# Website has untrusted connection problem **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 17, 2010, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/website-has-untrusted-connection-problem/539812 "2010-05-17T20:55:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/website-has-untrusted-connection-problem/539812/1 "2010-05-17T20:55:56Z")
I’ve been trying to connect to the website [www.glucophone.com](http://www.glucophone.com) using FireFox. I get the same message using Internet Explorer. Should I worry about this? Is it possible that some one is spoofing this site? The product is a cellphone that allows you to monitor your glucose level and I believe the company is legit. This is the message: > [@](#): > > This Connection is Untrusted > > You have asked Firefox to connect > securely to [my.glucophone.com](http://my.glucophone.com), but we can’t confirm that your connection is secure. > > Normally, when you try to connect securely, > sites will present trusted identification to prove that you are > going to the right place. However, this site’s identity can’t be verified. > > What Should I Do? > > If you usually connect to > this site without problems, this error could mean that someone is > trying to impersonate the site, and you shouldn’t continue. ---
**Author:** ![Caldazar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Caldazar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caldazar)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/website-has-untrusted-connection-problem/539812/2 "2010-05-17T21:36:43Z")
The website is secured by an SSL certificate. The certificate is designed to validate the identity of the website owner. It also supports encrypted communication between web browsers and the web server. The page has a login area, presumably so that users can log in and look at their records; this is probably the motivation for SSL certificate. SSL certificates are issued by third parties (certificate authorities) who are responsible for validating the identities of website operators. The certificate expired on May 6th. To ensure that website validation remains current, certificate authorities require you to periodically renew your certificate, during which time they recheck your identity. Basically, the certificate authority (GoDaddy in this case) is no longer willing to vouch that the owner of the website is who they say they are, since the website operator has not renewed their certificate. If you have concerns regarding the legitimacy of the website, you should contact the website operator and request that they renew their SSL cert. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/website-has-untrusted-connection-problem/539812/3 "2010-05-17T22:49:32Z")
This usually happens when the website forgets to pay their bill for the certificate. It’s not unusual for that to happen. My favorite example of this is various US Army websites. These sites have very strong security (now, the require you use a card in a card reader to be verified), but they never renew their certificates, so you always get a warning that the site is insecure. Most of the time, there is nothing wrong with the website (especially if it’s an established one) other than a failure to write a check. ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/website-has-untrusted-connection-problem/539812/4 "2010-05-17T22:52:40Z")
Thanks for the answers. > [@Caldazar](#): > > Basically, the certificate authority (GoDaddy in this case) is no longer willing to vouch that the owner of the website is who they say they are, since the website operator has not renewed their certificate. If you have concerns regarding the legitimacy of the website, you should contact the website operator and request that they renew their SSL cert. I emailed their tech support and told them about the problem. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/website-has-untrusted-connection-problem/539812/5 "2010-05-18T02:04:55Z")
Try the Mothership web site instead —\> [http://genesishealthtechnologies.com/](http://genesishealthtechnologies.com/)