Email notification links don't work

[Francis Herne]

I receive email notifications of posts in topics I'm following. A recent example is copied below.

 

The links are all to "http://url6836.canalworld.net/...", and fail due to a certificate problem: "Firefox does not trust this site because it uses a certificate that is not valid for url6836.canalworld.net. The certificate is only valid for the following names: *.sendgrid.net, sendgrid.net"

 

 

Hi Francis Herne,
Stroudwater1 has posted a comment on a topic, Change of canal gauge locations
 

Posted in Change of canal gauge locations   Was Over lock in The Hereford and Gloucester canal narrowish  beam, aroubd 8ft ? I believe it was.  However I'm not clear if Llanthony Lock was alwa... Go to this Post

— Canal World

[Tracy D'arth]

16 hours ago, Francis Herne said:

I receive email notifications of posts in topics I'm following. A recent example is copied below.

 

The links are all to "http://url6836.canalworld.net/...", and fail due to a certificate problem: "Firefox does not trust this site because it uses a certificate that is not valid for url6836.canalworld.net. The certificate is only valid for the following names: *.sendgrid.net, sendgrid.net"

 

 

Hi Francis Herne,
Stroudwater1 has posted a comment on a topic, Change of canal gauge locations
 

Posted in Change of canal gauge locations   Was Over lock in The Hereford and Gloucester canal narrowish  beam, aroubd 8ft ? I believe it was.  However I'm not clear if Llanthony Lock was alwa... Go to this Post

— Canal World

That link works on mine,  windows 10, Chrome browser.

[Francis Herne]

It fails for me with Firefox 120.0 or Chromium 120.0.6099.109 on a Linux desktop, and Firefox Mobile 119.0 on my Android phone.

 

I've just found that it does work with the phone's default browser (very originally named 'Browser') which I don't ordinarily use.

 

EDIT: I tried creating new profiles in Chromium/Firefox with default settings and no extensions; it still doesn't work.

Edited December 21, 2023 by Francis Herne

[bizzard]

Works for me. Win 10 Firefox. and Win 7 Firefox, and Chrome.

[RichM]

19 hours ago, Francis Herne said:

I receive email notifications of posts in topics I'm following. A recent example is copied below.

 

The links are all to "http://url6836.canalworld.net/...", and fail due to a certificate problem: "Firefox does not trust this site because it uses a certificate that is not valid for url6836.canalworld.net. The certificate is only valid for the following names: *.sendgrid.net, sendgrid.net"

 

 

Hi Francis Herne,
Stroudwater1 has posted a comment on a topic, Change of canal gauge locations
 

Posted in Change of canal gauge locations   Was Over lock in The Hereford and Gloucester canal narrowish  beam, aroubd 8ft ? I believe it was.  However I'm not clear if Llanthony Lock was alwa... Go to this Post

— Canal World

 

I had this issue a few weeks ago but it stopped occurring without me doing anything and as there were no other reports of it at the time, I didn't look into it further until now.

 

I have since tested it again but using Firefox 121.0 and Chrome 120.0.6099.129. I was unable to reproduce the issue. Is it possible to update Firefox to the most recent version and let us know if the issue remains?

[Francis Herne]

2 hours ago, RichM said:

I have since tested it again but using Firefox 121.0 and Chrome 120.0.6099.129. I was unable to reproduce the issue. Is it possible to update Firefox to the most recent version and let us know if the issue remains?

I've updated to, and tested with, Firefox 121.0 and Chromium 120.0.6099.129, with fresh profiles (default settings, no extensions). On Arch Linux with all distro updates applied and having rebooted after.

The certificate error still appears every time in both browsers.

 

FWIW this has been a problem for me for several weeks at least, I just hadn't got around to reporting the issue.

 

EDIT: I've attached a screenshot of the certificate error as seen in Chromium. Firefox displays the same information.

Edited December 21, 2023 by Francis Herne

[David Mack]

The Samsung native browser on my phone says this:

"url6836.canalworld.net normally uses encryption to protect your information. When Chromium tried to connect to url6836.canalworld.net this time, the website sent back unusual and incorrect credentials. This may happen when an attacker is trying to pretend to be url6836.canalworld.net, or a Wi-Fi sign-in screen has interrupted the connection. Your information is still secure because Chromium stopped the connection before any data was exchanged.

You cannot visit url6836.canalworld.net right now because the website uses HSTS. Network errors and attacks are usually temporary, so this page will probably work later."

[Willonaboat]

No problems for me using Linux and Firefox 115.6.0 ESR.

 

If canalworld is hosted on several servers it is worth checking the certificates are the same. Similarly for IPv4 and IPv6.

 

If people are using proxies then try disabling them as proxies sometimes cache certificates.

Edited December 22, 2023 by Willonaboat

[David Mack]

I'm getting the same error when I try to pay the invoice just received for my annual donation to the forum's running costs.

[Tam & Di]

I don't know if the issue has been resolved in any way, but I am now getting much the same message if I click on an eMail link from the address no-reply@canalworld.net advising that a member has posted on a topic I am following. I got in now via my Firefox history which showed a connection  I made a month ago:

 

Did Not Connect: Potential Security Issue

Firefox detected a potential security threat and did not continue to url7653.canalworld.net because this web site requires a secure connection.

What can you do about it?

url7653.canalworld.net has a security policy called HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS), which means that Firefox can only connect to it securely. You can’t add an exception to visit this site.

The issue is most likely with the web site, and there is nothing you can do to resolve it. You can notify the web site’s administrator about the problem.

[Francis Herne]

Same problem persists for me. The URL has changed to `url7653.canalworld.net`, otherwise as I quoted above.

[RichM]

I can't seem to reproduce this issue which is making it difficult for me to troubleshoot I'm afraid. Can any further reports please include the following:

Browser name and version:
Operating system:

On the face of it, it looks like a certificate issue but it's weird how it does not occur for everyone. - Typically certificate issues cause more widespread symptoms, which is not the case here. 

 

 

[Tam & Di]

Sorry for the omission. I have a MacBook Pro with OS High Sierra v10.13.6. CWDF send notifications to my address on the Apple Mail program. I generally use Firefox 115.3.1esr, but I get the same effect with Safari too. I just received the CWDF advice re RichM's post and couldn't get to CWDF via the 'Go to this post" link, but I'd kept a connection open on my desktop so I read it and sent this reply via that.