Why do I get a Secure Connection Error on some sites?

Question

I am using Firefox version 37.0.2 with an ethernet connection at a university in Bangkok. I consider the university a network a hostile environment as the majority of the computers on this network are running counterfeit versions of Windows, and I have seen a lot of viruses on them.

When I try to visit https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902.aspx (and other secure pages on microsoft.com), I get this error:

Secure Connection Failed The connection to the server was reset while the page was loading.

Notes:

• I get no error when visiting the same url using Google Chrome v42.0.2311.135 or with Microsoft Internet Explorer v11.0.96
• If I connect to the Internet through a VPN (CyberGhost), I don't get the error at all.
• I have never added my university's security certificate to my Windows trusted store. I have checked certmgr and cannot see anything related to my university.

I would be really grateful if anyone can answer:

• Why only Firefox?
• Why does using a VPN fix it?
• If I don't trust the university network, would I be safer doing all my web browsing through a trusted VPN?

Answer 1

上次 FF 更新弄乱了我的设置。删除了我的主页、一些存储的证书，甚至可能弄乱了一些配置信息。

我的猜测是大学网络会对您的 TLS 连接进行 MitM，这对于大型组织来说并不罕见。并且上次 FF 更新删除了存储的大学证书。

1. 它只适用于 Firefox，因为上次更新严重扰乱了一些内容。正如 @Ramhound 指出的那样，Firefox 使用自己的证书存储，而 Chrome 和 IE 使用操作系统的用户证书存储。如果 Firefox 决定重置其大量配置，那么任何用户添加的证书都可能被删除。
2. VPN 修复了这个问题，因为它很可能绕过了他们的 TLS MitM。尽管他们为什么允许 VPN 可能是对此的反驳。
3. 如果您不信任大学网络，那么使用受信任的 VPN 通常会是更好的解决方案。

作为解决方案，我会查看您的 Chrome 可信证书，看看是否安装了与您的大学相关的证书。检查 Firefox 中是否安装了该证书。