit these sites with ease as well.
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The SSL configure option (--with-ssl) for Lynx provides the ability to make use
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of SSL over HTTP for secure access to web sites (HTTPS) and over NNTP for
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secure access to news servers (SNEWS). SSL is handled transparently, allowing
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users to continue accessing web sites and news services from within Lynx
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through the same interface for both secure and standard transfers.
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This is based on, and requires, the OpenSSL library. OpenSSL's distribution
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and use may be restricted by licenses and laws. For information on obtaining
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OpenSSL, as well as information on its distribution, see
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http://www.openssl.org/
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The main distribution site is at
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ftp://ftp.openssl.org/source/
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Lynx also has experimental support for GnuTLS (configure option --with-gnutls).
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For information on GnuTLS, see
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http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/
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To test your version of Lynx for SSL support, try it out with an SSL site.
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Below are secure (https) pages which will load if your browser contains SSL
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support and you accept their certificates; they give you some information about
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https://www.gnutls.org:5555/
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https://www2.ggn.net/cgi-bin/ssl
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Lynx will complain about the certificate, since the certificate presented is
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untrusted. You may accept this certificate to test your configuration, since
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it is a test, but it is a bad idea to blindly accept certificates from unknown
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websites if you are transmitting form data or files.
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You should review the document README.sslcerts for a detailed discussion of
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correct certificate handling possibilities and procedures in lynx.
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Users are reminded to check the laws and regulations about encryption software
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in their own countries.
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Here is the URL for US notification rules:
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http://www.bxa.doc.gov/Encryption/PubAvailEncSourceCodeNofify.html
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Note that that isn't a typo; it really is "Nofify". The site contains
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links to the full EAR regulations.
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Lynx is GPL'd, for our own use it falls under the regulations in EAR section
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(1) Encryption source code controlled under 5D002, which would be
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considered publicly available under section 734.3(b)(3) and
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which is not subject an express agreement for the payment a
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licensing fee or royalty for commercial production or sale of
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any product developed with the source code, is released from
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EI controls and may be exported or reexported without review
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under License Exception TSU, provided you have submitted
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written notification to BXA of the Internet location (e.g.,
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URL or Internet address) or a copy of source code by the time
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docs/README.ssl
