April 2018 update broke Chrome browser (Cryptographic Services bug)

Anonymous
2018-08-13T22:50:55+00:00

I updated to the April 2018 version of Win10 a couple months ago. It caused several issues and broke my Chrome browser completely, so I reverted back to the old version. But Microsoft forced another update on me, so I need this issue fixed somehow.

All the googling I've done says Microsoft has "fixed" this issue with the April update breaking Chrome, but I've installed all patches and they clearly haven't, not in my case. Pages simply refuse to load and time out.

I've narrowed the issue down to the "Cryptographic Services" service. If I stop the service, all of the Chrome pages instantly load and I have no issues for about an hour. It seems to be some sort of issue with certificates/SSL.

The problem is the service keeps restarting itself. I've tried setting it to "disabled," tried unchecking the service in System Configuration, nothing works. It always comes back and Chrome breaks. I'm sure there's good reason to keep it running but I'm not going to let Microsoft force me out of my favorite browser/bookmarks/extensions/etc. like this, and I can't keep stopping a service every hour just to browse the web.

So I need a solution please. And something specifically related to fixing the issue with Cryptographic Services preventing SSL on Chrome. I've done all the basic stuff like reinstalling Chrome, checking firewall settings, etc..

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Internet and connectivity

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  1. Anonymous
    2019-02-05T09:55:15+00:00

    Here is a little workaround I did to make things go a little faster.  Maybe it will help someone out a bit while this gets figured out.

    I created two Icons on my Desktop. 

    Stop Cryptsvc - Clicking on Icon STOPS the Cryptsvc service.

    Start Cryptsvc - Clicking on Icon STARTS the Cryptsvc service.

    Stop Cryptserv

    Open Notepad and create a .txt file somewhere on your computer.  Put in "net stop cryptsvc" in the .txt file.  Rename .txt file to "Stop Cryptserv.bat".  Create a shortcut on the Desktop to the .bat file.  Right click on .bat file and go to Properties | Shortcut tab and then Advanced.  Make sure "Run as administrator" is checked and hit "OK"

    Start Cryptserv

    Open Notepad and create a .txt file somewhere on your computer.  Put in "net start cryptsvc" in the .txt file.  Rename .txt file to "Start Cryptserv.bat".  Create a shortcut on the Desktop to the .bat file.  Right click on .bat file and go to Properties | Shortcut tab and then Advanced.  Make sure "Run as administrator" is checked and hit "OK"

    Simply click on the Stop Cryptsvc shortcut when you start having problems.  When you are done browsing in Chrome you can click on the Start Cryptsvc icon to start it up again or just leave it and it will start up automatically after a short amount of time.

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  2. Anonymous
    2018-11-05T16:42:39+00:00

    None of these suggestions worked, I have tried them all. I need a real fix. Come on Microsoft, a quick google search shows many people with the same issue. When are you going to fix this?

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  3. Anonymous
    2018-12-25T22:27:24+00:00

    I love the blame game that you Microsoft reps always try to play. It's not chrome's fault. 

    Saying "ooh, not us" is crap and you know it.

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  4. Anonymous
    2018-10-15T23:24:41+00:00

    Seems like a valid fix, but do you know what this actually does? for example, I have a program that will only run with Cryptographic services running. will I be able to use it or will your suggestion prevent me from using it? 

    Thanks.

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  5. Anonymous
    2018-09-03T22:58:20+00:00

    I'm having this same problem, seems to becoming a wide-spread issue.

    Did a full, clean install to Windows 10 Pro, and after it installed the feature update 1803, all my apps are now broken

    • Chrome
    • Vivaldi
    • Microsoft Store
    • Edge
    • iTunes

    I have to stop cryptographic services for these services to work, and opening various apps seems to start crypto services which then makes it incredibly annoying.

    MS need get a patch for this and fix it.

    MS technician - do a google search for "windows 10 cryptographic services chrome" for the past month and you'll see this is a thing, not just a one-off.

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