SOLUTION FOUND!!!
There is an opensource software called 'Smart Card Manager' which is referenced on militarycac.com as an alternative to using ActivClient 6.2 (AKA for those of us that can't access a CAC secured site to download a program designed to enable the use of a CAC card needed for said site).
I'm not totally sure what the program actually did, however, it seems to have re-established the link between my card reader and my internet browser/certificate management software. Below is the link to the program:
And below is the link to the page on militarycac.com (Also a wonderful resource for anyone military for finding the latest drivers and certificate packs for your computer and card reader)
Cac Card Reader For Mac
I recently switched to my macbook pro, but cannot use my CAC card reader (smart card) to access email and systems from work. The only info I can find indicates that the readers are not supported/compatible with my system. HYPERSECU Smart Card Reader DOD Military USB 2.0 Common Access CAC. Windows, Linux, Mac OSX, Solaris, and Android Compatible. Works with PIV.
Cac Reader Middleware Download
Finally, make sure (if you're military) that you have all of the appropriate DoD PKI Root Certificates installed and have uninstalled old/conflicting certificates. Instructions for this can be found by clicking the Navy Knowledge Online (NKO) website ( https://wwwa.nko.navy.mil/ ) and clicking the CAC Login Help link below the login button in the center of the page. The link will pop up a window with instructions for things to do on the DISA website. Make sure you complete the following:
- Follow the instructions to run the Cross-Certificate remover (instructions are found in the popup on NKO.
- INSTALL 'Installroot 4' on your machine. To do this choose the 'Trust Store' tab instead of the 'Certificate Validation' tab on the Tools page of the DISA site. 'Installroot 4: NIPR Windows Installer' is the DoD PKI certificate installer that you then need to download and install.
Following all of that, you should be up and running. It's taken me a lot of digging to find this solution and I've done a lot of the working with solutions from militarycac.com in the past and it seems every time windows changes, something about smartcard login on government sites breaks. Hopefully this will save some of the rest of you that headache that we all hate.
Cac Reader Middleware
*This method has successfully restored my access to all of the military sites I had access to in the past. (MyPay, BUPERS, NFAS, DEERS, NSIPS, NKO, MOVE.MIL) hopefully it works for you as well.