SSL icon doesn't appear with php https hyperlink

[mlcheatham]

I would appreciate any help on the following problem...

I have a link to what is supposed to be an SSL page. I am passing a username and validation to prevent someone simply opening the page without going through a login page. The link is below:

<A HREF="https://sharedSSLservername/folder/formname.php?site=<?php echo $site; ?>&validation=YES">Click here to go to secured page</a>

When the link is clicked, the form page appears and works fine, BUT the SSL padlock icon doesn't appear in IE's lower bar. Instead a "privacy report" icon appears. If one right-clicks on the page and clicks "Properties", the popup displayed says the page truly is SSL-encrypted. Without the padlock icon, however, my users think the page isn't secured.

Now, if I paste the URL generated by the php code (as in below) into IE's address field, the page comes up WITH the icon the way I want it.

<A HREF="https://sharedSSLservername/folder/formname.php?site=55&validation=YES">Click here to go to secured page</a>

Does this have something to do with trying to pass variables along with the URL??

Do I have to use cURL??

Any help or guidance would be GREATLY appreciated as I've been working on this for weeks and my ISP says the problem is the code.

Thanks!