--- a/spamc/libspamc.c	
+++ a/spamc/libspamc.c	
@@ -2049,6 +2049,18 @@ libspamc_sslversion()
 
 /* --------------------------------------------------------------------------- */
 
+char *
+libspamc_sslversion()
+{
+#ifdef SPAMC_SSL
+    return OPENSSL_VERSION_TEXT;
+#else
+    return NULL;
+#endif
+}
+
+/* --------------------------------------------------------------------------- */
+
 /*
 * Unit tests.  Must be built externally, e.g.:
 *
--- a/spamc/spamc.c	
+++ a/spamc/spamc.c	
@@ -43,13 +43,6 @@ 
 #include <arpa/inet.h>
 #endif
 
-#ifdef SPAMC_SSL
-#include <openssl/crypto.h>
-#ifndef OPENSSL_VERSION_TEXT
-#define OPENSSL_VERSION_TEXT "OpenSSL"
-#endif
-#endif
-
 #ifdef HAVE_SYSEXITS_H
 #include <sysexits.h>
 #endif
@@ -115,10 +108,11 @@ check_malloc (void *ptr)
 void
 print_version(void)
 {
+    char *sslver = libspamc_sslversion();
     printf("%s version %s\n", "SpamAssassin Client", VERSION_STRING);
-#ifdef SPAMC_SSL
-    printf("  compiled with SSL support (%s)\n", OPENSSL_VERSION_TEXT);
-#endif
+    if (sslver) {
+        printf("  compiled with SSL support (%s)\n", sslver);
+    }
 }
 
 static void
@@ -143,9 +137,9 @@ print_usage(void)
         "                      hostname.\n");
     usg("  -p, --port port     Specify port for connection to spamd.\n"
         "                      [default: 783]\n");
-#ifdef SPAMC_SSL
-    usg("  -S, --ssl           Use SSL to talk to spamd.\n");
-#endif
+    if (libspamc_sslversion()) {
+        usg("  -S, --ssl           Use SSL to talk to spamd.\n");
+    }
 #ifndef _WIN32
     usg("  -U, --socket path   Connect to spamd via UNIX domain sockets.\n");
 #endif
@@ -340,29 +334,32 @@ read_args(int argc, char **argv,
                 *max_size = atoi(spamc_optarg);
                 break;
             }
-#ifdef SPAMC_SSL
             case 'S':
             {
-                flags |= SPAMC_USE_SSL;
-		if (!spamc_optarg || (strcmp(spamc_optarg,"sslv23") == 0)) {
-		  /* this is the default */
-		}
-	        else if (strcmp(spamc_optarg,"sslv2") == 0) {
-		  flags |= SPAMC_SSLV2;
-		}
-		else if (strcmp(spamc_optarg,"sslv3") == 0) {
-		  flags |= SPAMC_SSLV3;
-		}
-		else if (strcmp(spamc_optarg,"tlsv1") == 0) {
-		  flags |= (SPAMC_SSLV2 | SPAMC_SSLV3);
-		}
-		else {
-		    libspamc_log(flags, LOG_ERR, "Please specifiy a legal ssl version (%s)", spamc_optarg);
-		    ret = EX_USAGE;
-		}
-                break;
+                if (libspamc_sslversion()) {
+                    flags |= SPAMC_USE_SSL;
+                    if (!spamc_optarg || (strcmp(spamc_optarg,"sslv23") == 0)) {
+                        /* this is the default */
+                    }
+                    else if (strcmp(spamc_optarg,"sslv2") == 0) {
+                        flags |= SPAMC_SSLV2;
+                    }
+                    else if (strcmp(spamc_optarg,"sslv3") == 0) {
+                        flags |= SPAMC_SSLV3;
+                    }
+                    else if (strcmp(spamc_optarg,"tlsv1") == 0) {
+                        flags |= (SPAMC_SSLV2 | SPAMC_SSLV3);
+                    }
+                    else {
+                        libspamc_log(flags, LOG_ERR, "Please specifiy a legal ssl version (%s)", spamc_optarg);
+                        ret = EX_USAGE;
+                    }
+                    break;
+                }
+                libspamc_log(flags, LOG_ERR, "invalid usage");
+                print_usage();
+                return(EX_USAGE);
             }
-#endif
             case 't':
             {
                 timeout = atoi(spamc_optarg);
--- a/spamc/utils.h	
+++ a/spamc/utils.h	
@@ -30,6 +30,10 @@ extern int libspamc_timeout;	/* default timeout in seconds */
 #include <openssl/pem.h>
 #include <openssl/ssl.h>
 #include <openssl/err.h>
+#ifndef OPENSSL_VERSION_TEXT
+#define OPENSSL_VERSION_TEXT "OpenSSL"
+#endif
+
 #else
 typedef int SSL;		/* fake type to avoid conditional compilation */
 typedef int SSL_CTX;