Validation rejection in Firefox

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My wife has a problem, for which she blames my maintenance of her PC.

She is trying to access online banking at her Finnish bank, but is unable to proceed beyond the following message:

“The publisher cannot be verified by a trusted source. Code will be treated as unsigned.”

Clicking details produces:
Java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: Could not initialize. DK.Danskebank.ec.ec.esafekey.businesslogic.j

I have removed and reinstalled Java with no effect, then told her she should contact the bank as they need to sort it out, or tell her how to get around the barrier.

I asked her why when logged in to a Finnish bank the message refers to one in Denmark. Apparently they own Sampo and the name will change sometime in November. Presumably the validation code has been changed prematurely.

She refuses to contact Sampo and expects me to sort it out.

If anyone can suggest how to make Firefox ignore the problem and connect we would be extremely grateful. A nagging wife is intolerable.

George

PS IE doesn’t even specify a problem, after 6 minutes still trying tp connect.

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I fixed this by going back to the previous version of Java (Java 6 update 35)
You can find it on FileHippo and look for the Java updates.

I encountered the same problem with both Firefox and IE 9 when using the Secunia Online Software Inspector (OSI) after installing any version of Java 7.
Also, Java 7 will NOT verify if I go to the Verify Java page.

I don’t know how to solve the problem with Java 7, but Java 6u35 does make everything work.
I am running Windows 7 64-bit SP1, Firefox 15.01 and IE 9 with latest patches.

PS: When I installed Java 7u7 on my laptop running Win XP SP3, Both Firefox 15.01 and IE 8 were able to run the Secunia OSI without a problem. Therefore, the downloaded program from Secunia will work with Java 7u7, just not on my Win 7 x64 machine.

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JC,
It worked a treat, many thanks.

I suppose we should try each new update to Java 7 until they find a solution, or else the PC will become increasingly at risk.

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Actually George, it would be helpful in solving this problem if you could tell us what versions of Windows, Firefox and Java you were using that caused the trouble.

Even the hardware you are using might be useful.

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Vista Home Premium SP2
Firefox 15.01
Oracle Java 7.something (sorry I didn’t make a note of it). Solved with Java 6 update 35
Dell desktop, model unknown as I can never find such info in Vista. AMD Athlon 64×2 Dual core 3600+, which I suppose means it is 64 bit system.

Hope this helps in some way.

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Vista Home Premium SP2
Firefox 15.01
Oracle Java 7.something (sorry I didn’t make a note of it). Solved with Java 6 update 35
Dell desktop, model unknown as I can never find such info in Vista. AMD Athlon 64×2 Dual core 3600+, which I suppose means it is 64 bit system.

Everyone seems to be assuming that OP’s system is running Vista x64, when all he said is that his system has a 64-bit processor on it. If his Windows install is x64, then Computer Properties would report it as such. Perhaps he should check that before taking any advice predicated on an x64 Windows install.

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Thank you Geroge, it may help some in that all failures I have seen so far involve 64 bit versions of Windows and Java 7.

If you Google ClassNotFoundException / jreVerification.class (the error reported by verify Java Version), you will find a few others who have experienced this problem, but no one has found a cure except to rollback the Java version.

All attempts to uninstall all references to Java and start over seem to fail with 64 bit systems.

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What puzzles me about this issue is that it has not been occurring for several of us who have nothing on any of our computers except JRE7 (current updates). I use Firefox for banking under Windows XP Pro 32-bit, and that laptop has only JRE 7. No issues ever occur of the type described in the OP of this thread. So, what is different, that the OP has issues, whereas several others with similar configurations do not have these issues?

The Finnish Bank Site is a prime candidate for the origin of any issues, especially if they are indeed SSL Certificates related. In fact, the error message states (partly in a Scandinavian language) that the issue is in fact a problem with the bank’s SSL Certificates. “The Publisher” never refers to Java or JRE — it always refers to the publisher of a Certificate being unknown to the browser. Without a valid SSL Certificate, the Java Application or JavaScript cannot proceed.

This is why I referenced the article on SSL Certificates. Java is not involved in this issue in every case, but JRE can in some cases make worse the issues caused by unrecognized security certificates. And this is ultimately resolved by Registering the site’s SSL Security Certificate(s) within the browser (in this case, Firefox, as described in the 2010 article. Whether the article is from 2009 or 2010 is utterly irrelevant, as the relevant advice is the same now as it was then.) The procedure for Registering an Unknown Security Certificate is basically the same now as when the article was posted.

Choose to believe what you will — I just go by documented facts, not speculation.

-- rc primak

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The facts as I see them are:

The Secunia OSI works for Win XP 32 bit with Java 6u35 and 7u7

The Secunia OSI works for Win 7 32 bit with Java 6u35 and 7u7

The Secunia OSI works for Win 7 64 bit and Vista 64 bit with Java 6u35

The Secunia OSI FAILS for Win 7 64 bit and Vista 64 bit with Java 7u7

If this were a SSL Certificate issue, OSI would fail with Java 6u35 as well. The only thing that was changed was the Java version.

So I can only conclude that there is a problem with Java7 and 64 bit Win 7 and Vista, since Jerry said it worked with 64 bit Win 8.

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Regarding Secunia OSI, they may not have updated their tool yet to be compatible with JRE 7 in every possible configuration. That is very likely. And that is why I don’t use online tools which rely on Java Applets — too much chance of something like this happening. PSI never seemed to have Java issues in my experience up to PSI 2.x.

The Original Post was not about OSI. It was about the Finnish Banking Site. The Error Message was only about an Unknown Publisher of a Security Certificate.

Apples and oranges.

-- rc primak

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My post #9 states that OSI returned an error message about an unverified source. Actually, it was the same exact message that the OP showed in the original post. That is why I told him about the rollback, which worked for him.

If this was just an OSI issue, why would the Oracle “Verify Java Version” page time out. If anyone should be up to date it would be Oracle.

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One more thing may affect both the OSI and the Finnish Banking site issues.

When upgrading from one JRE to the next, it is necessary to protect Firefox from installing two or more conflicting versions of the Java Plugin. Firefox does not control these Plugins — Java does.

If Firefox has been running Java Applets at any website successfully, the Java Plugin is active. That means that if you go into JRE 6 Java Control Panel and go to Advanced Features, the Plugins for IE and Other Browsers (or specifically Firefox) are checked off.

If removing JRE 6 and moving up to JRE 7, you MUST uncheck all of these Plugins in the Java Control Panel. Otherwise, the Firefox Plugin will remain at JRE 6, which is no longer available once JRE 7 supersedes it. By unchecking the Java Plugins for all browsers, you temporarily remove the plugins from the browser lists. This can be verified by opening Firefox and looking at Plugins. There should either be no listing for the Java Plugin, or else some older versions, greyed out as disabled.

(Unfortunately, the only way to completely remove these older Java Plugin versions is to reinstall the old JRE’s one at a time, oldest first, and uncheck the Java browser plugins in the Advanced Features of the Java Control panel. Alternatively, Java-Ra can remove completely all things associated with old Java JRE versions — EXCEPT the Firefox Plugins. These are stuck deeply within the Firefox installation. To remove the entire Firefox installation, all user Profiles need to be totally destroyed and the Windows Registry completely cleansed. RevoUninstaller can accomplish this, but all of this is for the present discussion tremendous overkill.)

It’s best just to make sure that at the time of the JRE upgrade, there are no ACTIVE Java browser Plugins present, using the Java Control Panel Advanced Features.

With your Firefox clean of active Java Plugins, now try the JRE 7 upgrade. I’ll bet it will work and all the sites you had trouble with will be magically restored. If not, the sites are not up to date with JRE 7, and only JRE 6 or earlier will work at those sites. In such cases, you will need to upgrade to JRE 7 and then reinstall JRE 6, checking off all the relevant browser Plugins in this sequence. JRE 7 overwrites JRE 6, but not the other way around. So for a time (until all the web Applets get up to date) you will be running BOTH JRE 6 and JRE 7 in your browsers (and elsewhere on your computer). Keep both versions up to date with needed security patches. They also will maintain separate Java Control Panels.

It took a half-year for OpenOffice/LibreOffice to get up to speed with JRE 7. So I wouldn’t be surprised if some web Applets take longer. But I would be surprised if Secunia OSI is one of the lagging Applets. If OSI is still having a problem, please direct your feedback to Secunia’s support Forums. They can be very responsive to these sorts of issues.

All of this post is based on my many experiences with JRE, Java Plugins, Firefox and 32-bit Windows XP Pro, and various software and website Java Applet issues. I don’t think the details are much different for 64-bit Windows Vista, except that Firefox is not 64-bits. Thus, it doesn’t need special tools for removal and Registry cleanup. It will be running as a Program (x86).

Regardless of 64-bits in your hardware or your OS, the JRE you need for use with Firefox or any x86 program is ALWAYS 32-bits.

-- rc primak

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So in case I missed something the previous time, I am trying again to install the 32-bit version of Java 7u7. I am using Windows 7 Pro 64-bit sp1, Firefox 16.0.1 32-bit and IE 9 32-bit.

Step 1: Remove the current Java

I opened the Control panel Java applet (32 bit) and UNCHECKED the box for Mozilla Family Java Default and the Java plugin box for Next Gen Java plugin.
I ran the JavaRA uninstaller application successfully.
I ran Revo Uninstaller at maximum depth to find all traces of Java in the file system and Registry.
I ran the JavaRA uninstaller again (the log showed that it found nothing).
I ran CCleaner version 3.23.1823 (latest) and it found no Java files or old Registry entries.
I used the file manager search function to look for anything that matched *java*.* on the C: drive and deleted anything related to Java execution (some old cab files) and 2 leftover DLL files for the 7u7 Deployment toolkit from C:WindowsSysWOW.
I ran the Secunia PSI scan and it found no Java and gave me a 100% system score.

Step 2: Install Java 7 update 7 on this clean system

I downloaded a new copy of jre-7u7-windows-i586.exe directly from the Oracle Java Download site.

I ran the installer successfully.

I opened the Control panel Java applet (32 bit) and verified that the boxes were CHECKED for Mozilla Family Java Default and the Java plugin box for Next Gen Java plugin.

Step 3: Test the IE Browser

I opened Microsoft IE 9.0.

I went to the Oracle “Verify Java Version” site and ran the test. It displayed the rotating circle for about 3 minutes – it was stuck.
The only difference this time is that it did NOT time out with the error ClassNotFoundExecption / jreVerification.class

Step 4: Test the Firefox Browser

I opened Firefox 16.0.1.

I verified that the Java 7 u 7 plugin was enabled.

I went to the Oracle “Verify Java Version” site and ran the test. It displayed the rotating circle for about 4 minutes – it was stuck.
The only difference this time is that it did NOT time out with the error ClassNotFoundExecption / jreVerification.class

For both browser tests, I gave it more than enough time to complete. Oracle says that it should take 10-20 seconds, or there may be a problem with your installation. I agree. It is a problem with the installation on a 64-bit Windows platform (except for Windows 8).

Step 5: Give up and Go back to Java 6 update 35

I uninstalled Java 7u7 with Revo Uninstaller as before.

I removed the 2 DLL files for the 7u7 Deployment toolkit from C:WindowsSysWOW as before.

I installed Java 6 update 35 using jre-6u35-windows-i586.exe (my original copy).

For both Firefox and IE, I went to the Oracle “Verify Java Version” site and ran the test. It displayed the rotating circle for about 1 second and said that I had Java 6 update 35 installed correctly.

This test verifies that the problem is not with Secunia OSI or a Finnish bank. It is not specific to either Firefox or IE. It is not a problem with the Oracle “Verify Java Version” site or its SSL Certificate, because that same site works with Java 7u7 on a Windows XP 32-bit system and on a Windows 7 32-bit system.

The problem is still with Java 7u7 on a 64-bit Win 7 or Vista operating system.

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If it’s really verified that this is a bug, maybe the next step is to submit our documentation to Oracle, and see if they can fix it. The bug is apparently with Java JRE 7 and 64-bit Windows Vista. Very possible. And probably fixable, if someone would ask Oracle to look into it.

On Windows 7 (64-bit) I can personally attest that on my Toshiba Satellite laptop, there is not the type of JRE 7 bug we seem to have uncovered with JRE 7 and 64-bit Vista. But the possibility of a Vista specific bug remains very much in play.

FWIW, Windows 8 RP (64-bit) also does not have this issue on my laptop.

-- rc primak

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Bob, This is the first time you said that JRE 7 worked on Windows 7 64-bit. Before you just said it worked on Windows 7 32-bit.

Can you be specific about which version of Windows 7 64-bit (Home premium, Pro, Ultimate)?

As for Windows 8 64-bit, you have confirmed what Jerry said earlier in this thread.

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Bob, This is the first time you said that JRE 7 worked on Windows 7 64-bit. Before you just said it worked on Windows 7 32-bit.

Can you be specific about which version of Windows 7 64-bit (Home premium, Pro, Ultimate)?

As for Windows 8 64-bit, you have confirmed what Jerry said earlier in this thread.

Sorry, but I always meant Windows 7 Home Premium, 64-bit. JRE 7 Update 7, and it works for me with Chrome 22 main channel and IE9, fully patched, both 32-bits. I don’t use Secunia OSI, so I am unable to make absolutely sure I can concur with previous posts by others in this thread that they were able to use OSI in the same configuration. Unless I misread their posts, that is. I do find that the National Weather Service Live Doppler Radar which uses a Java Applet, has no issues with JRE7u7 in this configuration, either browser.

I believe you may indeed be experiencing a genuine bug with JRE7u7 and Windows Vista 64-bit. But I wanted to make sure all other possibilities were exhausted before recommending submitting a report to Oracle about this bug.

-- rc primak

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btw, Java 7 Update 9 and Java 6 Update 37 are recently available on the Oracle web site.
remember to uninstall older versions of Java & rebooting the computer afterwards before installing tne newly released versions.

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FWIW, I just tried Java 7 update 9 32-bit (as recommended by Oracle) and it also fails to verify at the Oracle web site using my Win 7 Pro 64-bit SP1 computer.

Yes, I did a completely uninstall of JRE 6u35 before installing JRE 7u9, like I reported before, but the result was the same.

I then uninstalled JRE 7u9 and installed JRE 6u37 and this version verified correctly at the Oracle web site using the same computer.

I filled out a bug report with Oracle and got a confirmation email that they had received the report. However, the bug reporting system is targeted to Java developers, not end users, so I don’t hold out much hope of a real response.

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At least we’ve tried. that’s what counts.

With Super Antispyware I and others reported difficulties (a bug) with Windows XP 32-bit. It took awhile, but a new, much slimmer on RAM usage version finally was released. Sometimes vendors do listen even if they do not quickly answer reports.

-- rc primak

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Update: Java 7u9 is now working on my Win 7 Pro x64 SP1 computer

After reading a post from another forum member I visited the ZoneAlarm Forum and found several posts about a conflict between Java 7 (any update) and the ZoneAlarm firewall.

So I switched to Comodo Internet Security Premium Firewall & A/V.
Then I installed Java 7u9 right over the old Java 6u37.

The Oracle Java “Verify Java Version” web page verified the new Java 7u9 installation and I was able to run the Secunia OSI correctly.

This is a strange conflict between Java, ZoneAlarm and Win 7 (x64?)

Win XP SP3 x32 WORKS with Java 7u9 and ZoneAlarm Free firewall

Win 7 SP1 x64 WORKS with Java 6u37 and ZoneAlarm Free firewall

Win 7 SP1 x64 FAILS with Java 7u9 and ZoneAlarm Free firewall

Win 7 SP1 x64 WORKS with Java 7u9 and Comodo Free firewall

I will let ZonaAlarm and Oracle point fingers at each other until this problem is fixed.

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