Trouble Connecting To Secure Sites

Welcome to Just Ask Matt! - The IT industry’s answer to the help column, only slightly more medicated. Today, Jim writes:

Here is a strange one for you. All of a sudden I can’t connect to the Web site I use for moving my 401K options. It tells me that the site cannot be found. I recently installed a WG614 router and hooked up a network with my daughter’s laptop. I can access the site with the laptop, but not the desktop. Also, my son is telling me he can no longer hook up to his Hotmail account. Any Ideas?

My first thought is to ask you whether you are referring to no Internet connection at all on the desktop PC or just no connection to Web sites such as Hotmail and the one you use to access your 401K? Since I do not know for sure, I am going to assume - based on what was asked - that you are just having trouble with secure Web sites. Before we go any further, go to the manufacturer’s Web site and make sure that you have the latest firmware installed on the router. (While this has little to do with your problem, I like to remind people when I get the chance.)

OK, now nine times out of ten this type of problem is caused by your cypher strength in Internet Explorer being at 0 instead of 128 where it should be. Follow the instructions outlined here and this should take care of this problem for you. It is hard to say how this happened, but people who have brought PCs in to me with this problem generally were trying to make some change to their Internet Explorer browser in some way. No worries though, it happens. :o)

A few other things to check:

1. Make sure that the SSL port (port 443) is open and not being blocked in any way.
2. Double check your security settings in IE.
3. Verify that the Date and Time Settings on Your Computer Are Correct.

Do you have an IT-related question? Perhaps you are just burnt out on writing on the walls with crayons? Whatever the comments may be, drop me a line and you, too, can “Just Ask Matt!”