diff --git a/config.h b/config.h
index 291b1488..6a9c8711 100644
--- a/config.h
+++ b/config.h
@@ -194,10 +194,15 @@ namespace CryptoPP { }
 #	define __USE_W32_SOCKETS
 #endif
 
-typedef unsigned char byte;		// put in global namespace to avoid ambiguity with other byte typedefs
+// Originally in global namespace to avoid ambiguity with other byte typedefs.
+// Moved to Crypto++ namespace due to C++17, std::byte and potential compile problems. Also see
+// http://www.cryptopp.com/wiki/std::byte and http://github.com/weidai11/cryptopp/issues/442
+// typedef unsigned char byte;
+#define CRYPTOPP_NO_GLOBAL_BYTE 1
 
 NAMESPACE_BEGIN(CryptoPP)
 
+typedef unsigned char byte;
 typedef unsigned short word16;
 typedef unsigned int word32;