error message logging in with Firefox

When attempting to log in using Firefox 1.5.0.8, I get the following error message: “Error trying to validate certificate from secure.kalmbach.com using OCSP - corrupted or unkonwn response. Error Code: -8073.” No problems logging in from Safari.

Interesting problem. I’ve no problems with Firefox, though I have long upgraded to v2.0. Is this a repeatable situation?

It is very repeatable. I’m running what Firefox considers the most recent version for Mac. UPDATE: FIREFOX LIES LIKE A RUG!!! (And I’m real close to using Matt’s FORBIDDEN WORD in reference to it. Grrrr… I told the app to check for updates (first thing I did) and it said there were none. Just now I went to the Mozilla site—low and behold, there’s Firefox 2! Ripsnarl! However, that still hasn’t fixed the problem. Heeeellllllllppppp!

Daaavid! Heeelllllp!

Ross,

So you get this error when logging in? I’m assuming you mean actually logging in with email addy and password and then you hit the “bad” certificate. Can you view the forums without logging in (minding that you also can’t post until you do!)?

Have you tried to put /forums/Default.aspx in the exceptions for cookies and security in the options for Firefox?

This is what I get after following your suggestions:

“Error establishing an encrypted connection to secur.kalmbach.com. Error Code: -8187.”

This would seem to be a problem at the Kalmbach/FSM end.

I really don’t need this frustration. I’m about ready to abandon this forum altogether. I understand David’s reasons for supporting Firefox, but that browser is such an incredible kludge. Every time he changes something, things get worse. Every time Mozilla changes something, it stops working until you spend hours figuring out (without documentation worth the electrons it’s printed on) how to configure it. I spent three hours yesterday trying to solve this problem that I should have spent building—I’d rather be building.

Ross, I hope you don’t abandon the forum!

I find all the browsers to be kludges, and I wish that they all could use the same standards so that the user gets to benefit from them, rather than wasting their time trying to get them to work properly.

I’m presuming you already have cleared the cache and wiped out any cookies. I hope David Voss reads this, and soon!

Bill

Ya, try clearing the cache and cookies. Maybe set the browser back to the defaults in case a security setting got changed and is therefore creating the problem.

Those are the first things I did. Didn’t help. Like I said—tried everything including a new install.

Really need some expert help on this one.

Ross,

I sent you an email about the problem you’re having with Firefox. In case this comes up for anyone else in the future, here’s some information.

If you get the error when trying to access secure websites then try the following. (Error 8073 - error trying to validate certificate with OCSP)
Fx 1.5 - select “Tools > Options > Advanced > Security”
Fx 2.0 - select “Tools > Options > Advanced > Encryption”

Then click on the “Verification” button and make sure that “Do not use OCSP for certificate validation” is selected.

In Firefox 2.0, this is the default setting. If you had an older version of Firefox and installed over top and/or imported your old preferences, I could see how this setting would have been different from the default.

Sources:
https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=299425
http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?t=497832&sid=a69e5d839edac2b37bd1682069c304ca
https://bugs.acm.jhu.edu/cgi-bin/trac.cgi/ticket/55

I hope this helps.

-Dave

Splash one bug!

That did it. At least the second part of the problem was due to installing the upgrade over the old version, as you suggest.

Are there any security concerns with not using OCSP?

Thanks for your help! Very much appreciated!

To be honest, I don’t know.

My gut feeling says no there isn’t. From what I read and the fact that it’s not used by default in Firefox 2.0, I’m not worried. My impression is that it’s more of a legacy item now.