I am trying to access e-journals from home but I get a "secure connection failed" message.

When trying to access electronic resources off-campus, some users may encounter an alert message about security certificates. The warning message will differ depending on the browser you are using e.g. secure connection failed, problem with this website's security certificate, etc.

Why?

Your web browser is not recognising the SSL certificates used by the University's authentication service as they do not appear in the browsers trusted list. In addition to this, to help prevent against phishing and websites masquerading as legitimate web pages, recent versions of popular web browsers are more vocal in warning users about sites that use cerfiticates that are not in their trusted list. In this situation there is nothing to worry about.

How do I resolve this?

To stop this warning message from appearing you can tell your web browser to procede to the site anyway. If you are getting the Secure connection failed error message you should click on the Add Exception... button and follow instructions. If you are getting the There is a problem with this website’s security certificate message then you need to click the Continue to this website (not recommended) link.

Or for a more permanent solution you should download and install the University’s Root Certificate. This only takes a few minutes to do and once installed it will ensure that you will be able to get access to e-journals or online databases through the Library. It will also mean you won’t get blocked from accessing any other University sites that have this extra layer of security.

To download the University's root certificate please click on the following link.

If you have any problems downloading the certificate please contact the IS Helpline who will be able to assist.