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From: John H Meyers on 21 Mar 2010 20:24
On 3/21/2010 11:12 AM, jetjock wrote:

> I just installed Win 7 Ultimate and am using Eudora 6.2

Here's an installation note about classic Eudora on Windows 7 (or Vista):
http://eudorabb.qualcomm.com/announcement.php?a=13

> It almost always takes at least two or more attempts
> at retrieving email from the server before Eudora will make a connection.

And it almost always takes at least two or more attempts
to get anyone to provide enough information to diagnose their problem,
such as their server name, port (or SSL setting in Eudora), and the error message.

For connections using SSL, the version of OpenSSL which came with Eudora
is known to potentially be stalled for a long time under Windows 7
when initializing itself for the first time.

This is said to have been significantly improved
as of recently released OpenSSL version 0.9.8m,
for which the compiled Windows binaries are available
from an independent developer.

The OpenSSL libraries distributed with Eudora are two files,
in the same directory where Eudora.exe is installed:
libeay32.dll and ssleay32.dll

Old versions of Eudora instead used a library from Certicom,
and any such old version is so old that it should be updated,
to catch up to innumerable fixes, including security fixes.

The official site of OpenSSL is: https://www.openssl.org/

Information about obtaining updated Windows binaries for OpenSSL:
https://www.openssl.org/related/binaries.html

The site which the above page currently suggests for Windows binaries is:
http://www.slproweb.com/products/Win32OpenSSL.html

The file at that site which installs version 0.9.8m binaries,
including the same libraries which Eudora uses, is:
http://www.slproweb.com/download/Win32OpenSSL_Light-0_9_8m.exe

After you select the "/bin" option for that installer,
you would find those libraries in the installed /bin subfolder,
under the location where you chose to install the main OpenSSL files.

You could try replacing Eudora's two original OpenSSL libraries
with files from the new version, after saving the original files
(or your original Eudora installer) elsewhere,
in case you want to restore them later.

I have replaced my own OpenSSL libraries in Eudora,
but under Windows XP, it doesn't make any noticeable difference.

Users who have had some problem getting the first SSL connection started,
due to long delays on Windows 7, are invited to report their own observations.

Note the invitation to make a small donation,
at the site from which Windows binaries may be obtained,
as thanks for the work done to make them available.

Any distribution of OpenSSL (or any part) is always subject to some license
and legal agreement, even though it is free; it is also advisable
to always obtain executable software from trustworthy sources.

--
From: Han on 21 Mar 2010 20:51
John H Meyers <jhmeyers(a)nomail.invalid> wrote in
news:4BA6B8BF.2090903(a)nomail.invalid:

> On 3/21/2010 11:12 AM, jetjock wrote:
>
>> I just installed Win 7 Ultimate and am using Eudora 6.2
>
> Here's an installation note about classic Eudora on Windows 7 (or
> Vista): http://eudorabb.qualcomm.com/announcement.php?a=13
>
>> It almost always takes at least two or more attempts
>> at retrieving email from the server before Eudora will make a
>> connection.
>
> And it almost always takes at least two or more attempts
> to get anyone to provide enough information to diagnose their problem,
> such as their server name, port (or SSL setting in Eudora), and the
> error message.
>
> For connections using SSL, the version of OpenSSL which came with
> Eudora is known to potentially be stalled for a long time under
> Windows 7 when initializing itself for the first time.
>
> This is said to have been significantly improved
> as of recently released OpenSSL version 0.9.8m,
> for which the compiled Windows binaries are available
> from an independent developer.
>
> The OpenSSL libraries distributed with Eudora are two files,
> in the same directory where Eudora.exe is installed:
> libeay32.dll and ssleay32.dll
>
> Old versions of Eudora instead used a library from Certicom,
> and any such old version is so old that it should be updated,
> to catch up to innumerable fixes, including security fixes.
>
> The official site of OpenSSL is: https://www.openssl.org/
>
> Information about obtaining updated Windows binaries for OpenSSL:
> https://www.openssl.org/related/binaries.html
>
> The site which the above page currently suggests for Windows binaries
> is: http://www.slproweb.com/products/Win32OpenSSL.html
>
> The file at that site which installs version 0.9.8m binaries,
> including the same libraries which Eudora uses, is:
> http://www.slproweb.com/download/Win32OpenSSL_Light-0_9_8m.exe
>
> After you select the "/bin" option for that installer,
> you would find those libraries in the installed /bin subfolder,
> under the location where you chose to install the main OpenSSL files.
>
> You could try replacing Eudora's two original OpenSSL libraries
> with files from the new version, after saving the original files
> (or your original Eudora installer) elsewhere,
> in case you want to restore them later.
>
> I have replaced my own OpenSSL libraries in Eudora,
> but under Windows XP, it doesn't make any noticeable difference.
>
> Users who have had some problem getting the first SSL connection
> started, due to long delays on Windows 7, are invited to report their
> own observations.
>
> Note the invitation to make a small donation,
> at the site from which Windows binaries may be obtained,
> as thanks for the work done to make them available.
>
> Any distribution of OpenSSL (or any part) is always subject to some
> license and legal agreement, even though it is free; it is also
> advisable to always obtain executable software from trustworthy
> sources.

This is difficult to read, John, and I would like to get the newer
OpenSSl libraries, since at work my Eudora seems to get slower and
slower.

I'll email your post to myself, and see whether I can get them to work on
my WIn7 Pro system.
--
Best regards
Han
email address is invalid
From: Han on 22 Mar 2010 20:14
Han <nobody(a)nospam.not> wrote in
news:Xns9D42D4358D62Cikkezelf(a)216.151.153.164:

> John H Meyers <jhmeyers(a)nomail.invalid> wrote in
> news:4BA6B8BF.2090903(a)nomail.invalid:
>
>> On 3/21/2010 11:12 AM, jetjock wrote:
>>
>>> I just installed Win 7 Ultimate and am using Eudora 6.2
>>
>> Here's an installation note about classic Eudora on Windows 7 (or
>> Vista): http://eudorabb.qualcomm.com/announcement.php?a=13
>>
>>> It almost always takes at least two or more attempts
>>> at retrieving email from the server before Eudora will make a
>>> connection.
>>
>> And it almost always takes at least two or more attempts
>> to get anyone to provide enough information to diagnose their
>> problem, such as their server name, port (or SSL setting in Eudora),
>> and the error message.
>>
>> For connections using SSL, the version of OpenSSL which came with
>> Eudora is known to potentially be stalled for a long time under
>> Windows 7 when initializing itself for the first time.
>>
>> This is said to have been significantly improved
>> as of recently released OpenSSL version 0.9.8m,
>> for which the compiled Windows binaries are available
>> from an independent developer.
>>
>> The OpenSSL libraries distributed with Eudora are two files,
>> in the same directory where Eudora.exe is installed:
>> libeay32.dll and ssleay32.dll
>>
>> Old versions of Eudora instead used a library from Certicom,
>> and any such old version is so old that it should be updated,
>> to catch up to innumerable fixes, including security fixes.
>>
>> The official site of OpenSSL is: https://www.openssl.org/
>>
>> Information about obtaining updated Windows binaries for OpenSSL:
>> https://www.openssl.org/related/binaries.html
>>
>> The site which the above page currently suggests for Windows binaries
>> is: http://www.slproweb.com/products/Win32OpenSSL.html
>>
>> The file at that site which installs version 0.9.8m binaries,
>> including the same libraries which Eudora uses, is:
>> http://www.slproweb.com/download/Win32OpenSSL_Light-0_9_8m.exe
>>
>> After you select the "/bin" option for that installer,
>> you would find those libraries in the installed /bin subfolder,
>> under the location where you chose to install the main OpenSSL files.
>>
>> You could try replacing Eudora's two original OpenSSL libraries
>> with files from the new version, after saving the original files
>> (or your original Eudora installer) elsewhere,
>> in case you want to restore them later.
>>
>> I have replaced my own OpenSSL libraries in Eudora,
>> but under Windows XP, it doesn't make any noticeable difference.
>>
>> Users who have had some problem getting the first SSL connection
>> started, due to long delays on Windows 7, are invited to report their
>> own observations.
>>
>> Note the invitation to make a small donation,
>> at the site from which Windows binaries may be obtained,
>> as thanks for the work done to make them available.
>>
>> Any distribution of OpenSSL (or any part) is always subject to some
>> license and legal agreement, even though it is free; it is also
>> advisable to always obtain executable software from trustworthy
>> sources.
>
> This is difficult to read, John, and I would like to get the newer
> OpenSSl libraries, since at work my Eudora seems to get slower and
> slower.
>
> I'll email your post to myself, and see whether I can get them to work
> on my WIn7 Pro system.

I've done the installation on Win7 Pro fo the openSSL files. It required
some other installation of C++ (??) something or another. All went semi-
smoothly with ignoring an error (C++ thingy) and a reboot. Getting gmail
goes a little faster AFTER the first time which now takes (I think) even
longer than before. In hindsight, I don't think there was much
improvement, but I certainly didn't time anything.
--
Best regards
Han
email address is invalid
From: John H Meyers on 23 Mar 2010 14:06
On 3/22/2010 7:14 PM, Han wrote:

> I've done the installation on Win7 Pro fo the openSSL files.
> It required some other installation of C++ (??) something or another.

Was that just a warning, permitting installation anyway,
or could you not even complete running the original installer?

The warning should be that you can't use all stand-alone features of OpenSSL
(which is a large software package) without other run-time libraries,
but all we need for Eudora is copies of two DLLs;
we don't need to run anything else.

> Getting gmail goes a little faster AFTER the first time
> which now takes (I think) even longer than before.

Impressions vary a bit, as do actual timings under different conditions,
but as you say, you didn't actually measure the timing.

Thanks for posting your observations.

In another private email, someone told me of one measurement,
decreasing a first connection time from 33 to 22 seconds;
this isn't as good as it should be, but is still progress.

Someone posting on an OpenSSL forum had mentioned
a more dramatic reduction, from more than one minute
down to a couple of seconds, but indicated that this could vary,
depending on something which might relate to how many "fragments"
are allocated to some temporary areas in Windows. It seems
that this still needs a re-think on the part of OpenSSL developers,
whose focus may generally be more on flavors of Unix than on Windows.

They are evidently using hugely more effort than is necessary
to find at least 128 (or 256) unpredictably "random" bits,
which is all that's really required.

FWIW, some security issues are also addressed by the OpenSSL update,
so one obtains at least that improvement, plus some better
initial SSL set-up time, even if still a bit too high.

Thanks for testing, and best wishes.

--
From: Han on 23 Mar 2010 21:04
John H Meyers <jhmeyers(a)nomail.invalid> wrote in
news:4BA9033A.9010207(a)nomail.invalid:

>> I've done the installation on Win7 Pro fo the openSSL files.
>> It required some other installation of C++ (??) something or another.
>
> Was that just a warning, permitting installation anyway,
> or could you not even complete running the original installer?
>
> The warning should be that you can't use all stand-alone features of
> OpenSSL (which is a large software package) without other run-time
> libraries, but all we need for Eudora is copies of two DLLs;
> we don't need to run anything else.

I couldn't get by the warning (I think), so I installed the whatever,
whether it was really necessary or not.

Gmail is what is causing most of the SSL semi-hangs at first mail check.
Some other things seem slow under Win7 with my Eudora 7.1 too, e.g.
filtering. The machine is powerful enough, so I am not quite sure what
settings are "mismatched".

--
Best regards
Han
email address is invalid
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