Several readers have noted a strange error message appearing when trying to perform software updates from the Mac App Store.
An Error has occurred
The certificate for this server is invalid. You might be connecting to a server that is pretending to be "swscan.apple.com" which could put you confidential information at risk.
Swscan.apple.com is one of several servers that Software Update uses to communicate with Apple. The apparent problem is that the security certificate for the server appears to have expired. The certificate was originally valid from May 22, 2012 to May 24, 2014.
This is a problem that Apple will need to fix on their side. In the meanwhile, users can manually download updates from Apple's support site.
Update: This may also be the cause of NSURLErrorDomain error -1012, which appears to have started in the same time.
Update 2: Apple appears to have fixed the certificate.
Thursday February 26, 2026 6:06 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple CEO Tim Cook today teased "a big week ahead," with announcements starting Monday. His post included an #AppleLaunch hashtag with a colorful Apple logo, along with a short video that ultimately shows an Apple logo on the lid of a Mac.
Apple is reportedly planning a three-day stretch of product announcements from Monday, March 2 through Wednesday, March 4, with up to five new products...
Wednesday February 25, 2026 5:37 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple has submitted production line orders for its upcoming foldable iPhone, effectively confirming that the device will launch this year, claims a Chinese leaker.
According to the Weibo account "Fixed Focus Digital," assembly lines recently received the orders from Apple, which has apparently allowed the leaker to learn the crease measurements for the device's 7.8-inch inner display....
Wednesday February 25, 2026 3:02 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple is working on a new MacBook Pro that could launch next week ahead of the "Special Experience" planned for March 4, so we thought we'd highlight all of the rumors about the device so far.
Design
There are no rumors of design changes, and we are expecting the upcoming M5 MacBook Pro models to look just like the M4 versions. Apple will continue to offer 14-inch and 16-inch size options,...
Steve would have never let the Mac App Store become Snappier without the Heartbleed update render leaking, Tim.
Did I catch everything?
You forgot:
Microsoft Forgets to Renew... = Yet another example of a top-heavy corporation unable to keep even simple things in check. Thank goodness Apple hasn't forgotten its user base.
Apple Forgets to Renew... = Calm down, people; non-issue. Do you even realize how much time a big company needs to address things like this?
Apple needs to design an app where people can jot down a list of things they need to remember, with an option to add alerts when they become due. Could call it Reminders or something similar.