Unable to Connect to SSL Web Site if Root Authority Is Unknown

ID: Q224144

The information in this article applies to:

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

SYMPTOMS

When you use Internet Explorer to connect to a secure sockets layer (SSL) Web site, Internet Explorer may stop responding (hang), and you may receive the following error message or one similar to it:

A connection with the Server could not be established.

CAUSE

This problem can occur if Internet Explorer does not recognize the Root Authority of the SSL Web site, and the Auto Proxy configuration file is configured to return an alternate Proxy Server to the client. When Internet Explorer is using a proxy array and fails to match the Secured Servers Root Authority with the one in it's local store, Internet Explorer internally adds the proxy used to established the connection to the Internet Explorer BadProxy Server list. Internet Explorer then tries to contact the next proxy server in the array, and if the next server is unavailable, Internet Explorer tries to locate the server, and if this is not successful, it generates a navigation error.

RESOLUTION

A supported fix that corrects this problem is now available from Microsoft, but it has not been fully regression tested and should be applied only to systems experiencing this specific problem. If you are not severely affected by this specific problem, Microsoft recommends that you wait for the next Internet Explorer Service Pack that contains this fix.

To resolve this problem immediately, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the fix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone numbers and information on support costs, please go to the following address on the World Wide Web:

http://www.microsoft.com/support/supportnet/overview/overview.asp

The English version of this fix should have the following file attributes or later:

Date	Time	Version	Size	File name	Platform
03/11/99	12:52	4.72.3515.1100	363,000 bytes	Wininet.dll	(x86)

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article.

Additional query words:

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