> From: Melanie Pfefer [mailto:melanie_pfe...@yahoo.co.uk]
> So you mean this error cannot be fixed?
> All self-signed certificates have this problem when a browser
> accesses the page using ssl?

If the browser doesn't trust the root certificate that certifies the 
self-signed cert, it will give at least a warning and in some cases an error.  
This is a good thing, as otherwise I could create a self-signed certificate 
that said my web server was https://www.paypal.com, trick your browser into 
visiting my server, and you wouldn't see a warning.

Think of a certificate as being ID for that web server.  A certificate signed 
by a root certificate authority (CA) that's trusted by the browser is like a 
passport - slow and expensive to get, but almost everybody trusts it as ID.  A 
self-signed certificate is like a letter you've signed as proof of your own 
identity - fast and cheap to get, but not very good for proving who you are.

Is your web application being used on the Internet, or within the company?

If it's on the Internet, you really don't have a choice - if you want SSL and 
no warnings, you'll have to get a certificate signed by a well-known 
certificate authority, and you'll have to pay the money for that.

If it's on your internal network, the alternative is to add your company root 
CA to the browsers' trust list, then use an internally-generated cert.  You 
still can't use a *self-signed* cert as they're always one-offs, but you can 
generate one from your company CA if you have it.  Clearly if you don't have a 
company CA, you can't do this!

                - Peter

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