You can try next steps in order to fix the problem:

1. Close IE and open it again and test it before doing the next one.

2. Install all Windows updates.

3. Scan your computer for malware (worms, viruses and spyware).

4. Verify that IE is working on unsecure web sites. Refresh this page.

5. Open IE and click on Tools icon (or press Alt+X key combination on your keyboard), choose About Internet Explorer

and look at the Cipher Strength.

It should be 128 bit or more. If the Cipher Strength is anything less then 128-bit, download and install the Internet Explorer High Encryption Pack.

6. Open IE, go to Tools menu, choose Internet Options.

Navigate to Advanced tab and scroll to bottom of list. The SSL and TLS options (all versions) should be checked.

7. Check Delete Cookies, Delete Files and Clear History in Tools, Internet Options, General tab and press Delete button.

8. Uncheck the box for Enable Third Party Browser Extensions in the Advanced Section (all other settings in Advanced Section are set to Default).

Click Apply button and restart IE.

9. Configure Security settings for the Trusted sites zone in IE: open IE, Tools menu, choose Internet Options, navigate to Security tab, select Trusted sites, Default Level.

Click Sites button.

Type the address (URL) of the site in the Add this Web site to the zone: box, click Add button, then Close and Apply buttons.

10. Check Firewall/Network Configuration. Make sure that the SSL port (port 443) is open on your network/firewall (if you have any). There are many different Firewall/Network products, so it is impossible to give set-by-step instructions. Check the documentation or help file of the product you use. If you are behind a broadband router, you may not need a firewall on your PC. Check security settings on your router.

11. Clear the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) state and AutoComplete history: open IE, open Tools menu, choose Internet Options, navigate to Content tab. Under Certificates, click Clear SSL State.

Click OK when you receive the message that the SSL cache was successfully cleared. Under Personal information, click AutoComplete. Under Clear AutoComplete history, click Clear Forms. Click OK when you are prompted to confirm the operation.

12. Verify that the Date and Time Settings on your computer are correct: because SSL certificates have an expiry date, if the date on your computer isn't correct, it may prevent you from connecting to secure sites.

Good luck!

Internet Explorer displays the next warning messages when user attempts to open some webpages that use mixed content.

Generally is used to press Yes or Ok button in the warning messages, but in this case No button should be used to see the whole webpage content.

This warning message can be configured by following the instructions:

1. Open Tools menu in IE and choose Internet options.

2. From General tab navigate to Security tab.

3. Select the proper zone under Select a zone to view or change security settings. And press Custom level… button.

4. Under Miscellaneous section

the option Display mixed content can be configured. 

There are three settings: Disable, Enable and Prompt.

This option set to Prompt by default, that’s why you see the security warning message every time when try to display webpage that use mixed content.

You can set it to Enable to permanently allow displaying webpages with mixed content or Disable to permanently prevent IE from displaying such sites.

5. Press Ok twice to confirm the changes and to close Internet Options window.

6. Restart IE to changes take effect.

User Account Control (UAC) can help you prevent unauthorized changes to your computer. It works by prompting you for permission when a task requires administrative rights, such as installing software or changing settings that affect other users.

We don't recommend turning User Account Control off. If you do turn it off, you should turn it back on as soon as possible.

Open User Accounts by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking User Accounts and Family Safety (or clicking User Accounts, if you are connected to a network domain), and then clicking User Accounts.

Click Turn User Account Control on or off. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

Select the Use User Account Control (UAC) to help protect your computer check box to turn on UAC, or clear the check box to turn off UAC, and then click OK.

To run an application as an Administrator you can right click on its shortcut or main executable file, and then select "Run as Administrator" option. However, doing this can be quiet annoying if you use this application very often. This article describes how to simplify that process.

Let's consider an example, 

choose trusted application, i.e. its executable file:

Right click on it and choose Properties, go to Compatibility tab and check the check-box "Run this program as an Administrator", click O.k. to accept changes.

Telnet is a protocol that allows you to connect to remote computers (called hosts) over TCP/IP network. Telnet client should be installed on the computer to make a connection to a telnet server (i.e. remote host). After establishing the connection telnet client becomes a virtual terminal, allowing to communicate with the remote host. password and login name may be required to login to remote host, or guest account can be enabled optionally. Telnet clients are available for most OS.

Besides, SSH is similar to telnet, but the last one provides better security.

By default, Telnet client is disabled in Windows 7.

How to Enable Telnet Client on Windows 7:

1. Start > Control Panel > Programs and Features.

2. On the left pane with options, choose "Turn Windows Features On or Off".

3. In the opened window in the list of components, find Telnet Client and select the check-box. Press O.k. to confirm changes.

Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) allows remote connections to the PC using remote computer's IP-address or name. It has a great variety of settings which can help with configuring RDP for slow connections or to make it more secure. By default, the server listens on TCP port 3389. That's why the basic info to connect to the remote PC is its IP-address(name). To provide stronger security you may want to change the default port, so that attackers will not be able to connect via default port.

To change port number for RDP in Windows XP:

1. Navigate to the following key in the registry from left pane:

1.1. Start > Run > type in: regedit - press Enter.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\TerminalServer\WinStations\RDP-Tcp\PortNumber

2. Double click on PortNumber entry, then click on Decimal, type the new port number and then click Ok. Close Registry Editor.

NOTE: When you try to connect to the remote computer using Remote Desktop Connection, you'll need to specify new port number.

Make sure the firewall is opened for this new port.

To encrypt your file and set a password to open it:
Click the Microsoft Office Button , point to Prepare, and then click Encrypt Document.

In the Encrypt Document dialog box, in the Password box, type a password, and then click OK.

You can type up to 255 characters.  Encryption is a standard method used to help make your file more secure.
In the Confirm Password dialog box, in the Reenter password box, type the password again, and then click OK.
To save the password, save the file.

Mac OS X v10.6 and later

1. From the Apple menu choose System Preferences....
2. Click on Accounts.

   

3. Click on the lock and authenticate with an administrator account.
4. Click Login Options....
5. Click the "Edit..." or "Join..." button at the bottom right.

   

6. Click the "Open Directory Utility..." button.

   

7. Click the lock in the Directory Utility window.
8. Enter an administrator account name and password, then click OK.
9. Choose Enable Root User from the Edit menu.

   

10. Enter the root password you wish to use in both the Password and Verify fields, then click OK.

Mac OS X v10.5

1. From the Finder's Go menu, choose Utilities.
2. Open Directory Utility.
3. Click the lock in the Directory Utility window.
4. Enter an administrator account name and password, then click OK.
5. Choose Enable Root User from the Edit menu.
6. Enter the root password you wish to use in both the Password and Verify fields, then click OK.

Mac OS X v10.4.x or earlier

1. Click the Finder icon in the Dock.
2. From the Go menu, choose Applications.
3. Open the Utilities folder.
4. Open the NetInfo Manager utility.
5. Click the lock in the NetInfo Manager window.
6. Enter an administrator account name and password, then click OK.
7. For Mac OS X 10.2 and later, choose Enable Root User from the Security menu.
8. For Mac OS X 10.0 and 10.1, choose Security from the Domain menu, then Enable Root User from the submenu.
9. If you have not previously set a root password, an alert box may appear that says "NetInfo Error," indicating that the password is blank. Click OK.
10. Enter the root password you wish to use and click Set.
11. Enter the password again for verification and click Verify.
12. Click the lock again to prevent changes.

USB flash drives are great because they are really cheap and you can conveniently move data between computers. The only problem is when you store sensitive data on a USB drive and it gets lost or stolen! We will use Windows Encrypting File System to create an encrypted folder on a thumb drive that only one user account on one computer can read. Later we’ll talk about how you can view those files on another computer, but for now we’ll focus on just having a secure USB drive.

Step 1 – Format USB drive in NTFS format

Firstly, you have to make sure the USB drive is formatted in NTFS format. Most USB drives are formatted in FAT16 or FAT32 format, which does not support encryption at all.

Step 2 – Create an Encrypted Folder

Ok, now that your USB drive is in NTFS format and all the data has been erased, we can setup a folder that will contain all the encrypted data.

What I like about this method is that you can store all the sensitive files in the encrypted folder, but store other files normally outside the folder. That way, you can still pop the USB drive into someone else’s computer and they can view all the files not in the encrypted folder.

Go to My Computer, open the flash drive, right-click and choose New Folder. Name the folder anything you want, but try not to make it obvious that it has sensitive data otherwise people might be more inclined to try and get in.

Now right-click on the new folder and choose Properties. Click on the Advanced button in the Attributes section.

Now check the Encrypt contents to secure data box. Click OK and click OK again to close out the dialogs.

Now you’ll see the folder is in green, which means the data is encrypted. That’s it! Now you have a folder on your USB drive that is fully encrypted and viewable only by your user account on that one computer.