I would like to check in a patch for http://www.python.org/sf/576711, which adds the _ssl module to Windows builds. The only slightly controversial thing is how the build process operates. I have quoted the relevant part of PCbuild/readme.txt below. test_socket_ssl passes once this is built, and at least 2 other people have reported build success. Are there any objections to the scheme? Should I check it in? Mark. _ssl Python wrapper for the secure sockets library. Get the latest source code for OpenSSL from http://www.openssl.org Unpack into the "dist" directory, retaining the folder name from the archive - for example, the latest stable OpenSSL will install as dist/openssl-0.9.6g You can (theoretically) use any version of OpenSSL you like - the build process will automatically select the latest version. You must also install ActivePerl from http://www.activestate.com/Products/ActivePerl/ as this is used by the OpenSSL build process. Complain to them <wink> The MSVC project simply invokes PCBuild/build_ssl.py to perform the build. This Python script locates and builds your OpenSSL installation, then invokes a simple makefile to build the final .pyd. build_ssl.py attempts to catch the most common errors (such as not being able to find OpenSSL sources, or not being able to find a Perl that works with OpenSSL) and give a reasonable error message. If you have a problem that doesn't seem to be handled correctly (eg, you know you have ActivePerl but we can't find it), please take a peek at build_ssl.py and suggest patches. Note that build_ssl.py should be able to be run directly from the command-line. build_ssl.py/MSVC isn't clever enough to clean OpenSSL - you must do this by hand.