Improving GitHub’s SSL setup
To keep GitHub as secure as possible for every user, we will remove RC4 support in our SSL configuration on github.com and in the GitHub API on January 5th 2015.…
To keep GitHub as secure as possible for every user, we will remove RC4 support in our SSL configuration on
github.com and in the GitHub API on January 5th 2015.
RC4 has a number of cryptographic weaknesses that may be exploited, impacting the security of your data. More details about these vulnerabilities are listed in the current IETF draft.
If you are using Internet Explorer on Windows XP, you will no longer be able to access github.com
once this change takes place. Windows XP only supports outdated SSL ciphers, is no longer supported by Microsoft, and contains a known critical security problem in its SSL implementation.
We strongly recommend that Windows XP users upgrade to a newer version of Windows. If this is not possible, you will need to use Chrome or Firefox to access GitHub on Windows XP. The git
client available at git-scm.com still works on Windows XP.
Written by
Related posts

Explore the best of GitHub Universe: 9 spaces built to spark creativity, connection, and joy
See what’s happening at Universe 2025, from experimental dev tools and career coaching to community-powered spaces. Save $400 on your pass with Early Bird pricing.

Agents panel: Launch Copilot coding agent tasks anywhere on GitHub
Delegate coding tasks to Copilot and track progress wherever you are on GitHub. Copilot works in the background, creates a pull request, and tags you for review when finished.

Q1 2025 Innovation Graph update: Bar chart races, data visualization on the rise, and key research
Discover the latest trends and insights on public software development activity on GitHub with the quarterly release of data for the Innovation Graph, updated through March 2025.