Q: Since February, Apple's iTunes music store has been giving me a strange message: I can't download anything because I have no Internet connection. The odd thing is that I haven't had any problem connecting to other websites. When I ran a PC diagnostic program, I got error message 11222.
I've read online that other people have this problem, too. But when I talked to Apple's technical support people, they had no idea how to fix it. What should I do?
Jim Brown, Manchester, N.H.
A: Apple says it is working on your problem but doesn't have a definitive answer yet.
In an iTunes troubleshooting guide updated in May (tinyurl.com/nftgpuc), Apple offers a list of possible solutions, such as changing settings in the Apple Macintosh or Windows PC operating systems, or updating software drivers for the computer's graphics card. Apple says it is still investigating why people receive error code 11222 when trying to use iTunes. "Proxies, certificate issues, or your Internet service provider may be the cause," it says.
By proxies, Apple means "proxy servers," which are computers that act as middlemen between your home computer and the Internet. Proxy servers are sometimes used to filter Internet content before it reaches you, or to provide you with anonymity while visiting websites.
By certificate, Apple means a website's "security certificate," which verifies to a Web browser that the website is authentic.
To correct error 11222, Apple suggests changing your Internet Explorer Web browser settings. (While iTunes isn't viewed through Internet Explorer, the music service uses some of the browser's settings to communicate with your PC.) That will alter the way Internet connections are established and the way that website certificates are determined to be valid. If those changes don't work, we'll have to wait for Apple to come up with a better answer.