[Mono-list] Can SignedCms be usable?

[Sebastien Pouliot]

Hey,

On Mon, 2008-06-02 at 17:28 +0200, Mathias Tausig wrote:
> Hy!
> 
> I do have yet another question concerning the cryptographic parts of mono.
> I have started loking into the
> System.Security.Cryptographic.Pkcs.SignedCms class (and its relatives). I
> am aware, that they are not really implemented in mono, 

The whole Pkcs namespace is only partially implemented - and unlikely to
be useful for most applications. 

Sadly I did not got the time to complete it (originally, before mono
1.0) and it never showed very high into MoMA reports (more recently).

> but am I also
> right in the assumption, that their design makes them virtually unusable
> on any non-windows machine, 

No. Fx 2.0 makes it possible to load a PKCS#12 file, that includes a
certificate and a private key, and the use it with the new APIs. 

So it's not a framework-design problem anymore (like before fx 2.0) but
it's still an application-design problem (in most cases).

> unless you know the details of the private
> key?

No sure if I understand your meaning. Windows tends to "hide" the
private keys (in it's stores) from the users. However there's nothing
you can do, with them, unless you know their "details" (i.e. at least
how to access or use, not necessarily read, it).

Sebastien