When launching iTunes, I occassionally get a the warning: iTunes can't verify the identity of the server "p20-buy.itunes.apple.com" (image below). I generally close iTunes and relaunch and get no further occuance of the warning, at least for awhile.
Has anyone encountered this message? It this a valid warning? If so, can it be remedied? Could VirusBarrier X6 be contributing?
MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.2)
I had it today with a slightly different p number. I only got it after updating to iTunes 10.5.1 did you get it before the update?
Yes, I had gotten it a couple of warnings this summer and then recently (beginning this thread). The previous incidents culminated in an iTunes reinstall at the Genius Bar. Thrown into the mix was a corrupted App Store that was ultimately fixed by a Lion update. iTunes 10.5.1 seems to be working optimally for me.
I realized after my initial post that there were world-wide infrastructure issues that day (Time Warner Cable was hit with a major outage and the FBI shut down a major malware distribution ring), so perhaps what I experienced was a glitch. But this is not very reassuring, and no explaination at all.
I would feel better with a little understanding of the iTunes server and certificate deployment schema, but there doesn’t seem to be a way to even confirm the url iTunes connects to. “It just works” is beautiful when it does, but the opacity is frustrating when it doesn’t.
Are you using Airport or Time Capsule? If so, have you updated the firmware to 7.6?
For what it's worth:
iTunes 10.5.1 Includes Minor Security Update
http://blog.intego.com/itunes-10-5-1-includes-minor-security-update/
I have also gotten this message every time I open my iTunes. I have a brand new Macbook Pro and 10.5.2 iTunes. My message is: iTunes can’t verify the identity of the server “p23-buy.itunes.apple.com”. If I click cancel it keeps popping back up one or two more times and I cannot log into my account. If I click continue I am able to log into my account. When I attempted to do something else after that (can't remember what I did), I got this message: iTunes can’t verify the identity of the server “s.mzstatic.com”. When I googled the p23 thing, the first site I got had an apple.com identity. By exploring page info I found a link to s.mzstatic.com. I tried deleting some podcasts (did not delete well known ones) and restarting iTunes, but nothing changed. Any advice?
I still get this everytime I open iTunes it's driving me mad!
Gentelmen,
It looks like several people seem to have a similar problem. I just opened my old G5 mac running on Mac OS X 10.5.8and wanted to update my new Iphone 4 and itunes v opened up to this message
iTunes can’t verify the identity of the server “s.mzstatic.com.”.
The certificate for this server is invalid. You might be connecting to a server that is pretending to be “s.mzstatic.com.”, which could put your confidential information at risk. Would you like to connect to the server anyway?
What is the story is this a corrupted site or software I don<t dare continue so I cancel out is this site legit. ANY ADVISE. Is there anyone from apple that can answer.
I spent some time at the Genius Bar concerning this issue. They called Apple and was told the problem lies with a specific .plist file: if this file is deleted and rebuilt the problem goes away.
At this time I cannot verify if the issue is resolved; I’d get the warning intermittently and could never reproduce the conditions under which it was invoked, but apparently this procedure has remedied situations where the warning is frequent.
If you wish to try it yourself:
1 Log in with Administrator Privileges;
2 Find the “NetworkInterfaces.plist” in the root Library folder:
 (Macintosh HD/Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/NetworkInterfaces.plist);
3 Drag it to the trash (you may need to enter your Password at the prompt);
4 Restart your Mac and log back in.
Good luck!
Good lord that sounds complicated! I have been having the same problem along with another odd pop up warning of a different nature besides the current one we are experiencing. Does anyone from Apple know what it is or have a friend at the stores that has heard of it?
I will try the solution. Mine pops up as soon as i open itunes just to listen to what i already have. when i hit cancel it comes back on once. so a total of twice just to listen to previously purchased music. i will try and get a screen grab of the other odd warning that is frequently appearing. has anyone else seen the other weird and similar but different warning as well.
Hey I tried that solution but I'm still getting the same weird warning. what the **** is it? grrr..I just texted a friend who works at the mac store but i dont think he is up. I will try again in the morning and report any info if i find any.
My daughter was recieving a similar error message "iTunes can't verify the identity of the server "p16-buy.itunes.apple.com".
While trying to manually upgrade her itunes software, I came across a message that suggested that the computer date and time where incorrect. Low and behold, when I checked her date and time were, for some reason two years behind.
Once I corrected the date and time, I was able to update the itunes software and download her new music. All is good.
Guys I think I found the solution. At least for me.
What I did was simply update my computer's time which was like a week and 2 hours behind. Since I don't like that my computer syncs my time automatically, I had disabled the whole setting. However, after manually setting the correct time and date, the itunes p20 message no longer pops up.
It was a date problem for me i'm using win 7, i found the date was change to on month ago (i don't know how yet) so i fixed the date and the problem ""i tunes can't verify the identity of the server "s.mzstatic.com""" fixed.
😠 how can i can I solve this problem with out you paying money ??? please tell me 😍
I corrected the time earlier in the day, but didnt realize the date was shifty too. Poptarts right, I went back changed the date and it worked.
iTunes can't verify the identity of the server "p20-buy.itunes.apple.com".
