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Post by carlos on Aug 26, 2015 17:47:49 GMT -5
Loaded the latest Mozilla 'update' and lost half my usual sites, which bring up the message "Secure connection failed--authenticity of received data could not be verified." Maybe the cause is not Mozilla--I am aware of the 'post hoc' fallacy. Still, everything worked fine this morning, and now Writers Pub is one of the few sites I can still access. No gmail, no facebook, no google. What's the use of owning a computer--and why can I still get some sites, but not all?
Any ideas--computer savvy people?
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Post by lou on Aug 26, 2015 18:35:33 GMT -5
I'm not computer savvy, but mine just updated automatically, too, and everything seems to still be there...
Is it because I have "sync" turned on, maybe? I did that when I got the biz computer, so I could keep bookmarks and passwords on both computers...and maybe it saved me a hassle, here.
Otherwise, I'm not sure what's going on.
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Post by Daniel on Aug 26, 2015 19:08:44 GMT -5
That's really strange. I'm running the latest version of Firefox, and I have no problem with gmail or google (I use Chrome for Facebook).
I did a quickie search and it looks like the problem is related to sites with old security that Firefox no longer considers secure. I can't see gmail or google fitting into that category. Something else must be going on. If it were happening to me, I'd try uninstalling and then re-installing Firefox.
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Post by carlos on Aug 26, 2015 19:28:42 GMT -5
Ah--You're probably right Daniel. The annoying thing for somebody who is not savvy is that the error message tells me to contact the site that refuses to admit me. Kind of circular. But maybe the best thing is to start over, as you suggest.
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Post by carlos on Aug 26, 2015 19:30:32 GMT -5
I also just remembered that Lenovo ran one of its own programs while I was in the kitchen washing the breakfast dishes--maybe it's Lenovo, not Mozilla. ( ?)
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Post by carlos on Aug 26, 2015 21:48:43 GMT -5
I have 'cured' the problem by going back to Windows 7--which is dreadfully slow compared to Windows 10--but when it finally goes where it is supposed to go--it actually goes there. However, I do not consider this the ultimate solution. I'll have to reload 10--but maybe not until tomorrow.
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Post by ameliasmith on Aug 26, 2015 22:18:47 GMT -5
Ugh. Sorry to hear about your computer woes.
My computer has just mysteriously changed its default font for this forum. Not sure what else it has up its sleeves.
Good luck with the re-jiggering... tomorrow.
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Post by Daniel on Aug 27, 2015 8:37:24 GMT -5
I have 'cured' the problem by going back to Windows 7--which is dreadfully slow compared to Windows 10--but when it finally goes where it is supposed to go--it actually goes there. However, I do not consider this the ultimate solution. I'll have to reload 10--but maybe not until tomorrow. Going back to Windows 7 fixed the problem? Then I think I know what's going on. Without getting too technical, it sounds like Windows 10 does not come with all of the security information you need to connect with the sites that are giving you problems. It's incomprehensible to me how Microsoft could release an operating system without support for Google, if that's what's really going on. It's likely they fixed this issue, so running Windows Update after you go back to Win10 might correct the problem. Here comes the TMI part about why this is happening... When you connect to a secured web site (one with a URL starting https), your browser goes through a security handshake that verifies the site is what it claims to be. This is handled through an exchange of "security certificates." Your browser drives the little identity icon to the left of the URL with the results of that handshake. Part of the verification process ensures the company issuing the web site's security certificate is a recognized "certification authority." (For example, Symantec is a recognized certification authority.) Anyone can generate a security certificate and pretend to be a legitimate site, so you need a way to verify that the source of the certificate isn't bogus. That's where "intermediate" and "root" certificates come in. In Firefox, you can see what I'm talking about if you go to twitter.com and click on the green "Twitter, Inc.(US)" label to the left of the URL. Firefox displays a Page Info dialog, and the Security tab shows information about the Website Identity. Click the "View Certificate" button, and you'll see "Issued To" (Twitter) and "Issued By" (Symantec) information. That tells you Symantec issued Twitter's certificate. If you go one step deeper and click the "Details" tab, you'll see the "Certificate Hierarchy," which shows the following: -> Verisign Class 3 Public Primary Certification Authority --> Symantec Class 3 EV SSL CA - G3 ---> twitter.com The above tells you that twitter.com got its certificate from Symantec, and that Symantec's issuing authority comes from Verisign. In security parlance, the Symantec certificate is an intermediate certificate, and the Verisign certificate is the root certificate. But how does your computer know it can trust certificates issued by Symantec or Verisign? The answer to that question is where we finally get to the root of your problem. Your computer stores a collection of trusted intermediate and root certificates. When you visit a secured website, your computer verifies that the intermediate and root certificates in the website's certificate hierarchy are among the ones it trusts. If your computer does not recognize the certificates in the hierarchy, you'll get errors like the one you received. This is where Microsoft screwed up. When you install an operating system, it comes with a bunch of trusted intermediate and root security certificates. The problem is that Windows 10 does not come with the trusted certificates your computer needs to talk to Google's sites. That's mind-bogglingly stupid. Going back to Windows 7 fixes the problem because Win7 has those certificates. It is possible for you to fix this problem with Windows 10, but it isn't a process for the technically faint-of-heart. You can use the certificate viewing dialogs I mentioned above to export (download) the certificate hierarchy from the site you want to trust and then install the intermediate/root certificates onto your computer yourself. But you shouldn't have to do that. Microsoft should have given them to you in the first place.
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Post by carlos on Aug 27, 2015 10:14:41 GMT -5
Ah... thanks Daniel--I actually understand more of that than I expected. I may wait a day or two, and not tackle this while we have company. I don't want to teach my grandchildren any more swearwords than they already know. After I first posted I recalled that Lenovo had run a boot-up 'optimiser' (on its own--not by my request) which may have further screwed up access to the security certificates. Thanks so much for your input--I'll let you know in a couple of days how I made out.
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Post by Daniel on Aug 27, 2015 13:04:46 GMT -5
I don't want to teach my grandchildren any more swearwords than they already know. I totally understand. I don't have grandchildren, but I have dogs, and they know when I'm swearing. When I have computer problems, the critters hang out in my wife's office.
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Post by scdaffron on Aug 27, 2015 15:56:35 GMT -5
"What do you think he's swearing about?" "I don't know. Probably some nerdy thing. Let's get outta here."
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Post by Daniel on Aug 27, 2015 17:08:44 GMT -5
Yeah, pretty much like that.
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Post by Miss Terri Novelle on Aug 27, 2015 19:46:05 GMT -5
I just updated from Win 7 to 10 and so far have had no problem with any websites. I hope you get it figured out!
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Post by carlos on Sept 10, 2015 12:41:47 GMT -5
A second try at 'updating' to 'Windows 10'. It remains to be seen whether it is an 'update'. I now have access to all my usual sites--but no sound. I checked and noted that other people have had similar problems--but the proposed solution (updating the driver for the sound card) doesn't seem to be the answer. Windows tells me that the driver is up to date, and, moreover, the sound is working fine. Apparently the problem is not the computer, it's me. A foreshadowing of times to come. I just hope that when the machines make their ultimate power play I'll be able to pull some plugs--like with HAL.
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Post by Miss Terri Novelle on Sept 10, 2015 15:55:12 GMT -5
Windows does some stuff that makes me crazy. I can talk on Skype from 20 feet away and the mic works fine. But try to use it in Windows...and it's all, Windows can't hear anything. Same mic, same settings stupid Windows. grrrr
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Post by carlos on Sept 12, 2015 17:40:45 GMT -5
O.K. I take it back--for now. I have Windows 10, and sound--and if I still have sound tomorrow I will start to like windows 10 better than Windows 7--but just in case my laptop is sentient I warned it that I will be watching... and listening. Meanwhile I intend to check out the thread on computers beginning to write. That could be a dangerous trend. They are getting uppity.
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Post by carlos on Sept 13, 2015 16:36:29 GMT -5
O.K. Now I'm taking back my supposed reconciliation with windows--I'm going back to hating them after all. When I finally got my sound card to produce sound I discovered that my print driver will not drive the printer. I'd like to say these problems are keeping me from writing something really great--but the truth is, they probably aren't. They're just keeping me from writing what I write.
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