Date: Tue, 1 Mar 2005 16:53:45 -0800 From: "Ted Mittelstaedt" <tedm@toybox.placo.com> To: "Kris Kennaway" <kris@obsecurity.org> Cc: FreeBSD questions <freebsd-questions@freebsd.org> Subject: RE: /dev/io , /dev/mem : only used by Xorg? Message-ID: <LOBBIFDAGNMAMLGJJCKNEEJPFAAA.tedm@toybox.placo.com> In-Reply-To: <20050301092901.GB95093@xor.obsecurity.org>
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> -----Original Message----- > From: Kris Kennaway [mailto:kris@obsecurity.org] > Sent: Tuesday, March 01, 2005 1:29 AM > To: Ted Mittelstaedt > Cc: Kris Kennaway; Loren M. Lang; Rob; FreeBSD questions > Subject: Re: /dev/io , /dev/mem : only used by Xorg? > > > On Tue, Mar 01, 2005 at 12:06:11AM -0800, Ted Mittelstaedt wrote: > > > >> Another strange thing is that /dev/random should block when it > > >> runs out of entropy - it doesen't seem to do so, however. And the > > >> device doesen't seem to gain entropy that quickly. > > > > > > No, it should not block because it's not defined to block > > > > In FreeBSD > > > > > and that > > > would be a bad interface anyway. > > > > The "u" in /dev/urandom means unblocking. > > It also means "return stuff even when you have no more entropy". > Can't get there from here. > Presumably the app writer knows this. Come now, I never said it was a -good- interface. The ideas of how the random device should work are somewhat of a moving target among UNIXes. The yarrow generator is one of the better ones us ordinary mortals have access to, I wonder what the NSA uses? Ted
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