Quick Fix: "Your connection is not private." Error on Chrome (NET::ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID)

Imagine you are trying to open a website, and then a full red screen appears. Suddenly, a warning pops up, signalling as if your entire web browser has collapsed. Before you panic, know this: “Your connection is not private” is one of the most common browser warnings out there, and it can happen anytime. It may not be associated with hackers or compromised data but still needs your attention.

Why Chrome Blocks Websites

Here is the key data point that you should understand: every website uses an SSL/TLS certificate to encrypt the connection between your browser and their server. Chrome constantly runs checks in parallel to make sure that these certificates remain valid and issued by a trusted authority. When a certification has expired and the computer's clock is out of order or a third-party tool is intervening, Chrome blocks the entire page as a protective measure to safeguard you from suspicious connections.

The three most straightforward causes of this issue are a system clock mismatch, antivirus software interception, or a certificate that has expired or is misconfigured by the site owner.

Four Fixes: Try Them in Order

Begin with your date and time portrayed on your system.

Go to Settings → Time & Language → Date & Time and confirm that "Set time automatically" is enabled.

Suppose it was turned off or the clock drifted due to some reason; re-enabling and reloading the page will solve the issue.

If it is not your clock, then look at your antivirus software. Programs like Avast, Kaspersky, and Bitdefender possess a feature called 'HTTPS' or 'SSL scanning' that intercepts encrypted web traffic to scout for threats. While this process is being carried out, they usually replace their own certificate into the connection that Chrome finds hard to trust. Thus, start by temporarily disabling the "Web Shield" or "HTTPS Scanning" functionality of your antivirus software and then refresh the page. Further, check whether an antivirus update resolves this issue or whitelist the underlying site.

Next, try clearing Chrome's SSL state for the domain.
Go to chrome://net-internals/#hsts in your address bar, find the "Delete domain security policies" section, enter the domain name in question, and delete it. Further, clear your browser cache, then reload. Chrome occasionally holds onto outdated certificate data, and this step forces it to start fresh.
Go to chrome://net-internals/#hsts in your address bar, find the "Delete domain security policies" section, enter the domain name in question, and delete it. Further, clear your browser cache, then reload. Chrome occasionally holds onto outdated certificate data, and this step forces it to start fresh.

When Only One Website Triggers the Error

If the issue still persists after trying out all these fixes and the error is limited to a single website, then chances are high that the problem lies on their end. This could be attributed to an expired certificate or a broken SSL setup. You can use Chrome's "Advanced → Proceed anyway" option for low-stakes sites. But in order to fix it properly, contact the site owner or administrator so they can renew or correct their certificate.

When You Should Not Proceed

Make sure that you close the tab without second thoughts if it is a site where you would enter sensitive information. Give additional attention to banking portals and healthcare platforms where this error shown means a man-in-the-middle attack. Trust the warning and close the tab abruptly. However, for everyday browsing, an error is nothing more than a minor hiccup. Fix your clock and scan your antivirus software, and you will be back online within 2 minutes. Security warnings like these can reduce user trust and impact conversions, which is why professionally developed and SEO-friendly websites from Way WeDesign focus on both performance and protection.