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It is asked in stackoverflow, but I suppose maybe it is more suitable to ask here.

It is said that openssl are widely used, however, as far as I know, the most popular browsers seem not use openssl, instead, they use other SSL libraries like:

  • NSS (for all firefox and chrome in Linux)
  • SChannel (for browsers in Windows)
  • Secure Transport (for browsers in Mac OS X).

Am I right? Or is there any concept I'm taking wrong?

Thanks.

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  • I think OpenSSL is more commonly used on the server side rather than the client side. Ie - those browsers have to establish an SSL connection with the servers which serve the sites they're browsing. Commented Jun 2, 2014 at 3:07
  • SChannel is only used for Internet Explorer and Secure Transport only by Safari. Chromium and Firefox use NSS on Windows and Mac OS X too (and are thus able to support SNI and TLS1.2 on older Windows versions). Commented Jun 2, 2014 at 10:16

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The OpenSSL library is mostly used on the server side and is currently being used by many web servers. In fact, as of 2014, almost two thirds of all web servers on the internet make use of OpenSSL.

You are absolutely right about the libraries that you've mentioned. None of the major browsers make use of OpenSSL. Most of the libraries mentioned in the question are protected by under copyright by their respective vendors. In fact, the SChannel library is not even Open Source. You can find a list of these libraries here.

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12

The most popular Desktop browsers do not use OpenSSL, but

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