In an effort to provide the highest level of security for our customer, Sparklight will discontinue using TLS 1.0 which could cause some customers to receive an error message, like the one below, when trying to access our bill pay website or online shopping cart. Any device that is not using TLS 1.1 or higher will not be able to connect to My Bill. Today, all recent versions of the major internet browsers provide the option to use TLS 1.1 & higher.
If you are receiving an error message like the one above when accessing Sparklight websites such as My Bill, All Digital Device ordering, or Paperless Billing changes, please see below for instructions how to update your browser security.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR ENABLING SSL VERSIONS TLS 1.1 & TLS 1.2
Internet Explorer:
- Open Internet Explorer
- Click Alt T and select "Internet Options".
- Select the "Advanced" tab.
- Scroll down to the "Security" section.
- Locate and check "Use TLS 1.1 and TLS 1.2".
- Then, press the "Apply" then "OK" button.
Google Chrome:
- Open Google Chrome
- Click Alt F and select "Settings".
- Scroll down and select "Show advanced settings…"
- Scroll down to the Network section and click on "Change proxy settings…"
- Select the "Advanced" tab.
- Scroll down to the "Security" section.
- Locate and check "Use TLS 1.1 and TLS 1.2".
- Then, press the "OK" button.
FireFox:
- Open FireFox
- Type in "about:config" in the URL bar and press Enter
- Scroll down to "security.tls.version.max" and press enter
- Set the value to 3
- Then, press the "OK" button.
Opera:
- Open Opera
- Click Ctrl+F12
- Click on "Security"
- Click on "Security Protocols…"
- Check on "Enable TLS 1.1 & TLS 1.2"
- Press the "OK" button.
- Then, press the "OK" button.
Safari:
There are no options for enabling SSL protocols. If you are using Safari version 7 or greater, TLS 1.1 & 1.2 are automatically enabled.
If these options are enabled and you still cannot access My Bill, go to https://www.howsmyssl.com and verify what is showing in the Version section on this page. If you see the version and it says "BAD" and you verified that you have enabled the TLS 1.1 & TLS 1.2 options in the previous step, this could be an indication of an issue with your machine such as a virus or malware.
Suggestions for troubleshooting include:
- Check if you have current antivirus and/or malware protection
- If "yes" then verify the definitions are current and to run a scan. After any issues have been corrected, try https://www.howsmyssl.com to verify if the version now shows "Good". If it does then proceed to verify you can access My Bill.
- If you don't have current antivirus and/or malware protection, consider evaluating some of the programs available, some of which are free. Once current virus/malware scans have run and any issues have been corrected to try the site https://www.howsmyssl.com to verify if the version now shows "Good", if it does then proceed to verify if you can access My Bill.
- You also may want to seek local computer repair, if necessary, to determine what is causing your computer to not report "Good" even though they have TLS1.1 and TLS 1.2 options enabled.
TLS Update FAQ's
Q. What is TLS?
A. TLS stands for Transport Layer Security protocol. This protocol is an industry standard designed to protect the privacy of information communicated over the Internet.
Q. Why am I receiving an error message when trying to access my bill or the online shopping cart?
A. Customers who are using an outdated TLS version will receive an error message when trying to access their bill pay or online shopping cart. In order to maintain Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance, Sparklight is required to disable TSL 1.0 on our servers to ensure our customer's personal information stays safe and secure.
Q.W as my information was secure before?
A. Yes, but to ensure it stays secure, your browser must be updated with the latest TLS version.
Q. Will I need to worry about this in the future?
A. No, once you enable this function in your browser, you should not have to do it again in the future. Most web browsers have this feature enabled automatically.