It is probably not worth saying that most computer system users, one way or another, faced an unpleasant problem when, when they enter the site, instead of the expected page opening on the monitor or mobile device, an error message appears stating that the server certificate has expired. With what it is connected and how to deal with it, it will now be considered.
What does the presence of a security certificate indicate?
In general, the presence of certificates “issued” to one or another web resource prepared by a user or Internet surfer can tell a lot. As a rule, the most important thing is that the site has a legal owner (individual or legal entity), which, if there are problems on the site or even if the certificate has expired, can be determined quite easily and simply.
The second point is that the user sees before him not a one-day website or a phishing page, but a serious Internet resource that assumes a long-term existence. In terms of the security of the computer system of the site visitor, the certificate certifies that this resource can be trusted completely and completely, which is most often due to the fact that the user will have to enter their registration data there, which will be reliably protected from prying eyes.
Server Certificate Error : Possible Causes
The causes of such failures can be quite a lot. Nevertheless, as the main sources of warnings like "Server certificate has expired", experts most often name several of the most common:
- the mismatch between the system date and time of the computer or mobile gadget is real;
- incorrect actions of the web developer of the site who really forgot to renew the certificate;
- blocking resources by browsers, antivirus programs, or Windows protection.
The consequences of exposure to viruses entering the system are now out of the question. For the most part, this applies to cyber attacks on the sites themselves, after which the existing electronic document is replaced with an invalid server certificate. However, by and large, in this case, the user is not in danger (unless, of course, you do something stupid and try to enter the site at all costs). It’s already better to contact the owner of the resource by sending an email.
Server name does not match certificate: how to understand this?
As for errors of this type, most likely, they only indicate that the certificate has been tampered with. In other words, this is the so-called spontaneously signed "linden", which has nothing to do with official identification.
Simply put, phishing sites are created in such a simple way , the owners or developers of which are trying to access the visitor’s confidential data (logins, passwords, PIN codes, bank card numbers, etc.).
But most often this is due to incorrect settings of mail servers or e-mail applications that can use secure connection protocols such as SSL or TLS. But now we will not go into the details of programming, but consider the simplest cases of eliminating the error "Server certificate has expired."
The easiest way to fix the problem.
The simplest thing you can do is to pay attention to the time set in the system. If the user sees that the date and time do not match the real ones, the settings should be changed.
But you only need to do this not in Windows, but in the BIOS. There is a special settings section in which these parameters are usually called System Time / System Date (settings sections in different BIOS versions and from different developers may differ). How to proceed? Just set the correct values, save the changes and reboot the computer or laptop.
In mobile devices, everything is much simpler. Date and time in the settings are completely elementary. Even a reboot is not required. As already clear, errors of this type arise exclusively with an active connection to the Internet. If the site has been visited before and is currently being viewed offline, nothing of the kind will happen.
Security settings for antivirus, firewall and browser
Often, the system displays a message that the server certificate has expired only because this resource is blocked for some reason by security modules (antivirus, firewall, browser, or all together).
In antiviruses, Avira is most often distinguished by this, although this is not the only package. What to do? Yes, just try temporarily disabling protection and attempting to log in. If everything is fine, you will need to add the resource to the list of exceptions.
The same applies to the firewall, only here the browser is blocked. As already understood. Putting it on the list of trusted programs helps to eradicate the problem.
As for browsers, in any of them you should go to the menu of basic or advanced settings, select the appropriate security settings, and also disable the scan in the system. But, in principle, at your own peril and risk, you can accept a certificate to enter the site or simply ignore such a message, but only if you fully trust this resource, and there have been no failures before.
Conclusion
That’s briefly all about the issue of electronic certificates. It did not specifically address issues related to programming or web development, as well as the problems of setting up email clients, since these are very specific topics that require a detailed explanation and some initial knowledge.