A while back I posted about The Firefox 2 SSL 2.0 Tweak. Still some folks continue to have issues with Firefox not being able to access secure sites. SSL (Secure Socket Layers) is a protocol that secures communication over the Internet, which most banking sites and online stores require to send sensitive information. Here are some things to check if you are still having issues:

1. Since SSL requires Firefox to use a loopback connection, check to be sure your firewall is not blocking INCOMING connections to Firefox. This is by far the most common reason for this issue. I had this happened to me one morning, I couldn’t get on to my bank’s or communications provider’s bill-pay sites, but I could access everything else. For some odd reason my firewall program stopped allowing incoming connections to Firefox.
2. Check your SSL settings (see link in item #7 for detailed instructions). Make sure “Use SSL 3.0” and “Use TLS 1.0” are both checked
3. Using a manual proxy? (see link in item #7 for detailed instructions) Be sure “Use this proxy for all protocols” and “SSL proxy” are set to correct values.
4. Also be sure “Do not use OCSP for certificate validation” is checked (see link in item #7 for detailed instructions).
5. Clear your cache. (see link in item #7 for detailed instructions). This many times will fix several problems.
6. Boston University has created an SSL Test site, which will check to see if cookies and JavaScript are enabled. It also checks to see if SSL encryption works and if SSL addresses match non-SSL addresses. If your browser passes then there may be an issue with the site itself.
7. Review the mozillaZine Knowledge Base Article: SSL is Disabled. This provides detailed instructions for items 2-5 and details a couple more possible fixes.

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