Configuring ClearQuest Web and Internet Explorer security settings

Answer

This technote is applicable to ClearQuest Web administrators and end users.

One or more of the following Internet Explorer security features might prevent ClearQuest Web from displaying content correctly:

1. Enhanced Security Configuration
2. Certificate checking
3. Mixed content handling
4. Pop-up blocker

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Enhanced Security Configuration

Internet Explorer Enhanced Security Configuration aims to reduce the vulnerability of your server to attacks through web content and application scripts. However, Enhanced Security Configuration might prevent web applications such as ClearQuest Web from behaving as expected. To ensure that ClearQuest Web behaves as expected when Enhanced Security Configuration is enabled, add the ClearQuest Web server URL to the Trusted sites zone.

Procedure

1. Navigate to the ClearQuest Web URL in Internet Explorer.

• If you receive a warning that content from the site is blocked by the Internet Explorer Enhanced Security Configuration:
a. Clear the Continue to prompt when website content is blocked option.
b. Click the Add... button.
• If you do not receive the warning:
a. Double-click the security zone on the status bar of Internet Explorer. The Internet Security Properties dialog opens.
b. Select Trusted sites from the list of web content zones. Then click the Sites button. The Trusted sites dialog opens.
c. Ensure that the Add this website to the zone field contains the URL for the ClearQuest Web server. Click Add, and then click Close.

2. Refresh the page.
3. Confirm that the status bar indicates that the site is now in the Trusted sites security zone.

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Certificate checking

ClearQuest Web uses certificates for secure communication between ClearQuest Web clients and servers. One of the following error messages might appear when you attempt to connect to a ClearQuest Web server by using Internet Explorer:

• There is a problem with this website's security certificate. The security certificate presented by this website was not issued by a trusted certificate authority.

• There is a problem with this website's security certificate. The security certificate presented by this website was issued for a different website's address.

To avoid the certificate error when the certificate was not issued by a trusted certificate authority, install the certificate. Note that you must have administrator privileges to install the certificate.

Procedure

1. Click Certificate error in the address bar. Then click View Certificate.
2. In the Certificate dialog, on the General tab, click Install Certificate....
3. In the Certificate Import Wizard, click Next.
4. On the next page, select Place all certificates in the following store. Click Browse.. for the certificate store.
5. On the Select Certificate Store dialog, select Trusted Root Certification Authorities and click OK.
6. On the Security Warning dialog, click Yes to install the certificate.

To avoid the certificate error when the address of the certificate does not match the ClearQuest Web address, set the option to suppress the warning.

Procedure

1. Click Tools > Internet Options. The Internet Options dialog opens.
2. Click the Advanced tab. Under Security in the Settings section, clear the Warn about certificate address mismatch option.
3. Restart Internet Explorer

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Mixed content handling

While using ClearQuest Web, you might receive warning messages about web content that is not secure, even if the ClearQuest Web application is using a secure connection. The warning messages might occur because the ClearQuest Web application references content in other applications that do not use secure connections.

The warning messages might be similar to these:

• This page contains both secure and nonsecure items. Do you want to display the nonsecure items?
• Do you want to view only the webpage content that was delivered securely? This webpage contains content that will not be delivered using a secure HTTPS connection, which could compromise the security of the entire webpage.

If you are sure that such references do not pose a security risk to your ClearQuest Web application, choose to display the nonsecure items.

Follow the next steps to suppress such warning messages in the future.

Procedure

1. Click Tools > Internet Options. The Internet Options dialog opens.
2. Click the Security tab. Select Internet from the list of security zones. Click the Custom level... button in the Security level for this zone section. The Security Settings - Internet Zone dialog opens.
3. In the Settings field, under Miscellaneous > Display mixed content, select Enable.

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Pop-up Blocker

Internet Explorer blocks pop-ups by default. You must enable Internet Explorer to display pop-ups from ClearQuest Web. If you receive a message that Internet Explorer blocked a pop-up from a ClearQuest website, click Options for this site and select Always allow.