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Surely it has happened to you at some point that you are browsing the Internet and, suddenly, when accessing a website, a message like this appears: “The connection is not private” (Google Chrome), “Potential security risk” (Firefox ), “This connection is not private” (Safari), etc.
At first glance it could be an error that may worry you. In this article we will see what these messages refer to and some ways to solve it or, as a last option, force access to that website you want to access.
In Google Chrome:
In Firefox:
In Safari:
You will see that in all cases a title appears indicating a security problem, there is also a description that can give you an idea of the possible problem.
An error code appears in Chrome and a link with more information about the problem appears in Firefox and Safari.
In the end, all browsers advise you to go back to the previous page and leave the current url.
What does it mean that the connection is not private?
If at any time, when you are browsing, you see a message similar to what we had seen in the previous images, you have to take into account that it could be a problem with your browser or it could be a server problem.
In both cases, whether it is a browser or server problem, these messages are related to the HTTPS security protocol.
The HTTPS protocol
HTTPS, which stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure, uses SSL/TSL-based encryption to create an encrypted channel between the client or browser and the server.
SSL Certificate
The encrypted channel, between client and server, is achieved thanks to the use of a Security Certificate () that guarantees that you are connecting to the correct place and that communications travel safely through the network.
As you may be thinking, this message that the connection is not private is indeed related to the HTTPS protocol and the security certificate.
Cases in which this message appears
This non-private connection message can occur in one of the following cases:
HTTP website
The website you are visiting does not have encryption or does not have an SSL certificate, so browsers warn us that there could be security problems.
Certificates not updated
The SSL certificate of the website you are trying to visit is out of date or expired. Keep in mind that if the website hasn’t renewed its certificate on time, it will appear unsafe for a few hours or days.
Are you the owner of the site?
If you are the owner of the site experiencing this issue, please check with your provider, as you may have a security certificate issue.
At we use certificates, which are automatically renewed so that you do not have this type of problem.
What can I do as a customer?
As we have seen, the problem lies mainly in a server certificate problem. However, in some cases, you may also be getting this message due to a problem with your equipment.
Refresh and test in incognito mode
If the problem was something specific on the server, it is possible that your browser still caches the page with the message that the connection is not private. Try force refreshing your browser, clearing your cache, or even visiting the site in incognito mode
If you’re using an older version of your browser, consider upgrading as older browser versions may not work well with current server technologies.
Check your antivirus
Antiviruses usually have safe browsing protection, so first make sure your antivirus is up to date, then try disabling this option and verify by entering the site’s URL again.
In some cases conflicts have been detected between the security checks of the antivirus and the browser.
Check your system date and time
Another possible problem that may be causing you is that your browser does not correctly interpret the security certificate and the date of your system.
Make sure you have the correct date and time. On modern operating systems you can use the option to set the date and time automatically according to your time zone.
Visit the site regardless of the security message
If you are not the owner of the site and you have tried all of the above as a client and still do not get results but you are sure that the site you want to visit is a trusted site, you can evaluate visiting it anyway by forcing the URL to load.
In browsers, when this message appears that the connection is not private, at the bottom you have an option that allows you to enter the URL as well. For example, for Google Chrome, accessing the advanced configuration option, you will see something similar to the following image from where you can also access the URL.
You will also have something similar in other browsers such as Firefox and Safari.
conclusion
As we have seen, if you see this error that the connection is not private, it is usually related to a problem with the security certificate of your website. If this is the case and you own the problem site, check with your hosting provider.
If everything is fine in terms of the server, you will have to check as a client since, as we have seen, it may be an antivirus issue, problems with the system dates or simply a cache problem in your browser.
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WordPress technical support at and regular speaker at Meetups and WordCamps in America.
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