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It is undeniable that the Internet has made a positive impact in the lives of many people across the globe. With access to the Internet, you can open a virtual treasure chest with a seemingly unlimited wealth of information and resources. It can even make your life easier by allowing you to perform your daily activities through your mobile devices or computer.

That said, the Internet is a powerful thing. Hackers can take advantage of it and exploit people’s information. When you access the Internet through an insecure connection, criminals can collect your data and use it to steal from you. This is also the reason why it is crucial to take safety precautions when connecting to the Internet.

Why is a PC Saying ‘Your Connection is not Private’?

Now, your firewall or antivirus may protect you by preventing you from accessing insecure connections. That said, there are instances wherein you may still be free to get into public Wi-Fi networks. However, you won’t be allowed to open legitimate sites like PayPal. This is perfectly normal, especially since your firewall ensures your security while you’re using a connection that is not private.

When this happens, you’ll probably get an error message on Chrome which says, “Your Connection is not Private.” Keep in mind that attackers find clever methods of placing malicious files into sites that they’ve hacked. So, it is not ideal to visit domains that are blocked by Google Chrome.

However, you should know that this is not always the case. Secure sites have SSL certificates that guarantee data encryption and safe data transmissions. Sometimes, when you visit these SSL-certified sites, you can still get the ‘Your Connection is not Private’ error message. You may wonder, “Why does my phone say ‘Your Connection is not Private’?” This message shows up when Chrome is unable to verify and confirm the SSL certificate.

For the time being, your browser won’t be able to load the site you want to access. It is possibly due to an expired or unknown SSL certificate. Thankfully, there are workarounds for this. If you are certain that you are visiting a secure site, you can learn how to fix the ‘Your Connection is not Private’ error on Windows 10. This way, you can get into the domain without any hindrance.

Solution 1: Correcting the Date and Time Settings

You may think that this is an unlikely solution, but many users were able to resolve the issue through it. It is possible that your web browser is unable to verify the validity of the SSL certificate because you’ve set the date and time on your computer incorrectly. So, to fix the problem, follow the steps below:

  1. Go to your taskbar, then right-click the time and date at the bottom right.
  2. Now, select Adjust Date/Time from the list. Doing so will open the Date & Time section in the Settings app.
  3. Go to the right pane, then toggle the switch under the ‘Set time automatically’ section to Off.
  4. Wait for a couple of seconds, then activate the option again.

After updating your Date & Time settings, check if the SSL error in your browser is gone.

Solution 2: Checking Your Firewall/Anti-Virus

It is possible that your anti-virus or firewall has considered the SSL certificate of the site to be suspicious. So, we suggest that you open your anti-virus and try to disable the HTTP scan feature. You should also disable the Real-Time Protection or SSL Scanning feature on your anti-virus. Once you’ve done that, try accessing the site that was triggering the error.

Solution 3: Clearing Your Browsing History and Data

Keep in mind that over time, your browser becomes overloaded with data. It is also one of the reasons why the error message appears on Chrome. So, we suggest that you try clearing your browsing history and data. Here are the steps:

  1. Click the Settings icon at the top-right of your browser. It should look like three vertically aligned dots.
  2. Select Settings from the menu, then scroll down and click Advanced to see more options.
  3. Under Privacy and Security, click Clear Browsing Data.
  4. Make sure you are on the Advanced tab, then select all the options.
  5. Select All Time for the Time Range, then click Clear Data.

Pro Tip: If you want to use a more efficient tool that will handle your regular browser maintenance, we suggest installing Auslogics BoostSpeed. This tool has a powerful cleaning module that sweeps out all types of PC junk. It will also tweak non-optimal system settings to ensure faster downloads and smooth app operations.

Solution 4: Using an Incognito Window

  1. Open Chrome, then click the Settings icon at the top-right of the browser.
  2. Select the ‘New incognito window’ option.
  3. Close other browser windows, except the one in incognito mode.
  4. Go to the incognito window, then click the Settings icon.
  5. Select More Tools, then click Extensions.
  6. Disable any extension that has been coming in conflict with your SSL connection.

Solution 5: Updating the DNS Settings

It is possible that some DNS changes you’ve made are causing the error message to appear. So, we suggest reversing them by following the instructions below:

  1. Click the Search icon on your taskbar.
  2. Type “control panel” (no quotes), then hit Enter.
  3. Once you’re inside Control Panel, select Network and Sharing Center.
  4. Go to the left-pane menu, then click Change Adapter Settings.
  5. Right-click your active network, then choose Properties from the list.
  6. Once you get to the new window, go to the Networking tab.
  7. Click Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6) or Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4).
  8. Click Properties, then select Obtain DNS Server Address Automatically.

Solution 6: Bypassing the Error Message

If running a deep malware scan does not turn out anything suspicious, you can try bypassing the error message. You can do this by creating a shortcut that ignores the error on Google Chrome. Here are the steps:

  1. Right-click the Chrome shortcut on your desktop.
  2. Choose Properties from the list.
  3. Look for the Target field.
  4. Paste the line (including the quotes) below onto the end of the path:

“-ignore-certificate-errors”

  1. Click Apply and OK to save the changes.

After following these steps, restart Google Chrome. Try accessing the affected site to see if the error is gone.

Which of the solutions helped you get rid of the error?

Let us know in the comments below!