Google Chrome browser - "Your Clock is Ahead" error message

googler

A number of websites refuse to connect, resulting in this error. They were fine up until a few days ago. Some sites are unaffected - MSE, YouTube for instance. Others load a home page, but when I try to navigate the site using links on home page, the error appears. 

Full text

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Your clock is ahead

A private connection to (site) can't be established because your computer's date and time (Friday, 1 October 2021 at 21:26:08) are incorrect.

 

NET::ERR_CERT_DATE_INVALID

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Common fixes seem to be 

1. Update date and time - done that; tried setting it back in time, forward, to no avail
2. Replace CMOS battery - done, to no avail
3. Delete Chrome cookies and cache - done, to no avail.

Anyone had experience of this in the past, and have any other suggested solution? 

Win XP, SP3, Chrome version 49.0.2623.112 m

steviebabes

I think you will find the problem is Win XP!

googler

steviebabes said:

I think you will find the problem is Win XP!

... yet all was fine until a few days ago. Something changed about Win XP a few days ago?

steviebabes

Windows XP is years out of date,also Chrome is now on version 94 so your version must be very old. Websites will see your computer as a security risk. Not sure why you get the clock ahead message though.

debitcardmayhem

Maybe this https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/production-chain-changes/150739 or this https://www.theregister.com/2021/09/30/lets_encrypt_xero_slack_outages/

You probably have an expired root certificate in your certificate store

googler

debitcardmayhem said:

Maybe this https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/production-chain-changes/150739 or this https://www.theregister.com/2021/09/30/lets_encrypt_xero_slack_outages/

You probably have an expired root certificate in your certificate store

This looks like it. I can't recall exactly when it stopped, but 30 Sep sounds right.

debitcardmayhem

PErhaps it is time to stop allowing XP onto the web ... just my opinion of course,  I doubt Microsoft is likely to have pushed any changes to affect XP

Neil_Jones

XP received an update for the WannaCry ransomware vulnerability in 2017, not that it was largely affected by that itself - it would have required manual intervention.

That being said, there was a "hack" you could apply to tell XP to think it was something else - a point of sale terminal.  But that was only good until 2019 so it doesn't change the underlying status of XP as a whole.  Good OS in its time, but realistically time to move on.

TobyJugg2

It is certain forks/versions of chrome based browsers with both xp and win7, not sure about other OS's
Palemoon still works OK with win7 - even the portable apps version - but it can be a memory hog.

Even 'older versions of firefox are OK as are newer versions (with this issue) but FF does seem to have other issues with some sites - even later versions of FF

OnlyTheBestWillDo

Try navigating to https://valid-isrgrootx1.letsencrypt.org/ via Google Chrome to see if that helps.

GDB2222

googler said:

steviebabes said:

I think you will find the problem is Win XP!

... yet all was fine until a few days ago. Something changed about Win XP a few days ago?

No, nothing was fine a few days ago! You were  running an out of date, insecure computer.