On Wed, 7 Apr 1999, Colin Wood wrote:

> well, i saw the thing that said "it'll be faster if you set it to NO", so
> that's what i did.  personally, i think the comment is a little poorly
> worded.  i can only assume that saying YES will include RSA reference
> code (which is non-exportable).  i'm not quite sure where this code comes
> from, tho, since this package originates outside the US.  i think you'll
> be perfectly fine if you just say NO, tho.

The problem is, that RSA holds a US patent. Moreover, that patent is
not generally recognized outside of the US. Outside of the US, there's
no concern for their patent, but export restrictions apply.

It's really too bad that RSA's new owners no longer offer RSARef for
download. That's going to leave things in a very sorry state until the
patent expires next September.