Re: Why does reading from /dev/urandom deplete entropy so much?

Marc Haber
2007-12-20T22:27:53Z

On Tue, Dec 11, 2007 at 10:42:49AM -0500, Bill Davidsen wrote:
> The original point was that urandom draws entropy from random, and that
> it is an an inobvious and unintentional drain on the entropy pool. At
> least that's how I read it.

And you are reading it correct. At least one of the major TLS
libraries does it this way, putting unnecessary stress on the kernel
entropy pool. While I now consider this a bug in the library, there
surely are gazillions of similiarily flawed applications out there in
the wild.

Greetings
Marc

--
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marc Haber | "I don't trust Computers. They | Mailadresse im Header
Mannheim, Germany | lose things." Winona Ryder | Fon: *49 621 72739834
Nordisch by Nature | How to make an American Quilt | Fax: *49 3221 2323190