Internet Explorer Displays a Blank Personal Certificate List

ID: Q216782

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Internet Explorer versions 4.0, 4.01, 4.01 Service Pack 1, 4.01 Service Pack 2, 5 for Windows 95
Microsoft Internet Explorer versions 4.01 Service Pack 2, 5 for Windows 98
Microsoft Internet Explorer versions 4.0, 4.01, 4.01 Service Pack 1, 4.01 Service Pack 2, 5 for Windows NT 4.0
Microsoft Windows 98

SYMPTOMS

When you connect to a Web server that requires a personal certificate to initiate a secure connection, you may see a blank Client Authentication dialog box.

If you click OK, you may receive the following error message:

Internet Explorer cannot open the internet site https://Web address.
An error occurred in the secure channel support.

CAUSE

This issue occurs because Secure Socket Layer 3 (SSL3) connections require the server to send a list of Certificate Authorities (CAs) that are recognized as part of the session initiation process. The Personal Certificate dialog box is blank if none of the your personal certificates match one of the CAs on the Web server.

RESOLUTION

To work around this issue, use either of the following methods:

Install a personal certificate recognized by the Web server.

Install a CA on the Web server for the personal certificate you want to use.

NOTE: You may need to contact the site's Webmaster to determine which CAs are recognized by the server.

MORE INFORMATION

This resolution might not work if Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 4 has been installed. For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q194788 Windows NT Service Pack 4 and Client Certificates

Additional query words:

Keywords : kbenv kberrmsg msiew95 msient win98 msiew98
Version : WINDOWS:4.0,4.01,4.01 Service Pack 1,4.01 Service Pack 2,5
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbprb