Millions of users use Chrome as one of the most popular browsers. When you use Chrome to access websites and services, you see a green lock icon that indicates the site or service is secure (using HTTPS protocol). But what happens when Chrome flags your certificate as not valid? Or when Chrome shows you a message stating, “Your connection is not private.”
When the Chrome browser encounters a problem while establishing an SSL connection or cannot check a website’s certificate, this “Your connection is not private” warning message frequently appears. Your browser stops you from accessing an insecure website whenever this error occurs.
How To Secure Your Certificate Chrome Says It’s Not Valid Error
Typically, this error message pops – up when the associated website does not have an active SSL certificate. There could be countless issues with SSL. However, this problem happens when the certificate fails to confirm the web domain or when the administrator makes a spelling error when creating the CSR.
You must rule out any potential SSL certificate problems if your website displays the “Your connection is not private” error. This section offers three ways to troubleshoot this issue. Let us take a look at it.
1. Check The Date & Time Settings On Your Computer
It sounds a bit strange, but the “Your connection is not private” issue could happen because your computer’s time and date settings are off, which may seem strange.
Your browser uses the time and date settings on your computer to determine whether an SSL certificate is valid. If they are wrong, the validation procedure can have problems. The certificate may appear invalid even though it is still in effect.
To do so, follow the steps below:
- Press the “Windows” key with the key “I” to open “Settings.”
- Now locate & tap on the “Time & language” option from the left side of the window.
- Here click on “Date & time.”
- If the options “Set time automatically” and “Set time zone automatically” are off, toggle them on. And verify that the current time and date are valid.
- Attempt to view the website again after refreshing it.
2. Clear The Cache & Cookies Of The Chrome Browser
Sometimes, outdated cache & cookies can contribute to this issue. Therefore, if you encounter this issue, it is advised that you delete them. To clear the cache & cookies of your Chrome browser, follow these steps:
- Open the browser.
- Click the “three vertical dots” icon from the top right corner of the browser. And tap on “More Tools” when the drop-down menu appears.
- Now click on “Clear browsing data.”
- A pop-up window will appear in front of you. From it, click on “Advanced.”
- At the top, you will see a “Time Range” option. Click the drop-down arrow adjacent to it and choose the time frame per your preference.
- Once the time frame is selected, ensure that the boxes of “Cached images & files” & “Cookies and other site data” are tick marked.
- Now click on “Clear Data.”
Now reload the webpage you are visiting.
3. Flush DNS Records
Flushing your DNS is likely the best action if there are any DNS issues with your connection. Any IP addresses or DNS records on your system’s cache will be removed by flushing the DNS. It aids in resolving connectivity and online safety problems.
- Now click the “Windows” button and type “cmd” in the search bar.
- Open the “Command Prompt” with the “Run as administrator” option.
- Now type the following command and hit the enter key: “
ipconfig/flushdns”
A message confirming the successful deletion of DNS records will be sent to you.
To Wrap This Up
Errors with SSL certificates are mostly to blame for the “Your connection is not private” error message. However, occasionally, client-side problems could be to blame. So that’s it for today, guys. I hope you found this article helpful, and if you have any questions or fixes except those we mentioned above, let us know in the comments below. Follow us on social media – Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.