diff --git a/websocket/_handshake.py b/websocket/_handshake.py
index eee1544..4d0f028 100644
--- a/websocket/_handshake.py
+++ b/websocket/_handshake.py
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ import uuid
 import hashlib
 import hmac
 import os
+import sys
 
 from ._logging import *
 from ._url import *
@@ -148,7 +149,11 @@ def _validate(headers, key, subprotocols):
 
     value = (key + "258EAFA5-E914-47DA-95CA-C5AB0DC85B11").encode('utf-8')
     hashed = base64encode(hashlib.sha1(value).digest()).strip().lower()
-    success = hmac.compare_digest(hashed, result)
+    if sys.version_info[0] == 2 and sys.version_info[1] < 7:
+        success = (hashed == result)
+    else:
+        success = hmac.compare_digest(hashed, result)
+
     if success:
         return True, subproto
     else: