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By Hervey Allen (hervey@oregon.uoregon.edu)
Now that it's the year 2000, an unfamiliar dialog box may pop up when you open your web browser. The dialog warns that "Certificate Authority Is Expired" when you try to access one of your site's secure pages. This is because web browser encryption software has been upgraded, causing some incompatibility problems with certain browsers.
If you use Netscape 4.05 or earlier, Microsoft Internet Explorer v. 4.01 or earlier for Windows, or Internet Explorer 4.5 and earlier for the Mac, you'll get the certificate expiration message when you open your browser. Note that the security of your browser is not compromised by this message. Once you continue past the dialog box, your browser will connect securely to the site without further interruptions.
Some people may want to upgrade their browsers to the latest version as soon as possible to avoid getting the expiration message. However, if you have an older machine, upgrading might not be an option. If you can't upgrade, or prefer not to, simply ignore the dialog box and proceed.
If you do choose to upgrade, here's what to do:
1. Microsoft Internet Explorer for the Macintosh: To upgrade, go to http://www.microsoft.com/mac/download/en/default.asp and follow the instructions. A patch for the Internet Explorer 4.5 problem will soon be available. See http://www.microsoft.com/mac/iesecissue/
2. Netscape Communicator 4.x: To upgrade, go to http://home.netscape.com/computing/download and follow the instructions.If you have a slower Internet connection, you may prefer to get Netscape 4.7 on CD. See http://cd.netscape.com/4.7 for details. (Note also that version 4.6.1 is available on the 1999 Duckware CD-ROM.)
For complete information on upgrade tools and recommendations, see the Verisign web site at http://www.verisign.com/server/cus/rootcert/webmaster.html