Microsoft statement on Internet Explorer Certificate and JavaScript problems

A spokesperson for Microsoft informs us of two problems related to Internet Explorer 4.5. They are working on solutions and advise readers to register on this web page to receive notification mail when a solution "patch" is available. Here are the two problems:

Certificates There is an issue related to certain certificates in Internet Explorer for the Macintosh that expire at the end of the year. Certificates are used by web clients and web servers in conjunction with Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology to ensure that the sender and receiver are who they say they are. This allows users to connect to secure sites in order to buy products, do their banking, etc. There are many providers of certificates, such as VeriSign, GTE, and RSA. IE for Mac has always included client-side certificates from a widevariety of vendors, to ensure that users can connect to any secure site they wish to do business with.

Microsoft has learned that some certificates embedded in IE 4.5 will expire at midnight on December 31, 1999 and attempting to access a site after that date may result in the user being presented with an 'expired certificate' warning. The user has the option of continuing with the connection, but Internet Explorer will not display the lock icon that indicates a secure connection. The user also has the option of stopping the connection.

This is only coincidentally related to the year 2000 because that is when the certification authorities chose to make their certificates expire. It is not a Y2K problem and is in no way related to how Internet Explorer or the Macintosh handle dates.

The behavior occurs because Internet Explorer 4.5 does not support version 3 certificates, the format for most new certificates. The patch allows Internet Explorer 4.5 to accept version 3 certificates so certificates with future dates of expiration can be used.

[Note: We have received some word that there may be a similar problem with Netscape Communicator.]

JavaScript There is an issue when users try to enter sites that require JavaScript using Internet Explorer, such as Citibank, may experience an error when entering them. The problem affects only people who have recently downloaded Outlook Express 5 Macintosh Edition and use Internet Explorer. Internet Explorer and Outlook Express share libraries to reduce the size of the applications. Outlook Express 5's recent release included a new Jscript library that is the cause of people not being able to enter certain sites.