How to troubleshoot problems accessing secure Web pages with Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 2

After you upgrade to Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 Service Pack 2 (SP2) in Microsoft Windows XP SP2, some SSL-secured (128-Bit) Web pages and Web sites may not work correctly. Frequently, this behavior is caused by security changes in Windows XP SP2. To determine why the pages do not display correctly, use the following methods in the order that they are presented.

Network connectivity issues

Make sure that you are not having network connectivity issues. For more information, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Look for third-party firewall or antivirus programs

Make sure that any third-party firewall or antivirus programs that are installed on your computer are configured correctly and are not preventing you from connecting to Web sites. For more information, see the product documentation or contact the program vendor.

For information about your hardware manufacturer, visit the following Web site: Microsoft provides third-party contact information to help you find technical support. This contact information may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this third-party contact information.

Turn off the pop-up blocker

Internet Explorer SP2 includes the ability to block pop-up windows. This new feature may block some Web pages. To turn off the Pop-Up Blocker, follow these steps:

1. On the Tools menu in Internet Explorer, click Internet Options, and then click the General tab.
2. Click the Privacy tab.
3. In the Pop-Up Blocker section, click to clear the Block pop-ups check box.
4. Click Apply.
5. Click OK.

Delete the contents of the Temporary Internet Files folder

If a copy of the Web page is in the Temporary Internet Files folder, the page may not display as expected. To resolve this problem, you must delete the contents of this folder. To do this, follow these steps:

1. On the Tools menu in Internet Explorer, click Internet Options, and then click the General tab.
2. Click Delete Cookies, and then click OK.
3. Click Delete Files, and then click OK.
4. Click Clear History, and then click Yes.
5. Click OK.

Configure security, content, and advanced settings in Internet Explorer

Configure the security settings for the Trusted sites zone in Internet Explorer

Note Only add those sites that you trust as a trusted site. If you are not sure about a Web site, do not add the Web site to the Trusted sites list.

1. On the Tools menu in Internet Explorer, click Internet Options, and then click the Security tab.
2. Click Trusted sites, and then click Default Level.
3. Add any SSL-secured (128-Bit) Web sites to the Trusted sites zone. To do this, follow these steps:
   1. Click Sites.
   2. Type the URL of the site in the Add this Web site to the zone box.
   3. Click Add, click OK, and then click Apply.

Reset the Security Zones to the default settings

1. On the Tools menu in Internet Explorer, click Internet Options, and then click the Security tab.
2. Click Internet, and then click Default Level.
3. Click Local Intranet, and then click Default Level.
4. Click Trusted sites, and then click Default Level.
5. Click Restricted sites, and then click Default Level.
6. Click Apply.
7. On the Privacy tab, click Default, and then click Apply.

Clear the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) state and the AutoComplete history

1. On the Tools menu in Internet Explorer, click Internet Options, and then click the Security tab.
2. Click the Content tab.
3. In the Certificates section, click Clear SSL State, and then click OK.
4. In the Personal information area, click AutoComplete.
5. In the Clear AutoComplete history area, click Clear Forms, and then click OK.
6. Click Clear Passwords, and then click OK three times.

Verify that Internet Explorer is configured to use SSL 2.0 and SSL 3.0

1. On the Tools menu in Internet Explorer, click Internet Options, and then click the Advanced tab.
2. Under Security, click to select the Use SSL 2.0 and Use SSL 3.0 check boxes if they are not already selected, and then click Apply.
3. Click Restore defaults.
4. Click Apply.
5. Click OK.

Use the System File Checker tool to scan all files that are protected by Windows File Protection

Use the System File Checker (Sfc.exe) tool together with the /scannow parameter to immediately scan and verify the versions of all the system files that Windows File Protection helps protect. If the Sfc.exe tool detects that such a file was overwritten, the Sfc.exe tool retrieves the correct version of the file from the Dllcache folder or from the Windows XP installation source files, and then replaces the incorrect file. The Sfc.exe tool also verifies and repopulates the cache folder.

You must be logged on as an administrator or as a member of the Administrators group to run the Sfc.exe tool. To run the Sfc.exe tool together with the /scannow parameter, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type cmd, and then click OK.
3. At the command prompt, type sfc /scannow, and then press ENTER.
4. Type exit, and then press ENTER.

For more information about the Sfc.exe tool, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Third-party browser extensions

Some third-party browser extensions and add-ons may interfere with how Internet Explorer views certain Web pages. To turn off these extensions, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, right-click Internet Explorer, and then click Internet Properties.
2. Click the Advanced tab.
3. Click to clear the Enable third-party browser extensions (requires restart) check box.
4. Click Apply.
5. Click Ok.
6. Start Internet Explorer, and then try to reproduce the issue.

If the issue does not occur, you can try to determine which third-party browser extensions may be causing the problem. To revert to the original settings, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, right-click Internet Explorer, click Internet Properties.
2. Click the Advanced tab.
3. Click to select the Enable third-party browser extensions (requires restart) check box.
4. Click Apply.
5. Click the Programs tab.
6. Click Manage Add-ons.
7. Click Add-ons that have been used by Internet Explorer.
8. Select all but the first of the add-on check boxes that are installed.
9. Click Disable.
10. Click OK.
11. Start Internet Explorer, and then try to reproduce the issue.

If the problem does not occur, select the next Add-on check box in the list, and then try to reproduce the problem. Select each check box in turn until you determine which add-on is causing the problem. When you have determined this add-on, contact the software manufacturer for information about updates for the add-on.

Create a new user profile

In certain situations, you may not be able to search Web sites if your Windows user profile is damaged. To troubleshoot this, log on to the computer as another user and try to connect to a Web site. If you can connect to SSL- secured (128-Bit) Web sites when you are logged on as a different user, your user profile may be corrupted. In this situation, back up the information and settings that you want from your profile (for example, the My Documents and Favorites folders), and then delete the damaged profile.

To delete a user profile, follow these steps:

1. Log on to the computer as Administrator or as a member of the Administrators group.
2. Click Start, click Run, and then type sysdm.cpl.
3. Click the Advanced tab, and then under User Profiles, click Settings.
4. In the Profiles stored on this computer list, click the user profile that you want to delete, and then click Delete.
5. Click Yes when you are prompted to confirm the deletion.
6. Click OK two times.
7. Log off the computer as Administrator, and then log on as the user. Windows XP will then create a new profile for the user.

Note Alternatively, you may want to create a new user, and then copy the data from your old profile to the profile of the new user. For more information about how to copy your profile data, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: