Certificate Error on Every Website/Browser

Question

Level 1

14 points

Certificate Error on Every Website/Browser

Hi there, I have been having an issue the last couple of days. Whenever I visit a website (about 80%) of the sites I go to regularly, I am now getting an error that "Your connection is not private". I have searched the entire internet for the answer and nothing has worked. This happens in Firefox, Safari, and Chrome....

What I have already tried/verified:

1. Date and Time are correct

2. Uninstalled browsers and reinstalled

3. Reset Keychain

4. Made sure software up to date (10.11.6)

5. Reset all browser settings to default

6. Went into keychain access and attempted to delete expired certs (deleting not an option with right click, highlighting and hitting 'delete' on keyboard, or in the Edit drop down a the top - it is greyed out).

Things to know:

My computer has also shut down a few times (before this issue) and saying it restarted because of a problem.
I have 2 admin desktops (one personal and one for work)
Work desktop seems to create the issue of restarting, as well as being slow to load when I login

I have never ever had a problem with a Mac and now I am 100% lost on how to fix this...your help would be hugely appreciated!

Picture below is screenshot of Chrome browser error in random site. Again this happens in every browser I use on 80% of the sites. My bank site and Apple site (for example) do not have this issue.

MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Mid 2014), OS X El Capitan (10.11.6)

Posted on Aug 13, 2016 4:40 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

raina_b22

Community Specialist

Aug 14, 2016 5:23 PM in response to Raeanne27

Hello Raeanne27,

Thank you for reaching out to the Apple Support Communities. I see from your post that when attempting to visit a large percentage of websites in multiple browsers, you're receiving the following error message: "Your connection is not private". I can certainly understand why this would be a concern, and I'd like to help.

Were you able to test for this issue in another user account on your Mac? This may help to narrow down the problem a bit. You can find more information about this process here:

How to test an issue in another user account on your Mac - Apple Support

Another isolation step that I'd recommend would be to try testing for this on another Wi-Fi network while using your newly-created test user account. This will help you to determine if the problem is exclusive to the network you primarily use.

Cheers!

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Answer 2

Raeanne27 Author

Level 1

14 points

Aug 14, 2016 6:05 PM in response to raina_b22

Hi there, yes I have tried is on my other admin account I experience the same issue. It happens on any wifi work as well.

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Answer 3

chris_g1

Community Specialist

Aug 15, 2016 9:46 AM in response to Raeanne27

Thank you for trying on another Wi-Fi network. As a next step, we'd like you to try booting up your Mac using safe mode to see if the problem persists there. This will load only required kernel extensions and prevents some software from automatically loading or opening. Take a look at the instructions for booting your Mac into safe mode here:

Try safe mode if your Mac doesn't finish starting up - Apple Support

If the problem persists in safe mode, please restart your Mac and follow the instructions here to boot to OS X Recovery:

Start up from OS X Recovery

To start up from OS X Recovery, hold down Command (⌘)-R immediately after turning on or restarting your Mac. Release when you see the Apple logo. If you can't start up from OS X Recovery, try holding down Option-Command-R to start up from OS X Internet Recovery*.

Startup is complete when you see the OS X Utilities window.

Once you get to the screen shown in the screenshot above, choose the option to "Get Help Online" from the OS X Utilities window. This will allow you to use a limited version of Safari that has browser plug-ins and extensions disabled. Please test for your issue here, and let us know the results. You can find more information about OS X Recovery here:

About OS X Recovery - Apple Support

Cheers!

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Answer 4

Courcoul

Level 6

18,558 points

Aug 15, 2016 11:28 AM in response to Raeanne27

Before going thru the nuclear reinstall route, I'd suggest running two utilities developed and maintained by fellow ASC members: EtreCheck to get a clear picture of what's on the Mac and Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware for Mac to make sure your Mac isn't afflicted by crapware inadvertently loaded while browsing around. If you want, you can post here the reports produced for further help and diagnosis.

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Answer 5

Raeanne27 Author

Level 1

14 points

Aug 15, 2016 7:13 PM in response to chris_g1

Safe mode still has the issue - I have never started in safe mode so not sure if this is normal but it's VERY slow and buggy. Going to try Courcoul's suggestions before I do a recovery.

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Answer 6

Raeanne27 Author

Level 1

14 points

Aug 15, 2016 7:14 PM in response to Courcoul

Malware Bytes found nothing and this was the only thing reported failed by EtreCheck

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Answer 7

Raeanne27 Author

Level 1

14 points

Aug 15, 2016 7:18 PM in response to Courcoul

Also here is the full report in case you need to look at other stuff.

EtreCheck version: 3.0.1 (304)

Report generated 2016-08-15 18:17:04

Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime 1:45

Performance: Excellent

Click the [Support] links for help with non-Apple products.

Click the [Details] links for more information about that line.

Problem: Other problem

Description:

certificate errors in every webpage, also restarts saying there was a problem, second desktop is slow and buggy

Hardware Information: ⓘ

MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Mid 2014)

[Technical Specifications] - [User Guide] - [Warranty & Service]

MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro11,1

1 2.6 GHz Intel Core i5 CPU: 2-core

8 GB RAM Not upgradeable

BANK 0/DIMM0

4 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM0

4 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

Bluetooth: Good - Handoff/Airdrop2 supported

Wireless: en0: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac

Battery: Health = Normal - Cycle count = 246

Video Information: ⓘ

Intel Iris

Color LCD 2560 x 1600

System Software: ⓘ

OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 (15G31) - Time since boot: about one hour

Disk Information: ⓘ

APPLE SSD SD0128F disk0 : (121.33 GB) (Solid State - TRIM: Yes)

EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted> [Recovery]: 650 MB

Macintosh HD (disk1) / : 120.15 GB (64.84 GB free)

Core Storage: disk0s2 120.47 GB Online

USB Information: ⓘ

Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad

Apple Inc. BRCM20702 Hub

Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

Fitbit Inc. Fitbit Base Station

Thunderbolt Information: ⓘ

Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus

Gatekeeper: ⓘ

Mac App Store and identified developers

Kernel Extensions: ⓘ

/System/Library/Extensions

[not loaded] com.devguru.driver.SamsungComposite (1.4.31 - SDK 10.6 - 2016-08-02) [Support]

/System/Library/Extensions/ssuddrv.kext/Contents/PlugIns

[not loaded] com.devguru.driver.SamsungACMControl (1.4.31 - SDK 10.6 - 2015-03-01) [Support]

[not loaded] com.devguru.driver.SamsungACMData (1.4.31 - SDK 10.6 - 2015-03-01) [Support]

[not loaded] com.devguru.driver.SamsungMTP (1.4.31 - SDK 10.5 - 2015-03-01) [Support]

[not loaded] com.devguru.driver.SamsungSerial (1.4.31 - SDK 10.6 - 2015-03-01) [Support]

System Launch Agents: ⓘ

[failed] com.apple.softwareupdate_notify_agent.plist (2016-05-08)

[not loaded] 7 Apple tasks

[loaded] 156 Apple tasks

[running] 74 Apple tasks

System Launch Daemons: ⓘ

[not loaded] 47 Apple tasks

[loaded] 155 Apple tasks

[running] 88 Apple tasks

Launch Agents: ⓘ

[loaded] com.adobe.AdobeCreativeCloud.plist (2016-05-21)

[running] com.brother.LOGINserver.plist (2015-10-12)

[loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist (2016-07-11)

[running] com.rosettastone.rosettastonedaemon.plist (2015-06-07) [Support]

Launch Daemons: ⓘ

[running] com.adobe.adobeupdatedaemon.plist (2016-08-11) [Support]

[running] com.adobe.agsservice.plist (2016-08-11) [Support]

[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist (2016-06-28)

[running] com.fitbit.galileod.plist (2015-10-30) [Support]

[loaded] com.google.keystone.daemon.plist (2016-07-11)

[loaded] com.malwarebytes.HelperTool.plist (2016-08-15) [Support]

[loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist (2015-01-16)

[loaded] net.sourceforge.MonolingualHelper.plist (2015-02-20) [Support]

User Launch Agents: ⓘ

[loaded] com.citrixonline.GoToMeeting.G2MUpdate.plist (2016-06-08) [Support]

User Login Items: ⓘ

iTunesHelper Application Hidden (/Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS/iTunesHelper.app)

Microsoft Word Application Hidden (/Applications/Microsoft Office 2011/Microsoft Word.app)

Dropbox Application Hidden (/Applications/Dropbox.app)

Fitbit Connect Menubar Helper Application (/Applications/Fitbit Connect.app/Contents/MacOS/Fitbit Connect Menubar Helper.app)

Google Chrome Application Hidden (/Applications/Google Chrome.app)

fuspredownloader Application Hidden (~/Library/Application Support/.FUS/fuspredownloader.app)

Internet Plug-ins: ⓘ

AdobeAAMDetect: 3.0.0.0 - SDK 10.9 (2016-08-11) [Support]

FlashPlayer-10.6: 22.0.0.209 - SDK 10.9 (2016-08-11) [Support]

QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (2016-08-02)

Flash Player: 22.0.0.209 - SDK 10.9 (2016-08-11) [Support]

Default Browser: 601 - SDK 10.11 (2016-08-02)

o1dbrowserplugin: 5.41.3.0 - SDK 10.8 (2016-01-15) [Support]

SharePointBrowserPlugin: 14.5.9 - SDK 10.6 (2015-12-27) [Support]

googletalkbrowserplugin: 5.41.3.0 - SDK 10.8 (2015-12-11) [Support]

User internet Plug-ins: ⓘ

CitrixOnlineWebDeploymentPlugin: 1.0.105 (2013-04-25) [Support]

Safari Extensions: ⓘ

None

3rd Party Preference Panes: ⓘ

Flash Player (2016-06-28) [Support]

Time Machine: ⓘ

Time Machine not configured!

Top Processes by CPU: ⓘ

5% WindowServer

2% kernel_task

2% fontd

0% Fitbit Connect Menubar Helper

0% Google Chrome Helper(4)

Top Processes by Memory: ⓘ

1008 MB Google Chrome Helper(4)

693 MB kernel_task

172 MB mdworker(9)

156 MB Google Chrome

147 MB WindowServer

Virtual Memory Information: ⓘ

1.19 GB Free RAM

6.81 GB Used RAM (3.17 GB Cached)

0 B Swap Used

Diagnostics Information: ⓘ

Aug 15, 2016, 05:12:34 PM Self test - passed

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Answer 8

Aug 17, 2016 6:39 AM in response to Raeanne27

Hi Raeanne, did you ever find a fix for this? I have the exact same problem, same macbook, same system.

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Answer 9

Raeanne27 Author

Level 1

14 points

Aug 17, 2016 7:01 AM in response to brandondenver

H there, no his has not been resolved, I did not get a reply to the report I posted so I may just do the recovery option that was suggested. I have backed everything up. I might just take it to a local Mac repair.

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Answer 10

Aug 18, 2016 10:46 AM in response to Raeanne27

I re-installed OS X and it does nothing to get rid of the issue. I also used the 'get help online' when restarting. I didn't see any issues or the message about not having a private connection while using safari in this mode. But using chrome now, same issue exists.

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Answer 11

Camelot

Level 9

54,333 points

Aug 18, 2016 10:59 AM in response to Raeanne27

I see the question, but am not clear on the problem.

No site you access via HTTP is going to be 'private'. It's not encrypted, it could be intercepted by anyone in line between you and the server. That's been true since day 1 of the web, and is perfectly find for the majority of connections.

It's only if you access a site via HTTPS that it would be encrypted, private, and insulated from snoopers.

The screen shot you posted shows you access a http site, and therefore I wouldn't expect it to be private.

Now, if you're saying that you get the same thing when you access a site via HTTPS, then I could understand the problem/concern, but at the moment I can't see that.

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Answer 12

Courcoul

Level 6

18,558 points

Aug 18, 2016 11:04 AM in response to brandondenver

The certificates used by ALL browsers belong to the user account (its keychain, if the browser supports it, a separate file otherwise). Reinstalling OS X on top of the old instance (in comparison to a blank disk install) will inherit the problem ad infinitum.

Try creating a totally new login account and testing from there. If the problem disappears, then the problematic account is lugging around a corrupt certificate somewhere in the crud of old preferences we drag around when we recycle accounts for a long time.

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Answer 13

Aug 18, 2016 12:38 PM in response to Courcoul

I created a totally new login account, and the problem is still there.

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Answer 14

Aug 18, 2016 12:45 PM in response to brandondenver

Ok, seems the "i inside the circle" icon at the beginning of the header in Google chrome, is just the new UI graphical update only. So it sounds like everything is normal, they just changed the UI?

https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/chrome/R4OBsPtxb_s

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Answer 15

Raeanne27 Author

Level 1

14 points

Aug 19, 2016 1:50 PM in response to brandondenver

That may be trye but I still have the same issues in ANY browser I use, Chrome, Firefox, Safari etc. New login profile does not change this issue for me either. Still haven't found a fix.

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