Your connection is not private: the browser certificate warnings, one by one

Security·· 15 views· 3 min read

The short answer: the browser shows a warning page (“Your connection is not private”) when it cannot trust the site’s certificate. The code underneath (NET::ERR_CERT_…) says why. The first question is always the same: does it happen only to you, or to everyone? If only to you, it is almost never the site.

What the site needs

What What to do
ERR_CERT_DATE_INVALID The certificate has expired, or your computer’s date is wrong. Check the device’s clock first.
ERR_CERT_COMMON_NAME_INVALID The certificate is for another name: the site is reachable with and without www, and the certificate covers only one, or it was installed on the wrong domain.
ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID The certificate is not from a known authority: a self-made certificate, an incomplete chain, or an antivirus or a public network getting in the middle.
ERR_SSL_PROTOCOL_ERROR The server and browser cannot agree on the cipher: an old configuration.
Only you, or everyone? Try another device and another network. If it only fails on one, the problem is that device or that network.

Getting started

1 Check the device’s date and time and set them to automatic: Wrong date and time.
2 Try another device or network (mobile data). Cafe and hotel networks, and some antivirus programs, interfere with the certificate.
3 If it fails for everyone, it is the server: check the certificate’s validity, name and chain: Checking your site’s HTTPS setup.
4 If the certificate expired, renew it: Expired certificate. If you just bought one and it will not activate: Domain validation.
5 If the name does not match, install the certificate on the right domain, with and without www: Installing a certificate.
Never click “continue” on a bank, a shop or a site where you will enter passwords when the warning is about the certificate and you do not know why. The warning protects you from a fake site or from someone in the middle. On your own site, fix the cause instead of asking customers to ignore the warning.
Other secure-connection errors that get confused with this one: ERR_CONNECTION_CLOSED and others. For the padlock that does not appear: Mixed content.

Do your customers see this warning on your site? Open a ticket with the address and the exact error code.

Open a support ticket

SEE ALSO

The wrong date or time on your site or e-mails: WordPress, PHP and time zones

Checking your site’s HTTPS setup: certificate, chain, expiry and protocols

Certbot renewal failed or the certificate expired: how to find out why

I bought an SSL certificate and it has not activated: domain validation

How to activate and install a paid SSL certificate

Mixed content after moving to HTTPS: the padlock that will not turn on

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