failure to download 4.0

kmariem
I'm using Windows XP and Mozilla Firefox (latest version). When I try to download the latest version of Zotero I get the error message that the connection failed.
  • dstillman
    What's the exact message you're getting?

    Also, assuming this is on the download page, right-click on the download link/button, copy the link location, and paste the URL here.
  • kmariem
    OK, the message I am getting is "the add-on could not be downloaded because of a connection failure at www.zotero.org"
    This is the link location:
    https://zotero-download.s3.amazonaws.com/extension/zotero-4.0.19.xpi
  • dstillman
    Can you clarify whether the problem you're facing is on the download page or in the update mechanism within Firefox?

    That link is from the download page — and is what you would get with a very old browser or proxy server — but I'm not sure why the error message would say "www.zotero.org", since the link is to amazonaws.com. Can you take a step back and say exactly what you're doing?

    What happens if you just click that link above?
  • karenejung
    I was having the same problem when assisting a user. He was getting the same error message, "the add-on could not be downloaded because of a connection failure at www.zotero.org" This message happened after clicking "Allow" on the "Firefox prevented this site from asking you to install software on your computer" popup. He was using the link from the Zotero download page:
    https://download.zotero.org/extension/zotero-4.0.19.xpi
  • dstillman
    That's bizarre. So then seemingly not related to either version of the download links.

    kmariem, what happens if you go to https://www.zotero.org/download/update.rdf in Firefox? You should see some code and a line at the top saying "This XML file does not appear to have any style information associated with it."

    If you go to https://www.zotero.org/ and click on the padlock to the left of the address bar, does it say "Verified by: GeoTrust, Inc." in the popup?
  • kmariem
    Hi Dan,
    the first link yields what you said, "This XML file does not appear to have any style information associated with it."

    The second suggestion, clicking on the padlock on the left of the address bar, does not say verified by GeoTrust, Inc. It says "you are connected to zotero.org, which is owned by (unknown). You have added a security exception for this site."
  • dstillman
    edited March 25, 2014
    OK, right, that's the problem. You should never add a security exception for a normal site like zotero.org. If there's a security warning when you visit such a site, someone may be trying to intercept your secure traffic, and to protect users we recently increased security on zotero.org to disallow security exceptions in such cases. It seems like Firefox might allow you to continue to browse sites you've previously whitelisted but that its update mechanism requires a secure connection.

    You should remove the security exception for zotero.org (and any other sites you whitelisted) in the Firefox preferences (Advanced -> Certificates -> View Certificates -> Servers, and delete any listed as "Unknown") and then figure out what is intercepting your secure traffic. If you view the full zotero.org certificate (padlock -> More Information -> View Certificate) you might get a better idea of what's doing it — a proxy server, security software, your ISP, etc.
  • dstillman
    If you let us know what it says under the Issued To, Issued By, and Validity sections when you view the zotero.org certificate (as I explain above) we might be able to tell you what on your computer/network is causing this.
  • karenejung
    Dan, thanks for your help. It was some malware/adware, Sendori, that as issuing the certificate. Sendori was removed and the user was able to install Zotero.
  • alwien
    Hi Dan,

    I encounter the same problem when trying to download Zotero 4.0 for Firefox.I have tried to download from https://www.zotero.org/download/ and the message "the add-on could not be downloaded because of a connection failure on www.zotero.org" appeared in the pop-up.

    But when clicking on the padlock, it says "Verified by: GeoTrust, Inc."
  • dstillman
    alwien: If you click on More Information -> View Certificate, what does it say under Issued To, Issued By, and Validity?
  • alwien
    Hi Dan,

    Here is what I could reed:

    Issued to
    Common Name (CN) *.zotero.org
    Organisation (O) <Not Part Of Certificate>
    Organisational Unit (OU) GT03802562
    Serial Number 11:DB:11

    Issued by
    CN RapidSSL CA
    O GeoTrust, Inc.
    OU <Not Part Of Certificate>

    Validity
    Issued On 08.04.2014
    Expires On 10.10.2014
  • dstillman
    OK, that's all legit, so the SSL connection doesn't seem to be the problem in your case.

    Are you connecting through any sort of proxy server? If so, are you able to connect without it (by disabling any proxy settings in the system proxy preferences)?

    Are you running any sort of security software? If so, try disabling it.

    If none of that helps, try saving the XPI to disk (right-click, Save Link As) and then dragging it into Firefox.
  • andelia22
    Hello guys, I downloaded zotero for chrome but I heard it was better for firefox so I tried dowloading it too but got the same message...
  • dstillman
    edited September 5, 2014
    Assuming you mean "The add-on could not be downloaded because of a connection failure at www.zotero.org", you'll need to read the entire thread and provide answers for all the questions I ask above.
  • clio
    Hi Dan and all. I am having the same problem, meaning: Firefox 32 installed on my (Windows 7) laptop. The next time I attempted to insert a Zotero citation into an MSWord doc, I got the error message "couldn't load component required to communicate with your word processor; please ensure appropriate extension is installed."

    When I tried to install the Zotero Word for Windows plug-in 3.1.17, I got the "Firefox prevented this site(www.zotero.org) from asking you to install software on your computer" and I clicked "ALLOW". The full 7.7 MB of the plug-in was downloaded, but then I received the message "The add-on could not be downloaded because of a connection failure on www.zotero.org."

    I have clicked the padlock to the left of Zotero. I get "You are connected to zotero.org which is run by (unknown) Verified by DO_NOT_TRUST (associated site is www.fiddler2.com).

    Do I need to worry about DO_NOT_TRUST ? Do I need to insert the extension file - https://download.zotero.org/integration/Zotero-WinWord-Plugin-3.1.17.xpi - into Firefox manually ? If so, HOW DO I DO THAT ? Do I just copy it into the directory Mozilla Firefox / browser / extensions ?

    Guidance appreciated !!!
  • dstillman
    clio, your issue is due to software intercepting your HTTPS connections:

    https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/40230/
  • makirchn47
    edited September 22, 2014
    Hello,
    I am having the same issue trying to install Zotero onto my Firefox browser. When I click on the grey padlock, it says "you are connected to zotero.org, which is owned by (unknown)." I tried to go into my Firefox preferences via the suggested way (Advanced -> Certificates -> View Certificates -> Servers) but did not find any listed as Unknown to delete. I have Bitdefender installed as my security software. I am not sure where to go from here.
  • aurimas
    Bitdefender is the issue here. See https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/40525/zotero-icon-not-showing-up-in-urladdress-bar/
  • makirchn47
    Disabling Bitdefender SSL scans solved the problem. Thank you.
  • eythoro14
    Hello. I am having the same problems here. Can you help me? My padlock says "Verified by: Avast! Web/Mail Shield"
  • dstillman
    https://www.zotero.org/support/kb/addon_could_not_be_downloaded
  • amtthews
    edited December 26, 2014
    I am having the same problem trying to download the Zotero 4.0 add-on for Firefox 35.0.4. I read your kb article and turned off all my security software (F-Secure, Windows Defender and Windows Firewall) but the problem continues. I note that the security certificate is verified by Superfish, Inc. which is not one of the two verifiers that you say in your post are approved. I connect to the web from my home through a cable provider. Is there any obvious reason why my certificate verifier is not one of the ones that you mention ? I had no problem in installing Zotero for Firefox using the other method you recommended of dragging the installation file into a Firefox window, but I understand with this method that I do not get the benefit of automatic updates.
  • dstillman
    edited December 26, 2014
    According to one of the responses to this post, "Superfish" is malware. Try to uninstall it manually or run a malware check (Windows Defender or similar).

    (And to clarify, while we're happy to help, and it's helpful to document these things, we don't have any special information on the invalid (i.e., non-GeoTrust/RapidSSL) certificates that show up — we're just Googling ("superfish ssl") the same as anyone can do at that point.)
  • amtthews
    Voilà. Removing Superfish using Uninstall did the trick. Now www.zotero.org shows verification by GeoTrust and the Zotero 4.0 installation worked without a hitch. Thanks, Dan, for the assistance and I hope my experience may be helpful to others.
  • dww1309
    @eythoro14. Open Avast interface / settings / Active Protection / Web Shield / Customise. Make sure that "Enable HTTPS scanning" is un-checked.

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