This warning usually means that there is something wrong with the certificate?

Does the error page give any detail about what is wrong?

You may have to add or remove a www. prefix in case of domain issues. If there is a redirect then maybe try the http:// protocol to see if that brings you to the correct page.

I'm just following the url when I google the name of the website. I tried removing the "www" but it didn't make any difference. I've been to the website before, and there's nothing wrong with it. It's just an artist's website. It says something about a bad certificate, but I don't really understand what I can do about it.

Can you post a link to a publicly accessible page (i.e. no authentication or signing on required)?

This is the link I'm trying to access: http://www.shawncossart.com/

You shouldn't get that error with an HTTP address, only with an HTTPS address.

Do you use the HTTPS Everywhere extension, or a similar add-on that tries to upgrade HTTP addresses to HTTPS addresses?

Websites prove their identity via certificates. Firefox does not trust this site because it uses a certificate that is not valid for www.shawncossart.com. The certificate is only valid for the following names: shortener.secureserver.net, www.shortener.secureserver.net

So as posted above you shouldn't access this website via a secure HTTPS connection.

I got there with HTTP, but with HTTPS, I got:

~Pj

I have no idea what you're talking about. All I did was click on the link. I've been there before, and it's fine. I can't find a way around it now.

Hi palettemuse, you posted a link that starts with http://

With http:// Firefox would not try to make a secure connection.

When you get the error, has the address changed to start with https:// (note the S in there)?

If so, the question would be why is that happening? One possibility is an extension (add-on) like HTTPS Everywhere.

palettemuse said

All I did was click on the link. I've been there before, and it's fine.

This is the non-Secure site:

http(No 's')://www.shawncossart.com

This is the 'bogus Secure' site:

https://www.shawncossart.com

Go to Main Menu > Add-ons > Extensions.

Do you have HTTPS Everywhere or some similar Extension that's trying force sites from HTTP to HTTPS?

~Pj

This can also be a problem with the SiteSecurityServiceState.txt file in the profile folder.

You can remove all data stored in Firefox from a specific domain via "Forget About This Site" in the right-click context menu of an history entry ("History -> Show All History" or "View -> Sidebar -> History").

Using "Forget About This Site" will remove all data stored in Firefox from this domain like history and cookies and passwords and exceptions and cache, so be cautious. If you have a password or other data from that domain that you do not want to lose then make sure to backup this data or make a note.

You can't recover from this 'forget' unless you have a backup of involved files.

If you revisit a 'forgotten' website then data from that website will be saved once again.

• https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/delete-browsing-search-download-history-firefox

There's no http OR https listed in the url at all. There's no way to remove the s because it's not there.

Firefox hides http:// but shouldn't hide https://

I just realized the page is a frame. The framed page is at:

http://shawn-coss.squarespace.com/

Can you load that one directly?

Yes, I can load that one. How did you know to do that? That url didn't come up in any of my searches.

At this point, the assignment is over, and I had to use internet explorer to access it. It's ridiculous firefox is censoring these websites that are perfectly accessible through other browsers.

palettemuse said

Yes, I can load that one. How did you know to do that? That url didn't come up in any of my searches.

The error message referred to a shortener, so I assumed there was a redirect. Obviously the main address doesn't redirect, so I checked for a frame. Right-click the page, find "This Frame" then click one of the top two options

It's ridiculous firefox is censoring these websites that are perfectly accessible through other browsers.

Everyone else who posted in this thread could access the page in Firefox with no problem, so there seems to be some unique setting or add-on affecting your installation of Firefox.

If you have time to investigate further now, what extensions do you have? You can copy/paste a list from the Troubleshooting Information page. Either:

• "3-bar" menu button > "?" Help > Troubleshooting Information
• (menu bar) Help > Troubleshooting Information
• type or paste about:support in the address bar and press Enter

Scroll down past "Application Basics" and "Firefox Features" to "Extensions". Then you can select and copy the table that follows (not the entire page, please, that's too much information) using either Ctrl+c or right-click > Copy and then paste it into a reply. It will be messy, but we're used it.

I don't have any extensions. It started happening the last time firefox updated, so I assume it's something with the latest update. I don't know how the average person is supposed to know to look for a frame.

palettemuse said

I don't have any extensions. It started happening the last time firefox updated, so I assume it's something with the latest update. I don't know how the average person is supposed to know to look for a frame.

You shouldn't need to look for a frame, because the frame doesn't use a secure address. The mystery is why your Firefox tried to use HTTPS in this scenario.

If it happens on another site, let's work on it again. In the meantime, you could try cor-el's suggestion to remove the SiteSecurityServiceState.txt file and see whether that helps going forward. https://support.mozilla.org/questions/1254924#answer-1210685

I just got a new laptop and installed everything. Now there is a site that I get the "Warning: Potential Security Risk Ahead" message. When I go to advanced and click "accept risk and continue" it brings me right back to the warning and does not load.

I do not have any extensions installed than with my old laptop.

Name Version Enabled ID Adblock Plus - free ad blocker 3.6.3 true {d10d0bf8-f5b5-c8b4-a8b2-2b9879e08c5d} Amazon.co.uk 1.1 true amazon@search.mozilla.org Amazon.com 1.1 true amazondotcom@search.mozilla.org Auto Opt-out for Flash 1.1.0 true @mcafee-optout Awesome Screenshot - Capture, Annotate & More 3.0.24 true jid0-GXjLLfbCoAx0LcltEdFrEkQdQPI@jetpack Bing 1.0 true bing@search.mozilla.org Cookie Quick Manager 0.5rc2 true {60f82f00-9ad5-4de5-b31c-b16a47c51558} DuckDuckGo 1.0 true ddg@search.mozilla.org eBay 1.0 true ebay@search.mozilla.org Google 1.0 true google@search.mozilla.org Greasemonkey 4.9 true {e4a8a97b-f2ed-450b-b12d-ee082ba24781} Torrent Control 0.2.12 true {e6e36c9a-8323-446c-b720-a176017e38ff} Twitter 1.0 true twitter@search.mozilla.org Wikipedia (en) 1.0 true wikipedia@search.mozilla.org Xirvik .torrent to seedbox uploader 3.8 true torrent_uploader@xirvik.com

Hi RobEh, what are the error codes before and after you click? Usually they are in ALL_CAPS_WITH_UNDERSCORES.

See also: How to troubleshoot security error codes on secure websites

Actually something must have gone wrong during installation. I refreshed firefox and now the problem has disappeared. I should have done that first before posting here.

Regards,

Rob