On 03/01/09 05:12 am, warp4dennis thus wrote :

Lewis:
This is a little bit off the subject as it has to do with my Win2k section and I'm wishing to be directed
to someplace where I can find the answer to the problem.

Okay...

Just trying to access my mail box I always get this error:
'Secure Connection Failed'
'SSL protocol has been disabled.'
'Error Code:  ssl_error_ssl_disabled'
And then gives the advice to contact the service provider.
However I have reason to believe that advice is not called for in my example because booting
to XP I don't have this problem.

That would surely point to a local issue vs a server-side problem. It could be a bad certificate for the server which is stored under your profile in W2K, whereas the one you have under XP may be correct. Check out:

http://support.mozilla.com/tiki-view_forum_thread.php?locale=nl&forumId=1&comments_parentId=191526 http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Secure+connection+failed
http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Firefox+cannot+connect+securely+because+the+SSL+protocol+is+disabled (which likely applies to TB, as well)

When XP is booted I can access my mail box without this error message appearing.
Trying to track down the source of the error I have discovered that there are so many possibilities
I can never be sure that I have eliminated all of them. I have gone over FF and Thunderbird many times trying this switch and that to see if their is a difference
but so far I haven't found the right combination.
And then there is the Windows can of worms with IE and Win Media Player.
Have you ever come across this problem and if so, what's the cure?

I see stuff like this from time to time. Can you post some more specifics as to your account settings? I take it that for both OSes you are using Thunderbird to access your mailbox. Have you tried disabling all SSL and TLS under W2K? Ensure that the option to send the login info encrypted is also turned off ("Use secure authentication" checkbox). Once you can connect without encryption, then you can try enabling things.

TLS is simply SSL over the standard nonsecure port. Thus, for POP3 with TLS enabled, the connection is established over port 110 (usually), and the client requests a secure connection with the server. At that point, they both switch to SSL but remain on port 110. SSL, OTOH, implies a different port (for POP3, this is usually 995). Secure authentication involves encrypting the username and password, which are normally sent in clear text.

You will find some more descriptions of SSL vs TLS on the Hautspot website:

http://www.hautspot.com/tls.html