diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index fa1fcac..a19ceb6 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ fbconfig.config
 *.o
 *.so.*
 *.so
+test-getrandom
 test-webserver
 test-json
 test-ssl
diff --git a/Changelog b/Changelog
index 79ca7f1..f31ac68 100644
--- a/Changelog
+++ b/Changelog
@@ -1,3 +1,7 @@
+2026-04-15:
+- getrandomtext did not init with a good seed value. using the sample from the
+  linux man pages.
+
 2026-04-04:
 - WebRequestBuffer::GerCookie did not return the correct cookie
 - test-webserver: added some basic data in and output.
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index ba15741..2b6b200 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ noconfig: help
 endif
 
 
-all: dep $(TARGET) test-udp test-tcpserver test-tcpclient test-ssl test-json test-webserver
+all: dep $(TARGET) test-udp test-tcpserver test-tcpclient test-ssl test-json test-webserver test-getrandom
 
 -include .depend
 
@@ -37,6 +37,9 @@ configwindows: clean
 test-webserver: $(TARGET) test-webserver.o
 	$(CXX) test-webserver.o -o $@ -lUDPTCPNetwork -L./ -I./ $(LDFLAGS)
 	
+test-getrandom: $(TARGET) test-getrandom.o
+	$(CXX) test-getrandom.o -o $@ -lUDPTCPNetwork -L./ -I./ $(LDFLAGS)
+	
 test-tcpserver: $(TARGET) test-tcpserver.o
 	$(CXX) test-tcpserver.o -o $@ -lUDPTCPNetwork -L./ -I./ $(LDFLAGS)
 	
diff --git a/Makefile.rules.linux b/Makefile.rules.linux
index c1c1a4f..bada259 100644
--- a/Makefile.rules.linux
+++ b/Makefile.rules.linux
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ ETCPREFIX = /etc
 LINUXVERSION = 1
 
 CXX = g++
-CXXFLAGS = -ggdb -fPIC -pg -Wno-write-strings -I./ -std=c++11 -DBUILD_LINUX=1
+CXXFLAGS = -fPIC -pg -Wno-write-strings -I./ -std=c++11 -DBUILD_LINUX=1
 LDFLAGS = -lm -pg -lssl -lcrypto
 
 TARGET = lib$(OBJLIB_NAME).so.$(VERSION)
diff --git a/ssl.cc b/ssl.cc
index 9823a1d..3082a65 100644
--- a/ssl.cc
+++ b/ssl.cc
@@ -375,6 +375,10 @@ std::string getsha256sum(std::string *in) {
 
 std::string getrandomtext(int numbytes) {
     std::string text = "";
+	unsigned int seed;
+
+	seed = arc4random();
+	srand(seed);
 
     for (int i = 0; i < numbytes; i++) {
         char c = ((rand() % (90-48)) + 48);
diff --git a/test-getrandom.cc b/test-getrandom.cc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7b420a0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test-getrandom.cc
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+
+#include <string.h>
+#include <unistd.h>
+
+#include "UDPTCPNetwork.h"
+
+int main (int argc, char **argv) {
+	std::string user_salt;
+    user_salt = getrandomtext(16);	debug ("test:%s", user_salt.c_str());
+    user_salt = getrandomtext(16);	debug ("test:%s", user_salt.c_str());
+    user_salt = getrandomtext(16);	debug ("test:%s", user_salt.c_str());
+    user_salt = getrandomtext(16);	debug ("test:%s", user_salt.c_str());
+    user_salt = getrandomtext(16);	debug ("test:%s", user_salt.c_str());
+    user_salt = getrandomtext(16);	debug ("test:%s", user_salt.c_str());
+    user_salt = getrandomtext(16);	debug ("test:%s", user_salt.c_str());
+    user_salt = getrandomtext(16);	debug ("test:%s", user_salt.c_str());
+    user_salt = getrandomtext(16);	debug ("test:%s", user_salt.c_str());
+    user_salt = getrandomtext(16);	debug ("test:%s", user_salt.c_str());
+
+	return 0;
+};
diff --git a/test-ssl.cc b/test-ssl.cc
index 6c233cf..cec7169 100644
--- a/test-ssl.cc
+++ b/test-ssl.cc
@@ -156,6 +156,15 @@ void client () {
 int main (int argc, char **argv) {
 	pid_t pid;
 
+
+	std::string user_salt;
+    user_salt = getrandomtext(16);	debug ("test:%s", user_salt.c_str());
+    user_salt = getrandomtext(16);	debug ("test:%s", user_salt.c_str());
+    user_salt = getrandomtext(16);	debug ("test:%s", user_salt.c_str());
+    user_salt = getrandomtext(16);	debug ("test:%s", user_salt.c_str());
+    user_salt = getrandomtext(16);	debug ("test:%s", user_salt.c_str());
+
+
 #if defined(_WIN32) || defined(_WIN64) || defined(__CYGWIN__)
 #else
 	pid = fork();