outlook express - certificate does not match address????

[agatemind]

Every time I check my mail I get this error - "The server you are connected to is using a security certificate that does not match its internet address. "

How do I turn this error message off????

 

[Mark R]

This message occurs, when you are using a secure connection to the mail server, but the security certificate used by the server has a different name on it, to the name that Outlook Express expects. Because the whole idea of secure connections is to encrypt the conversation, and prove the identity of the remote computer - if the remote computer says it isn't they one that you expected, then this fundamentally defeats the security of the connection, therefore this error cannot be disabled without disabling security.

You should check that the right server name is configured in OE, if that doesn't solve it then you should check up with your ISPs (or the mail provider's tech support - it's probably a simple misconfiguaration on your end, but I have know it to be something on the other end: maybe they have installed the wrong certificate on their server).

Finally if all that fails, then you should disable security for that connection.

 

[agatemind]

ok. how do i disable the security? i tried changing the security settings in IE but that didn't help. the connection has to be established using ssl for email.

 

[Mark R]

This is an SSL error - the SSL certificate on the server does not match the server name you have specified in the 'accounts' panel in OE.

In Tools->Accounts select the appropriate account, and on it's 'Advanced' tab, disable SSL, and the message will go.

However, it is good practice to keep SSL enabled - so you need to check the servers on the 'servers' tab - make sure that they are typed exactly as directed by your ISP.

 

[agatemind]

i have to establish an SSL connection. that is the only way to connect to their mail server. any other ideas?

 

[Mark R]

You need to find out what server name you should have set in OE, and find out what server name they have specified on their server certificate.

If they are different, then you will get this error.

I used to have a trick which could get the certificate off a secure mail server (I don't use that server any more so can't test this). It is to open IE, and enter a URL as follows:

https://my.mailserver.com:995

Replace the obvious bit, but make sure you keep the ':995' bit (that is the port number for POP3 over SSL).

Then when IE starts do something and the padlock appears, double click the padlock to view the certificate.