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I cannot add an exception for an untrusted connection

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I changed my GMail password and I tried accessing it from Firefox 10.0.3. I got the "This connection is untrusted" message, so I tried to "Add Exception" (I had to install SkipCertError to do this). When I click "Get certificate" and "Confirm Security Exception" on the next window, the window closes and nothing happens. I tried restarting Firefox, and trying to go to GMail again, but I keep getting the untrusted connection, even though I've added the exception. I cannot access any of Google's sites now (Gmail, G+, even Google itself).

I changed my GMail password and I tried accessing it from Firefox 10.0.3. I got the "This connection is untrusted" message, so I tried to "Add Exception" (I had to install SkipCertError to do this). When I click "Get certificate" and "Confirm Security Exception" on the next window, the window closes and nothing happens. I tried restarting Firefox, and trying to go to GMail again, but I keep getting the untrusted connection, even though I've added the exception. I cannot access any of Google's sites now (Gmail, G+, even Google itself).

All Replies (11)

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hello, when you click on "technical details" on the error page, which error code is shown? & which security software are you using?

Modified by philipp

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The error code is "sec_error_unknown_issuer."

As far as security software goes, I'm not sure. This is a work computer.

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If possible then you should also update to the latest Firefox 10.0.5 ESR version.


It is best not to add an exception for common sites that should work, but try to investigate what is wrong.

Do you only see that error with the Gmail site?

Try to rename the cert8.db file in the Firefox profile folder to cert8.db.old or delete the cert8.db file to remove intermediate certificates that Firefox has stored.

You can use this button to go to the Firefox profile folder:

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So far, the only site I've accessed with that problem is Google/GMail. Any site requiring a Google Login, it appears.

I tried renaming cert8.db to cert8.db.old and it didn't work.

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You can retrieve the certificate and check details like who issued certificates and expiration dates of certificates.

  • Click the link at the bottom of the error page: "I Understand the Risks"

Let Firefox retrieve the certificate: "Add Exception" -> "Get Certificate".

  • Click the "View..." button and inspect the certificate and check who is the issuer.

You can see more Details like intermediate certificates that are used in the Details pane.

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maybe you can also take a screenshot of the certificate details and attach it to your next post. we might get some clues out of it, what's going on...

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Here are my screenshots:

http://i.imgur.com/aytEq.png

I clicked "add exception" and got the window here:

http://i.imgur.com/k3AU9.png

Then, I clicked on confirm, and it went right back to the untrusted connection window.

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the interesting part would be when you click on "view" on the "add exception" page. thank you...

Modified by philipp

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Sorry, I'm out of it today...here it is:

http://i.imgur.com/ykfrM.png

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ok, this looks like your employer is somehow hooking in to/monitoring secure traffic. probably contact your it department in order to sort this thing out...

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I get a certificate issued by Thawte SGC CA that has the same validity range.


Check the connection settings.

If you do not need to use a proxy to connect to internet then select "No Proxy" if the default "Use the system proxy settings" setting doesn't work.

See "Firefox connection settings":

--- Do a malware check with some malware scanning programs on the Windows computer.
You need to scan with all programs because each program detects different malware.
Make sure that you update each program to get the latest version of their databases before doing a scan.

You can also do a check for a rootkit infection with TDSSKiller.

See also: