How to Protect Yourself If Your Connection is Not Private?

Everyone uses the internet for some of the other reason. But most of us are not aware that it can also cause us more harm than the benefit if care is not taken properly. Always remember that if your connection is not private, then the hackers can penetrate into your connection, collect your information and exploit it or use it to steal from you. All this information is collected while you are surfing the internet through an unsecured connection. So, make sure you always use a secure connection. In case, if you are visiting an https connection and it says your connection is not private, then make sure that you have entered the correct website address. Sometimes, you may see the error message in Chrome saying Net:: ERR_CERT_DATE_INVALID. It means that your connection is not private in Chrome and either the connection or system is preventing Chrome to load the page securely and privately. In this article, we will discuss how to protect yourself if your connection is not private.

Why SSL Error Appears?

There are several reasons behind the connection not private message, such as unknown SSL, expired SSL or because of the reason that the connection between the server and your system unsecured. However, there are three main reasons why SSL warnings appear:

  • There SSL connection between your computer and the server is not secured.
  • The SSL certificate is expired, set up in a wrong way or does not belong to the requested domain NET::ER_CERT_COMMON_NAME_INVALID.
  • The SSL certificate is not issued by the trusted organization. Most of the internet browsers recognizes only trusted SSL certificates. So, if you create an SSL certificate and install in your website, then these browsers may show a warning because they are not sure the connection is secure and private.

Steps to Fix “Your Connection Not Private” Error-

This issue can’t be ignored. You can follow the steps mentioned below to fix this error.

Check Date and Time on Your Computer-

Many times, incorrect date and time setting in your system can cause the SSL error. That’s why you get the error message saying the connection is not private. So, to resolve this SSL connection error, you need to adjust the date and time of your computer or any devices on which you are receiving this error. After updating the date and time, the SSL error will be eliminated.

Check the Antivirus Settings-

If you are getting the error message even when the date and time setting is accurate, then there are chances of having the issues with your antivirus. Sometimes, antivirus blocks the security certificate of the website and as a result of which you will get this error message.

  • First of all, go to the settings of your Antivirus program.
  • Next, go to the Active Connection option.
  • Then, choose to customize your web shield and there uncheck the box beside HTTPS scanning.
  • Keep in mind that, in some antivirus, you need to turn off SSL scan in the anti-phishing tab under the privacy control in settings.

Clean Chrome Browser-

If you are encountering the error on Google Chrome and the above solutions are unable to fix it, try cleaning up the browser.

  • Open Chrome and go to the advanced settings in the setting.
  • Then, find the privacy option and click on clear browsing data option.
  • In case, if this does not work, then reset the Chrome settings under the advanced settings option in the Chrome menu. Along with that, clear up the cache and cookies as well.

Disable the Warning Message-

If you think that the connection is secure and private and still Chrome is making an error, then you can disable the message and bypass the error. In order to do this, follow the steps given below: –

  • First of all, type chrome://flags in the address bar and press enter.
  • Then, you will see an option “remember the decisions of proceeding through the SSL errors for a specified length of time” and from the drop-down menu select the time frame.
  • Now, when you will launch the website even after the warning, you won’t see the message again.

However, remember that not all Chrome browser version supports this method anymore. So, if you can’t find this option, you can try other methods.

Use Chrome Shortcut 

Using this method error will not get fixed. However, it can make these messages disappear until you choose to see them again.

  • First, right-click on the Chrome shortcut at the Desktop.
  • Then, select properties.
  • Next, open the shortcut tab, add in the target -ignore-certificate-errors-, then click on apply and OK.

Go Incognito 

Sometimes, this issue can arise due to the extensions. So, try to open the same site in the incognito window.

  • To do so, press Ctrl + Shift + N together. Doing so will launch the incognito Chrome window.
  • Now, when the window is opened enter the address of the website you were trying to visit and if it opens, then probably some extension was causing the issue.
  • After that, open the settings from the Chrome menu and click on extensions.
  • Find the extension that could be causing the conflict with SSL certificate and disable it by unchecking the box next to the enable option.

Fixing Your Connection is Not Private Error in Android or iOS Device

Probably this issue occurs in your Android or iOS device due to the same causes. You can follow the same steps to resolve the issue as you did above. Check the date and time of the device, clear browsing data, caches, and cookies etc, simply ignore the error message, try incognito and go ahead with the website.

Wrapping Up

It is recommended not to ignore the message. So, when you choose to move ahead with a connection which is not private, you might be in the risk of someone hacking your sensitive information and using it against you for stealing or blackmailing purpose.

We hope that this information and steps can help you understand more about this SSL error as well as how to resolve when it occurs. You can also face SSL connection error on Google Chrome browser in other platforms, such as macOS or Linux, and these troubleshooting steps are still helpful.

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