Hi kunkel, what kind of device has this problem? Is it a desktop computer running Windows, a Mac, etc.?

Do you recall using the Reset feature, or do you see a folder on your desktop named Old Firefox Data?

I'm not sure what you mean about your certificates having been lost. Is Firefox reporting problems on a lot of secure sites? It would be helpful if you could expand the "Technical Details" section of a few problem pages and copy/paste that here to see what's going on.

Try to rename the cert8.db file in the Firefox profile folder to cert8.db.old or delete the cert8.db file to remove intermediate certificates that Firefox has stored.

If that helped to solve the problem then you can remove the renamed cert8.db.old file.
Otherwise you can rename (or copy) the cert8.db.old file to cert8.db to restore the previous intermediate certificates.
Firefox will automatically store intermediate certificates when you visit websites that send such a certificate.

If that didn't help then remove or rename secmod.db (secmod.db.old) as well.

You can use this button to go to the Firefox profile folder:

• Help > Troubleshooting Information > Profile Directory: Show Folder (Linux: Open Directory; Mac: Show in Finder)
• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_folder_-_Firefox

Clear the cache and cookies only from websites that cause problems.

"Clear the Cache":

• Firefox/Tools > Options > Advanced > Network > Cached Web Content: "Clear Now"

"Remove Cookies" from sites causing problems:

• Firefox/Tools > Options > Privacy > Cookies: "Show Cookies"

The device is a desktop computer running Windows 7. I have a "reset" because I re-installed Firefox. So I have and Old Firefox Data file on my desktop. But it came after I discovered my problem with Certificates.

Certificates Lost: I don't show any certificates stored in Firefox. Often when I try to contact a site online, I get a popup that there are problems on secure sites.

Correction: Passwords are being stored on Firefox. But, I can't get into my Thunderbird email accounts on this computer. Tried deleting one account and re-installing it. Didn't work. T-bird couldn't connect with Cox, my ISP.

Firefox and T-bird work fine on my old Windows XP computer. Go figure!

Larry Kunkel

If you expand the Technical Details section of the error page, do you see an error code such as the following in most of these cases:

• sec_error_untrusted_issuer

A common problem recently is Firefox not being set up to work with your security software. Some security suites include a filtering feature. In order to filter secure connections (HTTPS URLs), the security software presents a fake certificate to Firefox so it can intercept and stand in the middle of the secure connection. To have Firefox trust these certificates, you may need to do something such as import a root certificate, or click something in your security software's settings.

Of course, the problem also could be caused by spyware.

If you have added Exceptions, please check the "Issued by" section on one or two of the exceptions you've made to learn more about the source of this issue.

orange Firefox button (or Tools menu) > Options > Advanced > Certificates mini-tab > "View Certificates" button > Servers tab

Click a certificate and use the View button. The kind of issuer you might find is:

• Name associated with your security software, such as ESET, BitDefender, etc.
• Sendori (indicates unwanted software from Sendori)
• FiddlerRoot (indicates unwanted software named similarly to BrowserSafeguard, BrowserSafe, SafeGuard)
• Something else

If you have not added Exceptions, you can click the Add Exception button in the error page, then in the dialog click View Certificate or Get Certificate to see the Issued by section. You do not need to finish adding an exception.

What do you see?

I get FiddleRoot on one of them, but no other options. For a "mozilla" selection, I get no options. Not Trusted.

I assume you do not intentionally run the Fiddler debugging proxy from Telerik...

Open your Windows Control Panel, Uninstall a Program or Add/Remove Programs, then click the "Installed on" column heading to bring the most recent additions to the top. Can you find anything similar to BrowserSafeguard, BrowserSafe, or SafeGuard, or anything else that sounds suspicious?

Yes, I found several "strange"files. I removed them. I think my certificate problem is solved.

But, I still can't get email on Thunderbird. Seems the "profile' file has a problem. Wonder if I could remove it and then reinstall T'bird?

I can get email on another computer, but I'd like to get this one working.

Found a file called "none" in my profile. Might this be part of my problem?

Larry Kunkel

Hi Larry, I'm not very familiar with Thunderbird, but can you get any specific indication of the problem? Is it also reporting an untrusted certificate?

A profile contains all your current settings. You can create a new profile, but it will be blank, like a new install of Thunderbird.

Maybe it would make sense to start a new thread with Thunderbird in the subject line, or you could try one of these forums more expert on the program:

• https://getsatisfaction.com/mozilla_messaging/
• http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewforum.php?f=39