Re: [Fwd: Re: FreeBSD Security Advisory FreeBSD-SA-03:12.openssh]

From: David G. Andersen (danderse_at_cs.utah.edu)
Date: 09/19/03

  • Next message: Bruce M Simpson: "Re: FreeBSD Security Advisory FreeBSD-SA-03:12.openssh" 
    Date: Thu, 18 Sep 2003 19:36:36 -0600
To: "Devon H. O'Dell" <dodell@sitetronics.com>

    Devon H. O'Dell just mooed:
    >
    > If I'm not mistaken, /dev/random is a pseudo-random generator, which
    > means it has a certain period before it begins to repeat numbers (along
    > with that it just isn't truly random). So, please correct me if I'm
    > wrong, but doesn't this mean that when reading from /dev/random, you're
    > 'losing' randomness/entropy/whatever you're calling it?

       You're mistaken. /dev/random stops feeding you random bits
    when it doesn't have enough. /dev/urandom depletes the entropy
    pool, but when it starts to run out, it falls back to hashing
    to generate pseudo-random sequences from the random bits that
    it can obtain.

      -Dave 

    -- 
work: dga@lcs.mit.edu                          me:  dga@pobox.com
      MIT Laboratory for Computer Science           http://www.angio.net/
      I do not accept unsolicited commercial email.  Do not spam me.
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  • Next message: Bruce M Simpson: "Re: FreeBSD Security Advisory FreeBSD-SA-03:12.openssh"

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