Connection not Secure
Connection not Private
SSL - HTTPS
Updated: December 17, 2019
By: RSH Web Editorial Staff
The "Your connection is not Secure" error can show when trying to connect to a secure website. This means that your Browser is preventing you from browsing the web page because it cannot establish a secure connection
When you browse to a HTTPS web site, your browser sends a request to the Websites Server. Both the Browser and the Server need to complete an SSL/TLS handshake to establish a secure connection (you can learn more about the SSL/HTTPS here). During the handshake, the website sends its SSL certificate to your browser to prove that it is secure and on the encryption protocol they will use to communicate
If your browser has trouble validating the SSL Certificate, a secure connection will not be established. Most Browsers today will stop you and will show you a "Your connection is not Secure" or sometimes a "Your connection is not Private" error message. And depending on what browser, what operating system, and how the Web Server is configured, you could get different variations of the same message
On Google Chrome you could See
Your connection is not secure. Attackers might be trying to steal your information from [domainname.com] (for example, passwords, messages, or credit cards)
On Mozilla Firefox you could See
“Your connection is not secure. The owner of [domainname.com] has configured their website improperly. To protect your information from being stolen, Firefox has not connected to this website”
The Fix
This type of error message could appear for many reasons. There may be issues on your side or on the Web Server and its SSL certificate. Although not very common it could be the website has been compromised by hackers or scammers
You should be able to fix most issues by trying one of the methods below
Refresh the Web Site
Sometimes all you will need is to "Refresh" the web page or close and reopen your browser. There may have been something out of order when you were trying to connect. Or maybe the website owner was reissuing his SSL certificate
Use Incognito Mode
See if visiting the web page in "Incognito Mode" helps. It could be that your extensions are preventing the SSL connection. On Chrome click on the three dot icon in the upper right hand corner and click "New Incognito Window". You can also use Ctrl+Shift+N. On Mozilla Firefox, click on the three line icon in the upper right hand corner and then click "New secure Window". Or click Ctrl+Shift+P
Check the Time and Date of your Device
One of the main reasons browsers will not establish a Secure connections is if your device has the wrong time and date. If you have just bought a new device, it may be that the date and time is not synced correctly. Browsers use this to verify SSL certs, make sure that it is correct. Some SSL certificates are valid for only a couple of months. So if your date was set when the site was launched then you will also see the error message
Right click on the "Date and Time" on your taskbar and select Adjust date/time. Then turn on Set time automatically and Set time zone automatically. If the time doesn't sync automatically, turn off both of the features and try to set it manually
From the Apple menu, click on "System Preferences" and select Date & Time. If you see the padlock at the bottom of the window, click on it and sign in with your user-name and password. Click "Set date and time automatically". If it doesn’t sync automatically go to the Time Zone tab, uncheck it, and manually set the time
Check your Internet Connection when on a public Wi-Fi
Another common reason why you might see the error message is that you are connected to a public Wi-Fi that doesn’t support HTTPS or is configured incorrectly. Most such Wi-Fi networks will ask you to sign in and agree to terms and conditions before you connect to the Internet, (because they want to harvest your data and see what you do). If a sign in page doesn’t pop up automatically and you try to visit an HTTPS page. you could see an error message. To fix it, try going to an HTTPS website you trust. This should automatically bring up a sign in page
Clear your Browser Cache
Another easy fix is clearing your browsing data. Your cache may be preventing you from visiting the site
Click on the three dot icon in the upper right hand corner, select "More tools", and then Clear browsing data. You can also use "Ctrl+Shift+Del". A new window will pop up. Select the timeframe from the dropdown menu (4 weeks should work perfectly fine) and click Cached images and files only. Then click "Clear Data"
Click on the three line icon in the upper right hand corner and click "Library". Select "History" and "Clear Recent History". or Ctrl+Shift+Del. Only click "Cache and Clear Now"
Update your Operating System
Old operating systems might not work with the newer SSL protocols, like TLS v.1.3. Most all Web Servers no longer support old encryption protocols, if your operating system doesn’t support TLS, you will not be able to establish a secure connection. To avoid this make sure that your operating system is up to date
Disable your Antivirus
If you have a over sensitive antivirus, it might stop you from visiting HTTPS websites. Try temporarily disabling it and refreshing the webpage. You can also try disabling its SSL scan feature. Make sure to restart it
Clear the SSL Sate on your Computer
Similarly to clearing your cache, you can also clear your SSL state, which might fix the connection error
On Google Chrome
Click on the three dot icon in the upper right hand corner and click "Settings". On the left hand side, click on the three line icon to expand the "Settings" menu and select "System". Click on "Open Proxy Settings". A new window will pop up. Click on the "Content" tab and click "Clear SSL State"
On Mozilla Firefox
Click on the three line icon in the upper right hand corner and click "Library". Select "History" and "Clear Recent History". Only select "Active Logins" and "Clear Now"
Restart your Computer
Restarting your computer deletes all temporary caches, which might also fix the error message too
What if Nothing Works?
If none of the methods above fixes your SSL problem, it is very likely that the problem is on the Web Server’s side and there is nothing you can do. It might be that the Website forgot to renew their SSL certificate
On most Browsers you can check its validity by right clicking on the green padlock symbol. The SSL certificate might be using an outdated SHA-1 cryptographic hash algorithm, which is considered to be unsecure and is no longer supported by current browsers. Or the SSL certificate has been issued by an untrusted organization
If the issue is on the Server side, you could ask for help on one of the browser forums (i.e. Google Chrome Help Community), or access the website without an SSL connection. However we do not recommend establishing an unsecure connection as your data will be out in the open and anyone will be able to snoop on your sensitive information. Plus, if the website was supposed to have a secure connection but doesn’t, you will not know why. It could be an innocent mistake or it could have been hacked
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