1rc4(3)                              OpenSSL                             rc4(3)
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NAME

6       RC4_set_key, RC4 - RC4 encryption
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SYNOPSIS

9        #include <openssl/rc4.h>
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11        void RC4_set_key(RC4_KEY *key, int len, const unsigned char *data);
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13        void RC4(RC4_KEY *key, unsigned long len, const unsigned char *indata,
14                 unsigned char *outdata);
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DESCRIPTION

17       This library implements the Alleged RC4 cipher, which is described for
18       example in Applied Cryptography.  It is believed to be compatible with
19       RC4[TM], a proprietary cipher of RSA Security Inc.
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21       RC4 is a stream cipher with variable key length.  Typically, 128 bit
22       (16 byte) keys are used for strong encryption, but shorter insecure key
23       sizes have been widely used due to export restrictions.
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25       RC4 consists of a key setup phase and the actual encryption or decryp‐
26       tion phase.
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28       RC4_set_key() sets up the RC4_KEY key using the len bytes long key at
29       data.
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31       RC4() encrypts or decrypts the len bytes of data at indata using key
32       and places the result at outdata.  Repeated RC4() calls with the same
33       key yield a continuous key stream.
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35       Since RC4 is a stream cipher (the input is XORed with a pseudo-random
36       key stream to produce the output), decryption uses the same function
37       calls as encryption.
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39       Applications should use the higher level functions EVP_EncryptInit(3)
40       etc. instead of calling the RC4 functions directly.
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RETURN VALUES

43       RC4_set_key() and RC4() do not return values.
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NOTE

46       Certain conditions have to be observed to securely use stream ciphers.
47       It is not permissible to perform multiple encryptions using the same
48       key stream.
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SEE ALSO

51       blowfish(3), des(3), rc2(3)
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HISTORY

54       RC4_set_key() and RC4() are available in all versions of SSLeay and
55       OpenSSL.
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590.9.8b                            2000-02-25                            rc4(3)