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I only get a list display for most sites - hotmail, Facebook, etc

  • 5 replies
  • 1 has this problem
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  • Last reply by cor-el

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I recently update Firefox on my Apple computer and it basically is not working. I only get list displays for most sites -- including the Mozilla site. Almost all sites return with "This site is not Trusted" Including the Mozilla site. I fact, I had to go to the mozilla site using Safari to get anything to work. On some sites, not only do I get the not trusted message, but there is no option to accept the risk.

I recently update Firefox on my Apple computer and it basically is not working. I only get list displays for most sites -- including the Mozilla site. Almost all sites return with "This site is not Trusted" Including the Mozilla site. I fact, I had to go to the mozilla site using Safari to get anything to work. On some sites, not only do I get the not trusted message, but there is no option to accept the risk.

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Since certificate validation checks are time-sensitive, step 1 is always to check that the date, time, and time zone are all still correct on your system. Some users whose systems follow internet time sometimes discover that the internet time server is off and have better luck having the computer keep time locally.


If the clock is correct...

During your update, did you use the Refresh feature? That could occur if you saw a prompt saying you could speed up Firefox by restoring some default settings. If you click that button, your settings folder moves to the desktop inside an Old Firefox Data folder.

Do you have that?

If so, I will suggest solutions based on using some of those files.


If not...

What security software do you use on your Mac? Programs like avast, Kaspersky, ESET, and BitDefender intercept your browsing to filter out threats. In order to read your secure communications, they present "fake" certificates to Firefox.

Do you use any of those programs?

If so, instead of creating exceptions, it is better to set up Firefox to trust your security software to trust all of its fake certificates in one step. Usually the software will take care of that automatically if you quit out of Firefox and start it up again, or use an option in the security software's settings while Firefox is closed. It's hard to get detailed without knowing what you use.

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I checked the clock and it is correct. I did not use the Refresh feature - it seems I will live to regret that. I don't use any of the security programs you mentioned. I could probably live with the certificate issue. I cannot work with the list display of websites.

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btw, I should have thanked you for your response. Very rude of me not to.

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Okay, next things to check:

Are you getting the "unknown issuer" error, or some other error? You might need to expand the Technical Details section of the error page to see the code.

If you return to a site where you created an exception, could you click the padlock (or gray warning triangle) in the address bar, then More Information, then View Certificate, what do you find for the "Issued by" and "Certificate Hierarchy" -- is there any pattern among the sites for which you created exceptions? I don't know which sites you'll go to, but I'm attaching an example of the two sections I'm curious about for my site: https://jeffersonscher.com/res/jstest.php

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You can check the connection settings.

If you do not need to use a proxy to connect to internet then try to select "No Proxy" if "Use the system proxy settings" or one of the others do not work properly.

See "Firefox connection settings":


What does it say under the Technical details?

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 of the certificate.

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

Who is the issuer of the certificate?