# Expired security certificate **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [January 11, 2020, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expired-security-certificate/846254 "2020-01-11T00:13:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expired-security-certificate/846254/41 "2020-01-11T08:54:01Z")
Chrome, just now: > [@](#): > > Your computer’s clock is currently set to Saturday, January 11, 2020. Does that look right? _You_ tell _me_, Google - does that time look right to you? Don’t you know what time it is? _Does anybody really know what time it is? Does anybody really care?_ 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expired-security-certificate/846254/42 "2020-01-11T10:14:32Z")
> [@Disgruntled\_Penguin](#): > > Eh, google once let their domain registration expire and had to buy it back. Stuff happens, even to the giants of the industry. This lapse is nowhere near that bad. Plus there’s the fact that it’s completely different people doing it this time than last. There’s been a complete change in leadership since last year at this time. I doubt it’s even the same tech people. Sure, ideally they’d check the expiry when they took over. But I have a feeling that our admin is handling it herself, and she was kinda busy at that time. It’s entirely understandable that **Tuba** didn’t keep track of when the certificate would expire. All this said, I don’t see any reason not to use Let’s Encrypt, which is both free and auto renews ever few months. Since **Tuba** was involved in handling the main site, I’m hoping she may have gotten a Let’s Encrypt certificate and made this a problem of the past. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expired-security-certificate/846254/43 "2020-01-11T10:17:30Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Chrome, just now:_You_ tell _me_, Google - does that time look right to you? Don’t you know what time it is? > > _Does anybody really know what time it is? > Does anybody really care?_ > > 😃 I hadn’t thought of that, but you’re not wrong. Chrome could check the time with Google’s servers and thus be able to tell you if you clock is off by enough to have been the cause of the certificate error. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expired-security-certificate/846254/44 "2020-01-11T14:19:37Z")
The old computer again – since I have it why not? But even with the Air I guess I’m more curious than annoyed; all this tech stuff still fascinates me. I know about the work-around for Chrome but my understanding is that it would basically cancel the certificate checks across the board and I still would like to be warned if I hit something like this somewhere other than the Dope. And at least Chrome has a slightly easy (at least in Catalina) way of saying I trust these folks and ignore for now. Safari is actually far worse; even after I did their version of that I had to reiterate it several times, do the whole computer log-in over and over and confirm I was actually me right up to closing it. In Chrome this is a basic papercut. In Safari its more like getting slashed across the back with a meat cleaver. I was always a little curious about why folks across the boards have been down on Safari the last 8 years or so - now I’m seeing why for myself. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expired-security-certificate/846254/45 "2020-01-11T14:32:26Z")
I just got the similar error. I’m using a Win 10 machine with Firefox. Tripler Personally, I blame the Keebler elves. ---
**Author:** ![dogbutler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogbutler/32/428_2.png) [@dogbutler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dogbutler)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expired-security-certificate/846254/46 "2020-01-11T14:44:29Z")
Still doing it for me. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expired-security-certificate/846254/47 "2020-01-11T14:49:45Z")
Problem definitely not fixed. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expired-security-certificate/846254/48 "2020-01-11T15:03:31Z")
Yup, I have the warning Triangle next to the URL. Chrome isn’t happy that I insisted on connecting here. ---
**Author:** ![CelticKnot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/celticknot/32/3392_2.png) [@CelticKnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CelticKnot)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expired-security-certificate/846254/49 "2020-01-11T15:23:12Z")
Both Firefox and Opera on Windows 10 are still trying to keep me out. I lost a long rant when I tried to post because of all the warnings. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expired-security-certificate/846254/50 "2020-01-11T15:36:59Z")
It happened to me again this morning. The one-day certificate from yesterday expired. Now when I check the certificate, it says it will expire tomorrow. The new certificate was issued by BitDefender, my antivirus/security software, not by the owner of SDMB. I guess it’s a feature of BitDefender to create a one-day certificate when I tell it to proceed despite an expired certificate. It hasn’t yet been 24 hours since I first reported this problem. I’ll see what happens tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![Esprise\_Me](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprise_me/32/2947_2.png) [@Esprise\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprise_Me)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expired-security-certificate/846254/51 "2020-01-11T16:01:24Z")
I’ve been able to get past the expired certificate to read, but then the board eats my posts. Let’s see if I can get this one through… ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expired-security-certificate/846254/52 "2020-01-11T16:10:29Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Plus there’s the fact that it’s completely different people doing it this time than last. There’s been a complete change in leadership since last year at this time. I doubt it’s even the same tech people. > > Sure, ideally they’d check the expiry when they took over. But I have a feeling that our admin is handling it herself, and she was kinda busy at that time. It’s entirely understandable that **Tuba** didn’t keep track of when the certificate would expire. > > All this said, I don’t see any reason not to use Let’s Encrypt, which is both free and auto renews ever few months. Since **Tuba** was involved in handling the main site, I’m hoping she may have gotten a Let’s Encrypt certificate and made this a problem of the past. Yeah, the product I support is used by a bunch of multinationals and government orgs, and we have a constant stream of tickets saying their cert expired and they need assistance updating it NOW! I kind of see it as a failure of their processes (we had automated notifications set up when I worked in hosting), but it’s far from an uncommon mistake. I see it all the time. On top of that, you have to know all of the places you want to install the cert. I’ve helped more than one customer over the years track down where that request was being served from. Again, should be documented in your processes, but it’s not a rare situation for it not to be. Let’s Encrypt is great, but you’ve got to be running in an environment that supports one of the clients. The product I support doesn’t support it, so it’s not an option for my customers. So, yeah, not a stellar moment, but I have sympathy. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expired-security-certificate/846254/53 "2020-01-11T16:35:11Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > The boards won’t let me come in using https, so there’s still definitely an issue. I had to prefix the URL with http:// It’s working for me again using https. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expired-security-certificate/846254/54 "2020-01-11T17:09:12Z")
From where I’m sitting the site is secure and the certificate expires January 10 **2021**. I AM seeing “HTTPS.” in the web address bar. Is it possible that you are seeing “[boards.straightdope.com](http://boards.straightdope.com)” or some other variant? That would show as Not Secure and trigger warnings. Would clearing cookies help? Please try that and see if tat helps. Sorry for the troubles. I’m really really starting to hate weekends. Jenny your humble TubaDiva Administrator ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expired-security-certificate/846254/55 "2020-01-11T19:25:52Z")
> [@TubaDiva](#): > > From where I’m sitting the site is secure and the certificate expires January 10 **2021**. > > I AM seeing “HTTPS.” in the web address bar. Is it possible that you are seeing “[boards.straightdope.com](http://boards.straightdope.com)” or some other variant? That would show as Not Secure and trigger warnings. > > Would clearing cookies help? Please try that and see if tat helps. > > Sorry for the troubles. I’m really really starting to hate weekends. > > Jenny > your humble TubaDiva > Administrator As one data point, my Chrome on Windows 10 now shows a legit certificate, issued by Avast Web/Mails Shield Root, valid until 01/11/2021. The site works again without getting the certificate warning. But in the website info area (left to the address bar), there’s still the red warning “not secure”. I edited the URL by hand and inserted https:, and the site opens, but the “not secure” warning remains. That may confuse Chrome users, but rather seems to be a Chrome issue than having anything to do with the new certificate. And as a fellow IT guy, I feel ya ;). It always happens on the weekends/holidays. ETA: wait, I just opened the board on a second tab, and the red “not secure” is gone. So for Chrome users who get it still, my advice: close all current tabs with the SDMB and open a new one, and it should go away. Maybe that applies to other browsers too. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expired-security-certificate/846254/56 "2020-01-11T20:49:32Z")
Acting normally again today. Chrome on Windows 10. ---
**Author:** ![atimnie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atimnie/32/11_2.png) [@atimnie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/atimnie)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expired-security-certificate/846254/57 "2020-01-11T21:25:34Z")
Clock error resolved… finally. Still pisses me off that it kept saying my clock was wrong when it wasn’t. If it was an error due to the certificate expiring, then just say that, don’t blame the fucking clock. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expired-security-certificate/846254/58 "2020-01-11T23:05:06Z")
Browser working normal. Dopers still being abnormal. Balance to the universe has returned. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expired-security-certificate/846254/59 "2020-01-11T23:10:54Z")
If you’re still getting ‘Not Secure’ messages, try clearing cookies. Worked for me just now. ---
**Author:** ![atimnie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atimnie/32/11_2.png) [@atimnie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/atimnie)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2020, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expired-security-certificate/846254/60 "2020-01-12T02:59:35Z")
_Dopers still being abnormal._ If any of us was normal, would we be here? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expired-security-certificate/846254.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expired-security-certificate/846254.md?page=4)