If you use Windows XP as of September 30, you will not be able to surf the net because of an SSL certificate

Only the oldest of the place will remember the dreaded effect 2000. At that time, the fear of a generalized paralysis as a result of a computer failure was growing throughout the world. And now in the middle of 2021 something similar can happen again with older devices, which they will no longer be able to browse the Internet with their usual browser.

The failure is motivated by the fact that one of the largest providers of HTTPS certificates, Let’s Encrypt, you will stop using an older root certificate starting next week. This means that equipment that is not up-to-date, they will not be able to surf the internet. And some will stop doing it permanently unless they can be updated manually with a USB.

No internet connection

All this problem has been discovered by the researcher Scott helme and that is based on the root certificate that Let’s Encrypt currently uses, the IdentTrust DST Root CA X3, expires on September 30, specifically in Spain at 16:01:15. As of that date mobile phones, computers and other equipment that use it and that are not updated, will not be able to use the browser to search the network unless they are updated, if possible, manually.

The problem is that once this root authentication certificate has expired, clients, such as web browsers, they will no longer trust issued certificates and therefore it will not be possible to navigate.

It is the case of Computers that are using a computer with a version of Windows XP updated with Service Pack 3 or another previous one, which may lose the navigation function. The same as computers with macOS in versions prior to 2016 or Android phones that use versions older than 2.3.6 Gingerbread. In fact, the certificate clearly warns that it expires on September 30.

Let’s Encrypt is a non-profit entity and the certificate in question is responsible for encrypting the connections between devices and the network to prevent anyone from intercepting the data that is generated between our computers and the cloud. If you do not have an updated certificate, from that date you will not be able to browse the network and you can only reverse this situation if you download the certificate and install it manually.

This fact is not something newWell, as a quote Scott helme, “this happened last year, May 30 at 10:48:38 2020 GMT to be exact, when AddTrust’s external AC root expired and affected different devices. Brands like Roku, Stripe, Spreedly and many others they had problems”

For now, it is not known what the impact of this problem will be. in the technology market. The most modern equipment, whether telephones, computers, televisions, consoles … should not experience problems having updated certificates.

Via | TechCrunch

More information | Scott helme

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The news

If you use Windows XP as of September 30, you will not be able to surf the net because of an SSL certificate

was originally published in

Engadget Windows

by
Jose Antonio Carmona

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