Save PDFs from Chrome Again

If you suddenly lose the ability to save a PDF from your web browser, the problem may be related to add-ins you have installed. When a PDF file is viewed in Chrome, you should be able to right click on it and save it as a PDF. If you are prompted to save it as a html file, and can't change the type, look for an error listed in the upper right:

Go to the list of extensions in Chrome, by entering 'chrome://extensions' in the address bar.

If you have multiple add-ins for viewing or editing PDF files, turn one of them off, and re-launch the browser. This may give you back the ability to save PDF files from Chrome again.

Certificate Revocation Lists

Last night's Tip discussed the use of certificate authorities to authenticate web site owners, and encrypt communications. Certificate authorities do not remain valid indefinitely. Expired certificates will generate an error message. Certificate authorities that have been revoked for some other reason will be put on a Certificate Revocation List (CRL). This is an example of an error message you'll see in a browser if a CA has been put on a CRL.

Some CAs on a CRL will only be on hold, and are not necessarily permanently revoked.

Digital certificates will be placed on a CRL when public keys have been compromised, a certificate is believed to be a fake, the issuer of the CA is compromised, or a web site owner no longer owns a server or domain name.

Certificate Authorities

Certificate authorities prepare digital certificates to associate public keys with entities that a user communicates with using the secure HTTPS protocol in a web browser. The key is used by the browser to encrypt data transmitted by users to the servers of the entity owning the web site. In order to prevent the transmission from being hacked by someone pretending to be the trusted entity, the user's browser checks the certificate and the public key it receives against public keys received from the certificate authority.

In Chrome you can find a list of the certificate authorities it uses under Settings . . . Privacy and security . . . Security . . . Manage certificates . . . on the Trusted Root Certification Authorities tab.

IdenTrust, Comodo (Sectigo), VeriSign, DigiCert and GoDaddy are some of the most widely used certificate authorities.

Note that It is possible to import a certificate authority into your web browser.