Browser Error when opening link to CWD but OK if main site URL accessed directly

[Markinaboat]

Hi,

 

This has happened all of a sudden after many years without any problems.

 

Does anyone else get this error when opening a link from an email? I've got CWD saved as a fav (have done for as lonh as I can remember) and no issues if I open the forums that way. Doesn;t appear to be a firewall or McAffee problem my end. Am using Windows 10.

 

Thanks

[Alan de Enfield]

Been getting that on an infrequent basis - but - not for the last couple of weeks.

 

I just click on 'open anyway'.

[Tony Brooks]

23 minutes ago, Markinaboat said:

Hi,

 

This has happened all of a sudden after many years without any problems.

 

Does anyone else get this error when opening a link from an email? I've got CWD saved as a fav (have done for as lonh as I can remember) and no issues if I open the forums that way. Doesn;t appear to be a firewall or McAffee problem my end. Am using Windows 10.

 

Thanks

 

I suspect it is a web browser generated message. I get them from Firefox until I tell it the site is safe.

[RichM]

46 minutes ago, Markinaboat said:

Hi,

 

This has happened all of a sudden after many years without any problems.

 

Does anyone else get this error when opening a link from an email? I've got CWD saved as a fav (have done for as lonh as I can remember) and no issues if I open the forums that way. Doesn;t appear to be a firewall or McAffee problem my end. Am using Windows 10.

 

Thanks

 

Please can you re-test this and let me know if the error remains?

 

[jonesthenuke]

I seem to be getting this due to a change in Chrome? I have a link to the .gov.uk river levels site and I persistently got this error, so have had to create a new link to the site and now its repeatedly OK

[Markinaboat]

13 minutes ago, RichM said:

 

Please can you re-test this and let me know if the error remains?

 

Still the same. There is no option to overide it as there occasionally is with other sites. When I click on 'Advanced' I get the following info:

 

url7653.canalworld.net normally uses encryption to protect your information. When Chrome tried to connect to url7653.canalworld.net this time, the website sent back unusual and incorrect credentials. This may happen when an attacker is trying to pretend to be url7653.canalworld.net or a Wi-Fi sign-in screen has interrupted the connection. Your information is still secure because Chrome stopped the connection before any data was exchanged.

You cannot visit url7653.canalworld.net right now because the website uses HSTS. Network errors and attacks are usually temporary, so this page will probably work later.

16 minutes ago, jonesthenuke said:

I seem to be getting this due to a change in Chrome? I have a link to the .gov.uk river levels site and I persistently got this error, so have had to create a new link to the site and now its repeatedly OK

I've been using this saved link for years which still works.

 

https://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php

 

It's only from links in the notificaiton emails that it doesn't like.

[RichM]

I have made a change which may have fixed this issue but will need to wait for next notification emails. Please let me know.

 

It is hard to troubleshoot as I still can't reproduce the issue though aware it exists for some users. 

[Markinaboat]

27 minutes ago, RichM said:

I have made a change which may have fixed this issue but will need to wait for next notification emails. Please let me know.

 

It is hard to troubleshoot as I still can't reproduce the issue though aware it exists for some users. 

Hi Rich - just received a new email notification (CBE CB-522 Battery Charger For Sale) and still the same. Sorry ....

[Martin Nicholas]

Your SSL certificate only covers: www.canalworld.net & canalworld.net. Probably you need a wildcard i.e: *.canalworld.net to cover any sub-domains you may use. LetsEncrypt do offer these now; verification is by DNS.

 

An unrelated issue: Last time I got an email notification it was DKIM signed, but the public key was not in DNS.

[RichM]

25 minutes ago, Martin Nicholas said:

Your SSL certificate only covers: www.canalworld.net & canalworld.net. Probably you need a wildcard i.e: *.canalworld.net to cover any sub-domains you may use. LetsEncrypt do offer these now; verification is by DNS.

 

An unrelated issue: Last time I got an email notification it was DKIM signed, but the public key was not in DNS.

 

Yes, but trouble is we don't host those sub-domains. They're hosted by SendGrid who we use for mail relay. The URLs are re-written before re-directing traffic to CWDF. We don't really need them re-written so this feature should now be disabled, but clearly the issue remains. I will look into it further.

 

I will look into the DKIM DNS issue also

[Tony1]

 

I've been seeing exactly the same issue when accessing the site via email notifications (when I click on the 'go to this post' button)- its been happening both on my phone and my laptop for at least the last few weeks- in fact it may be a couple of months.

Its a minor annoyance but obviously it would be preferable to not have it happen. 

 

The error message does vary though- on the laptop it says this:

 

url7653.canalworld.net’s server IP address could not be found.

Try:

• Checking the connection
• Checking the proxy, firewall and DNS configuration
• Running Windows Network Diagnostics

ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED

 

Edited February 25 by Tony1

[RichM]

I have made some further changes. Please let me know if anyone comes across this again in any new notifications emails. 

[MtB]

I occasionally get that exact rather bemusing error message and reducing the number of cookies stored seems to fix it. Either delete the whole lot (quick) or look at each one and delete those not recognised and wanted (slow but keeps all your log-ins). 

[Markinaboat]

All appears to be working again now!

 

Thanks Rich/Admins?

[Francis Herne]

The links work as expected for me now.

They are to www.canalworld.net rather than the unusual subdomains seen before.

 

Thank you for fixing this.

[Cheese]

I get the original message every few days from my (ancient) tablet. I just try again a few minutes or hours later; sometimes get the same message but often okay.

 

I also get it on other bulletin board forums using that tablet, so not sure it is anything specific to CWDF. The tech admin of one of those sites suggested it is because the version of chrome / android on the tablet is now very out-of-date. (And so old that it will no longer do updates!). More of a nuisance than a major issue;  I just keep passwords unique and don't put my bank details on the tablet.

[RichM]

5 hours ago, Francis Herne said:

The links work as expected for me now.

They are to www.canalworld.net rather than the unusual subdomains seen before.

 

Thank you for fixing this.

 

Thank you for the feedback.

 

 

4 hours ago, Cheese said:

I get the original message every few days from my (ancient) tablet. I just try again a few minutes or hours later; sometimes get the same message but often okay.

 

I also get it on other bulletin board forums using that tablet, so not sure it is anything specific to CWDF. The tech admin of one of those sites suggested it is because the version of chrome / android on the tablet is now very out-of-date. (And so old that it will no longer do updates!). More of a nuisance than a major issue;  I just keep passwords unique and don't put my bank details on the tablet.

 

The admin in question raises a good point though. Many if not most manufacturers stop maintaining software/firmware for older devices at a certain point, typically within 5 years. At which point they may be vulnerable to security exploits. This can (and does) lead to people / businesses having their devices compromised leading to fraud and identity theft among other things. When not volunteering my time on CWDF, I get paid to deal with the consequences of that in my day job. I'd always recommend keeping all devices up to date especially those that connect to the internet.  

[Mad Harold]

I get this red flag most times I try access CWF.It does work ok sometimes,and when it doesn't I go onto Thunderboat where they are still kicking poor old Tony Dunkley's arse, or Facebook, where there are more " experts" than you can shake a stick at.

It's only social media, after all.😝

[Ronaldo47]

I started getting this problem a few weeks ago, sometimes working normally, other times refusing to connect to  this site unless I go 'incognito'. Even in incognito mode I first get a message asking if I would like to proceed to this "unsafe" site anyway, whereupon it works fine.  But sometimes I have no problem logging on. Using an elderly Samsung smartphone that hasn't been updated for a while. 

 

Since having this problem with canalworld, I have  also now started to get similar behaviour when accessing another forum, but for that one I don't gave to go incognito and can simply over-ride the warning and proceed to the "unsafe" site anyway. These two forums (fora?) are the only web sites that exhibit these problems. 

Edited April 5 by Ronaldo47

[RichM]

With due respect we need to know only about problems that are still occurring and ideally, any screenshots or specific error messages so that we can troubleshoot any issues should they arise. 

[Ronaldo47]

This is what I get when trying to log in normally: 

 

 

 

 

I can't make screen shots in Incognito mode, so I will have to type what I get after typing in the forum address in the google search bar.  The text enclosed in square brackets [ ] appears in a clickable box.

 

First page

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

{exclamation mark in red triangle}

 

Your connection is not private.

 

Attackers might be trying to steal your information from www.canalworld.net (for example , passwords, messages or credit cards).

 

Learn more

 

NET.ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID

 

[BACK TO SAFETY]

[ADVANCED]

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

Clicking the [ADVANCED] box produces this page: 

 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

This server could not prove that it is www.canalworld.net, its security certificate is not trusted by your device's operating ststem. This may be caused by a misconfiguration or an attacker intercepting your communication. 

 

Proceed to www.canalworld.net (unsafe)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

Clicking the "unsafe" link gets me to a logon page where I have to enter my user name and password. I have to do this  every time I log on, as these things are not saved in "incognito" mode. Once I have entered the forum, I can navigate around as normal, and only have to go through the signing-in rigmarole again after I have left incognito mode and wish to return here. 

 

I am using a Samsung Galaxy Note 4 

 

Edited April 5 by Ronaldo47
typos

[MtB]

1 hour ago, Ronaldo47 said:

These two forums (fora?) are the only web sites that exhibit these problems. 

 

I hold that if you're writing in English, the plural is "forums". If you're spouting forth in Latin, the plural is "fora". 

 

Hope that helps...

 

😃

[Ronaldo47]

My dictionary gives both forms, but in principle I agree with you. 

[MtB]

2 minutes ago, Ronaldo47 said:

My dictionary gives both forms, but in principle I agree with you. 

 

Maybe refer the author of the dictionary to my post then, lol! 

[RichM]

12 hours ago, Ronaldo47 said:

This is what I get when trying to log in normally: 

 

 

 

 

I can't make screen shots in Incognito mode, so I will have to type what I get after typing in the forum address in the google search bar.  The text enclosed in square brackets [ ] appears in a clickable box.

 

First page

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

{exclamation mark in red triangle}

 

Your connection is not private.

 

Attackers might be trying to steal your information from www.canalworld.net (for example , passwords, messages or credit cards).

 

Learn more

 

NET.ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID

 

[BACK TO SAFETY]

[ADVANCED]

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

Clicking the [ADVANCED] box produces this page: 

 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

This server could not prove that it is www.canalworld.net, its security certificate is not trusted by your device's operating ststem. This may be caused by a misconfiguration or an attacker intercepting your communication. 

 

Proceed to www.canalworld.net (unsafe)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

Clicking the "unsafe" link gets me to a logon page where I have to enter my user name and password. I have to do this  every time I log on, as these things are not saved in "incognito" mode. Once I have entered the forum, I can navigate around as normal, and only have to go through the signing-in rigmarole again after I have left incognito mode and wish to return here. 

 

I am using a Samsung Galaxy Note 4 

 

 

Your browser does not trust the certificate for this site or more specifically the certificate authority. However, there is a valid certificate installed which should be suitable for our requirements. It looks like you're using Chrome? Is it possible to confirm and also the version? Does the same issue occur if you try another browser?

Determining Chrome version on Android

1. Open the Chrome App.
2. Navigate to the 3-dots in the upper-right corner.
3. Choose Settings and scroll down to the About Chrome section. 
4. The current version of Chrome will display at the top (See Figure 3).

Figure 3 (Android):

 

Also and as an aside; I am not sure I'd recommend using Incognito mode when browsing CWDF. CWDF needs to make use of browser cookies to work properly. Incognito mode can interfere with this but I'm not suggesting that's the issue in this case.