Secure TCP/IP Programming with SSL

About the Book

Getting SSL to actually work for most has been a very difficult assignment and most opt for an expensive commercial package, and end up having the same difficult challenge regardless only now you have a vendor and purchase orders to deal with.  This book is for the developer who needs to integrate SSL communication with a new application or an existing application without the massive undertaking or expense and for those that want to get up and running and worry about the details later.  To that end the OpenSSL project is perfect for that use—of course it wasn’t easy getting an open source project to actually work, but this book cuts right through the garbage and gives you the code you can use today without hassel.  So, if you don’t know what RSA is and have no idea about how an existing TCP/IP connection can have SSL on top of it, then don’t worry, this book is for you and though the author doesn’t support it, you can also use the understanding of SSL to attack or even counter-attack encryption. It starts with downloading the OpenSSL library, walks you through setting up your own certificates including Authenticode and then shows you the code in both C++ and Delphi.  This book, though it walks you through the use of SSL, is NOT a beginners guide and is not for the feint of heart—this book demonstrates one of the more difficult aspects to software engineering and indeed mathematics so enjoy what took nearly 4 years to complete and most of all have some fun.

About the Author

I have been a computer programmer ever since I got my hands on a TI-99 4/A back in 1983 at the young of 12.  I don’t think I left my room until I got a car and realized that girls for the most part were better than my computer!  I began my career teaching computer science at a local community college which included C++, Database design, and COBOL classes.  I then was the Solutions Architect for the state of Florida and a faculty member at Florida State University where I designed and implemented a system that was eventually patented in 2004.  From these experiences I then worked for Hewlett-Packard (which bought my employer Compaq) and worked with some of the brightest in the industry including Terence Thomas, Kevin French, Bennie Slone, and Byron Finley from HP and countless others across the country.  I then had the opportunity to start my own consulting and technology firm and for the last 8 years have been enjoying traveling the country working on some of the most challenging and rewarding projects including facial recognition, digital licensing, mainframe connectivity, financial algorithms and many more.  To this day I remain a faithful student to the art of software design and methodology and am always learning.  Most ask why I love software and project management so much, and the answer is simple:  “In the beginning God created..” and I think with software I get to "create" each and every day something new and something the world has never seen.