The certificate for this server is invalid

Question

Level 1

5 points

The certificate for this server is invalid

Hi I have an iPad mini and have been on my university website several times today. Now I am getting a message

"Safari cannot open the page. The error was:The certificate for this server is invalid. You might be connecting to a server that is pretending to be 'msds.open.ac.uk', which could put your confidential information at risk." This is very strange as I am using a bookmark each time to find the page. I have no trouble getting onto my university

website from my Mac so it can't be the problem with the server. I have tried resetting the time - now set to automatic - as I noticed this had been a solution to an iTunes problems but to no effect. I have up to date software - iOS 9.3.5

I'd really appreciate any suggestions.

Thanks

iPad mini Wi-Fi

Posted on Jan 27, 2017 2:54 PM

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Answer 1

JBfromherts Author

Level 1

5 points

Jan 28, 2017 2:03 PM in response to Drew Reece

Hi Drew, thanks for your suggestions. I tried accessing the website from another iPad, a Mac and a PC - all worked, no trouble but still no luck on my iPad. In the end I called Apple - really helpful but they could not explain it. I tried backing up the iPad and resetting - I was then able to access the website, BUT, when I restored the backup it still denied me access to the website. Apple thought there was something corrupting it so in the end I have reset it as a new iPad. Works fine now.

Thanks for all your suggestions.

Bit of a mystery.

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Answer 2

Jan 27, 2017 3:53 PM in response to JBfromherts

Ah, maybe it's iPad 1ˢᵗ Gen.

Perhaps take your iPhone to an Apple store or other Apple authorized service location to have this issue diagnosed.

Or contact Apple support:

Contact - Official Apple Support

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Answer 3

Drew Reece

Level 6

10,684 points

Jan 27, 2017 5:31 PM in response to Diana.McCall

Diana.McCall wrote:

Hi. Their certificate may have just expired; unlikely but possible. You should be able to accept the certificate and continue.

With respect that is bad advice. The certificate at that site appears to have been created in October 2016, at least on the sign in page…

https://msds.open.ac.uk/signon/SAMSDefault/SAMS001_Default.aspx

Accepting the certificate means 'I choose to trust this regardless of the warning'. It is possible the bad certificate is being inserted via a malicious network etc. It seems unlikely that the website had this certificate in October 2016 but waited until today to put it into service? Trusting the cert can compromise the login details.

JBfromherts, please try accessing the page from another web browser (Chrome or Adblock browser are free in the iTunes store) and/ or try again on another wifi or cellular network if possible.

Rebooting the device may also help to flush any cached data that may be causing issues.

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Answer 4

JBfromherts Author

Level 1

5 points

Jan 27, 2017 11:14 PM in response to Drew Reece

In my version of iOS I don't have the option to accept the certificate in any case - no tabs showing to click on.

However I have tried accessing the website via Chrome as you suggested Drew - but getting a message "Your connection is not private. Attackers might be trying to steal your information from mss.open.ac.uk". I can get onto the university pre sign in page but the problem is when I click on sign in. May be I have got a virus.

I'm going to call in to an Apple store and see if they can help.

Thanks everyone for all your advice.

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Answer 5

Drew Reece

Level 6

10,684 points

Jan 28, 2017 1:32 PM in response to JBfromherts

In theory there are no viruses for iOS (but anything is possible).

I suspect it is more likely that the network connection could be causing the issue - there is potential for malicious networks to modify your traffic. Try another wifi network as I mentioned previously especially if you are on a public network.

Also consider contacting the site in question - they may be able to help, assuming you can find a contact for technical support.

p.s please confirm the full address you are using. The last one you posted does not work (404), and it's important to be sure the page is using the 'https://' URL instead of just 'http://'. Try adding that before the address in the browser address bar (it's a bit annoying that browsers hide this info).

The store should have a safe wifi network to test, good luck.

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