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Cannot browse some everyday websites

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SUDDENLY !! ...and I have added nothing. Made no changes to anything - I cannot browse certain sites. Sites I browse every single day, like the local newspaper or BBC sport, or YouTube. It's not my PC or my setup in any way. FF has done something in the new browser updates and it is annoying. What i get is an i in the URL. Click on that and it tells me the page is not secure. What? Has been for years and then suddenly it isn't - come on FF. Here's the daft thing. Leave the page loaded for five minutes or more, refresh and boom - all is good. Suddenly, it IS secure. Try the site in Chrome and all is good. I've read the articles - blah, blah, SSH, blah,,,, HTTPS,,,, blah..... NONE OFFER A FIX. That's all I want - a fix. Or maybe FF ten versions back? Can anyone advise please

SUDDENLY !! ...and I have added nothing. Made no changes to anything - I cannot browse certain sites. Sites I browse every single day, like the local newspaper or BBC sport, or YouTube. It's not my PC or my setup in any way. FF has done something in the new browser updates and it is annoying. What i get is an i in the URL. Click on that and it tells me the page is not secure. What? Has been for years and then suddenly it isn't - come on FF. Here's the daft thing. Leave the page loaded for five minutes or more, refresh and boom - all is good. Suddenly, it IS secure. Try the site in Chrome and all is good. I've read the articles - blah, blah, SSH, blah,,,, HTTPS,,,, blah..... NONE OFFER A FIX. That's all I want - a fix. Or maybe FF ten versions back? Can anyone advise please

All Replies (1)

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Having problems come and go is very strange. Do you connect to websites directly through a local internet service provider or do you use an indirect connection such as:

  • proxy server or other filter
  • peer-to-peer connection like Hola
  • onion routing like Tor
  • private VPN

Such connections may be more variable than a standard one.


You also could check your connection setting here:

  • Windows: "3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Options
  • Mac: "3-bar" menu button (or Firefox menu) > Preferences
  • Linux: "3-bar" menu button (or Edit menu) > Preferences

In the left column, click Advanced. Then on the right side, with the "Network" mini-tab active, click the "Settings" button. The default of "Use system proxy settings" piggybacks on your Windows/IE "LAN" setting. "Auto-detect" can lead to a flaky connection. You may want to try "No proxy".


Last but not least, next time you see it, check exactly which of these scenarios you have: