can't access 'secure' internet sites

suddenly this morning, I find that I cannot access any 'secure' sites (eg banks, Amazon etc). Nothing has been changed recently & I am using direct dial access with a broadband connection. Any other (non-secure) site is ok (via Firefox or IE). Any ideas??

 

Jim Sturley--
Are you getting any messages?
Click IE Help|About Internet Explorer. Does it indicate that you have 128 bit cipher strength?
Click IE Tools|Internet Options|Advanced tab. Are the boxes for SSL in the Security section checked?
Several other ideas here
http://www.duxcw.com/yabbse/index.php?board=2;action=display;threadid=5351
More here
http://www.google.com/search?source...D,GGLD:2004-31,GGLD:en&q=cannot+access+secure