diff --git a/code/tutorlib/online/session.py b/code/tutorlib/online/session.py
index 13e36da..e179304 100644
--- a/code/tutorlib/online/session.py
+++ b/code/tutorlib/online/session.py
@@ -44,12 +44,19 @@
 SERVER = 'http://csse1001.uqcloud.net/cgi-bin/mpt3/mpt_cgi.py'
 
 
+import ssl
+
 def make_opener():
     """Make a URL opener with cookies enabled, and proxies disabled."""
     cookiejar = http.cookiejar.CookieJar()
     proxy_handler = urllib.request.ProxyHandler(proxies={})
     cookie_processor = urllib.request.HTTPCookieProcessor(cookiejar=cookiejar)
-    opener = urllib.request.build_opener(cookie_processor, proxy_handler)
+    # Disable SSL certificate verification to work around issues on Windows 8
+    ssl_context = ssl.create_default_context()
+    ssl_context.check_hostname = False
+    ssl_context.verify_mode = ssl.CERT_NONE
+    https_handler = urllib.request.HTTPSHandler(context=ssl_context)
+    opener = urllib.request.build_opener(cookie_processor, proxy_handler, https_handler)
     return opener