scid vs pc help

I have been playing some correspondence games on ICCF.  I would like to configure scid vs pc to access the ICCF server and manage the games.  When I configure SCID vs pc internal xfcc server to connect to the iccf server, I get an the following error "SSL channel "sock4080": error: sslv3 alert handshake failure."  

It was my understanding that neither the iccf server nor scid vs pc uses ssl version 3?

Any ideas on how to fix this?

Hi, the phrase "sslv3" in the error is not indicating SSLv3 is being used, it's a part of a truncated/mangled error string from Tcl's TLS library. The ICCF server requires TLS 1.2, and SCID vs PC must be explicitly configured to use it. If you are on Windows, ensure ActiveTcl or Tcl/Tk installation includes the tls package: https://core.tcl-lang.org/tcltls/wiki/Download

Thank you for the prompt reply. When I start up Scid vs PC, the start window says:

"Using Tcl/Tk version: 8.5.18 (with Gregor's tk::text - No)"

Does that mean the correct package is installed?

How do I explicitly configure Scid vs pc to use TLS 1.2?

Unfortunately no, it doesn't. You need to use "package require tls" in the console to verify: launch SCID vs PC, open the console and type exactly "package require tls". Press Enter. In order to configure SCID vs PC to use TLS 1.2, you have to verify Tcl/Tk version compatibility. You have Tcl 8.5.18 version, while you need specifically 8.6.x version (in the release notes is written that "TclTLS 1.7 requires Tcl 8.6 or later for full TLS 1.2 functionality"). If you can't upgrade Tcl/Tk, TLS 1.2 configuration may fail regardless of settings. Ciao

When I run "package require tls" in the scid vs pc console, the result is "1.6.4."

I downloaded and installed Tcl version 8.6.17, and rebooted my laptop. However, when I start up scid vs pc, the startup windo still says "Using Tcl/Tk version: 8.5.18 (with Gregor's tk::text - No)"; and when I run "package require tls" in the scid vs pc console, the result is still "1.6.4."

Is there something else I need to do?

SCID vs PC uses a "bundled" Tcl/Tk runtime, that's why your Tcl install was ignored. In order to fix this, you must replace the bundled tcl85.ddl, tk85.dll, and tls1.6.4 files in SCID's installation directory with matching Tcl 8.6 + TclTLS 1.7+ binaries, and then update init.tcl (SCID's inizialization script) to force TLS 1.2. Remember that upgrading the bundled Tcl version may break SCID's GUI if it relies on 8.5-specific features, so proceed with caution.

Oh boy. That means that I will need to re-hack it if scid vs pc is upgraded (unless the tcl package is upgraded at the same time), right?

This might be a tad too complex for the like of me.

Where would I find the files that need to be replaced?

How would I update and initialize init.tcl? Where would that file be?