* * * * *

 So what exactly is the point of dynamic libraries if the applications behave
     as if statically compiled? Could it be that the OpenSSH boys are too
       paranoid? Or just perpetuating a very cruel joke at our expense?

A few days ago Smirk received an updated security scan of a customer's box
[1] and they didn't like our version of OpenSSL [2] (it being more than 20
minutes old, you see). Yesterday Smirk called and told me to update OpenSSL
with the latest buggy version instead of the buggy version 30 minutes old.

In theory, it's easy enough. I mean, the whole point of shared libraries is
that you can update just the library without having to recompile and relink a
bazillion applications. So I download the latest version, compile and
install. In checking over the programs that use SSL, it seemed just easier to
reboot the box than to restart the bazillion processes (sorry Pinocchio [3]).
In theory, everything should just work.

> In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice,
> there is.
>

Everthing came back up, except OpenSSH [4].

Sigh.

So today, at the office, I check into the problem. OpenSSH basically said,
“Sorry, you're trying to use a version I wasnt' compiled against. Even though
I'm dynamically linked against that library, I'm refusing to run. So Nyah!”

XXXXXXX piece of XXXX do as you're XXXXXXX told you XXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXX!

I was better [5].

Multiple attempts at recompiling later, it worked. Although I think I hurt my
foot in the process …

[**And** I managed to botch the posting of this entry. Tells you how my day
has been … ]

[**TWICE!** This got botched **TWICE!** And when I attempted to fix the
problem, I ran into Linux's schizophrenic approach to the Backspace key. Hey
Linus! It's XXXXXXX Ctrl-H you moron! ASCII (American Standard Code for
Information Interchange) value of 8! Eight! **EIGHT!** Not the XXXXXXX DEL
character! **BACKSPACE!**

Bad Linus! No cookie for you!

And to further continue my downward spiral [6] I clicked somewhere on Firefox
and I lost the nagivation toolbar.

Hate hate hate hate hate hate hate.]

[1] gopher://gopher.conman.org/0Phlog:2005/12/21.1
[2] http://www.openssl.org/
[3] gopher://gopher.conman.org/0Phlog:2007/02/01.1
[4] http://www.openssh.org/
[5] gopher://gopher.conman.org/0Phlog:2007/03/02.1
[6] http://www.musictap.net/Reviews/NINDownwardSpiralSACD.htm

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