Issue with Netscape browsers earlier than 4.06
If you're using a copy of Netscape Navigator or Netscape Communicator earlier than version 4.06, you will notice that a message will appear when you connect with a secure web site (such when you go to a web order form, banks, and other web pages where you may need to enter personal data). While this message is not inherently problematic, we're letting you know about this to alleviate any confusion you may have when seeing this new message.
If you are using a version of Netscape's browser newer than 4.05 or
you use Internet Explorer you can disregard this information.
For those using versions of the Netscape browser older than 4.06, this
message will not affect your ability to browse the web securely or
disable your browser, nor is not caused by the changeover to the year
2000. If you are using an older version of Netscape and visit a secure
web site, you will see a message with a picture of a key, stating:
"One of the Certificate Authorities that identifies this site has
expired. This may be because a certificate has actually expired, or
the date on your computer is set wrong [...]"
The dialogue box will give you the options of cancelling or continuing
at the bottom of the message. You are safe to click on "continue" to
continue to access the site without difficulty.
Why is this happening?
In order to provide secure connections to web
sites, Netscape includes a digitally signed certificate file from a
company named Verisign in the web browser. This certificate is used
to validate a site's security. These certificates contain expiration
dates to notify the web browser if they have become "old" (even though
they will continue to function appropriately after expiration) -- and
for browsers older than version 4.06, the certificate included
"expires" on December 31st. Again, however, your browser will continue
to operate normally -- you'll just see the message described above.
This issue is not specifically a Y2K issue because ultimately the
certificates in all browsers will expire over time -- it's just that
the certificates in older browsers were set to expire just before
the new year.
As above, you can continue using your browser as normal -- we at
CoreComm simply wanted to let you know what was happening.
If you do wish to eliminate this message, however, you can do so by
upgrading your browser to a version of Netscape later than 4.05.
How can you find out what version of Netscape you're using? Simply
click on Help (in the upper, right-hand corner) and select "About
Netscape" -- the version number will be right next to the Netscape
Navigator or Communicator name.
If you do wish to upgrade your browser, first be certain that your
PC meets the minimum requirements for the latest versions. We
recommend, as a general rule, that those of you with PCs more than 2
years old do not upgrade to a newer version.
As always, before installing the upgrade, it is suggested that you
back up your bookmarks and any email you wish to save and your address
books. For more information on how to do this in Netscape Communicator,
please visit Netscape's Help Center. For
versions of Netscape Navigator versions 2.x and 3.x, click here. Also, we
strongly suggest you disable Netscape's Smart Update feature should you
choose to download a newer version. You can print this document and
follow the below directions to upgrade:
To disable Smart Update
Open Netscape
Go to Edit -> Preferences
In the left hand column, find the word "Advanced"
If there is a plus sign (+) next to "Advanced," click on it once to
expand the "Advanced" category
Click on "Smart Update"
At the top on the right, remove the check mark from "Enable Smart
Update" by clicking once in the box
Click on OK at the bottom, and you will be ready to upgrade.
Netscape upgrades are available at the following locations:
- Netscape
- Tucows
