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Resolve the “Your Website Is Not Secure” Error & How to Get Free SSL

on 26 June 2023, by Bogdan, in Blog, WordPress, Cloud, Guides

by Bogdan

If you're looking for a way to fix the “website is not secure” error, this post is for you.

A site that displays this error message when accessed is unable to provide a secure connection when users visit it. Instead of loading the page, the browser informs the user about the problems with the page they’re trying to access.

In this post, we'll explain what this error is, what causes it, and how to resolve it with a few different techniques. Doing this will protect sensitive information such as passwords, credit cards, and other details that site users may share with you. Users will be more confident in working with your website when you assure them of the safety of their information.

Let's begin by understanding what it means when a site can't provide a secure connection.

What is The “Site Can’t Provide a Secure Connection” Error

When a site can't provide a secure connection, it means that there is a problem establishing a secure connection between the browser and the website the user is trying to visit. This error is usually caused by issues with the website's SSL (secure sockets layer)/TLS certificate or configuration.

In other words, your site could be claiming HTTPS compliance, but either it is not providing a certificate, or the site is using an invalid or expired SSL/TLS certificate. Or, the SSL/TLS certificate isn’t properly configured.

If your website collects user information, then it won’t have the necessary measures in place to protect sensitive information a user may share with you. It'll be like having a door without a lock, where anyone can access user personal data like passwords or credit card information.

So, instead of loading the page, the web browser alerts the user to this issue to keep them safe.

Tip: A secure site’s connection is typically indicated by the presence of HTTPS in the website’s URL, accompanied by a padlock icon in the browser’s address bar.

What does this error look like on different browsers?

Popular browsers like Safari, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox display the “this site can’t provide secure connection” error messages differently. These error messages often vary slightly in wording, but they all indicate that the browser could not establish a secure connection to the website due to SSL/TLS certificate issues or misconfigurations.

Google Chrome

If a user tries to visit an insecure website, this is how Chrome will show the error message:

Chrome will then offer three methods to troubleshoot the issue. That you try checking your connection, proxy, firewall, and DNS configuration, and run Windows Network Diagnostics. Chrome then indicates that the connection wasn’t secure because the site doesn’t support valid SSL protocol (ERR_SSL_PROTOCOL_ERROR).

However, this isn’t the only error message Chrome will show when someone visits an insecure site. Sometimes, it may also show the “Your connection is not private” error message often caused by expired SSL/TLS certificates (NET::ERR_CERT_DATE_INVALID or NET::ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID).

Safari

When Safari deems a site insecure, it will show you this error message:

Safari will often show this message if it couldn’t authenticate the site’s data it received successfully.

Mozilla Firefox

Here’s what the error message looks like on Mozilla Firefox:

Mozilla Firefox tells the user that the host uses an invalid security certificate so their connection isn’t secure or failed.

Now that you know how this security error is displayed on different browsers, let’s take a closer look at what might cause this error.

What Causes “This Site Can’t Provide Secure Connection” Error

There are several reasons why a browser may show the Site can’t provide a secure connection error message, including:

No SSL Certificate Installed

Websites that require secure connections should have an SSL certificate installed. However, if a website doesn't have an SSL certificate at all, a browser won't be able to establish a secure connection and protect it from malicious third parties like hackers.

Without an SSL certificate, the website lacks the necessary encryption to protect your data, leading to the "This Site Can't Provide a Secure Connection" error instead of loading the page.

The website uses an expired or Invalid SSL Certificate

If a website uses an invalid SSL certificate, the browser will ALSO show this error message. This happens because the browser cannot establish a secure and encrypted HTTP connection with the website’S server due to the certificate issue.

Incorrect time and date settings on your computer

Google Chrome browser can block websites when the time and date settings on your computer are incorrectly set. This is because the inaccurate date and time information may cause problems during the SSL certificate authentication process.

Untrusted Certificate Authority or Self-Signed Certificate

A certificate authority (CA) is a trusted entity that issues SSL certificates to websites. If a website's SSL certificate is signed by an untrusted or unrecognized CA, your browser will raise a security concern and show an error message.

Similarly, if a website uses a self-signed certificate, which is not issued by a trusted CA, your browser will perceive it as potentially unsafe and display the error.

Outdated Browser or Operating System

Using an outdated browser or operating system can also trigger an error message. Older software may lack the necessary security protocols and updates required to establish a secure connection with a website. The browser may fail to negotiate a secure connection in such cases, resulting in an error.

Firewall or Antivirus Settings

Sometimes, SSL scanning features on your computer’s antivirus settings or network firewall may prevent a secure connection with a website. If the firewall or antivirus software perceives the website's SSL certificate or secure connection as a potential threat, it may block the connection and display the error message.

How to Fix “This Site Can’t Provide Secure Connection”

To solve the ‘Site Can’t Provide Secure Connection’ error, there are a few different solutions that you can try and see which one works for you. Here are some of them:

Checking your internet/Wi-Fi connection,
Disabling overly-aggressive SSL scanning features on your antivirus and firewall software,
Deactivate rogue browser extensions
Update your web browser and operating system, and
Try running Windows Network Diagnostics.

If the problem still persists, continue reading and learn how Brizy Cloud can help you to solve this permanently using a free SSL.

Resolve the “Your Website Is Not Secure” Error & How to Get Free SSL

This error primarily results from a lack of an SSL certificate. In most cases, adding one to your website can solve this issue and you. You can get a free SSL certificate by hosting your website on Brizy Cloud.

Brizy Cloud is an all-inclusive platform that simplifies building and hosting websites. On its own, Brizy Cloud is a page builder that provides a wide variety of premium blocks, templates, and layout designs to help you build stunning websites without any coding knowledge.

One of Brizy Cloud's key advantages is its unlimited hosting feature. You can effortlessly host the websites you create on super-fast and reliable servers. The platform leverages Amazon Web Services (AWS) for hosting, storage, and database services, ensuring optimal performance. Additionally, Brizy Cloud utilizes Bunny.net as a content delivery network (CDN) and for image optimization, further enhancing website speed and efficiency.

This is how Brizy Cloud’s hosting stacks up against other building platforms.

By choosing Brizy Cloud, you gain access to an all-in-one solution that combines an intuitive website builder with powerful hosting capabilities. With its emphasis on simplicity, speed, and reliability, Brizy Cloud empowers users to create, host, and manage impressive websites with ease.

This is what you get in Brizy Cloud’s hosting

How does Brizy Cloud Hosting Fix the “This Site Can’t Provide a Secure Connection” Error

With Brizy Cloud Hosting, you’ll escape the struggles of using legacy hosting solutions. Brizy Cloud Hosting plan includes the following:

Get a Free SSL Certificate installed

With Brizy Cloud Hosting, you receive a free SSL certificate when you subscribe to a hosting plan. This valuable addition saves you the hassle and cost of obtaining a separate SSL certificate from third-party providers.

By streamlining the setup and configuration process, Brizy Cloud Hosting makes it easy for you to secure your website and establish a secure connection with your visitors.

Tip: Brizy Cloud automatically installs the SSL certificate for you. This will enable you to display the HTTPS prefix and the lock icon in the URL bar.
In addition, this option is not applicable with the Server Sync and Export HTML publishing options because these are self-hosted by you and SSL is installed on the server level.

Automatic Certificate Renewal

Managing SSL certificate renewals can be a complex task. However, with Brizy Cloud Hosting, you no longer need to worry about expiration-related issues. The platform takes care of the SSL certificate renewal process on your behalf.
By automatically renewing the certificate, Brizy Cloud Hosting ensures that your SSL certificate remains valid and up to date. This proactive approach helps you maintain a secure connection and avoid potential security errors that may arise from expired certificates.

A secure cloud infrastructure

Brizy Cloud Hosting provides a secure hosting infrastructure, designed to safeguard your website and its data. Your website will be hosted on an infrastructure that incorporates industry-standard security measures, including firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and regular security updates. By hosting your website on this secure infrastructure, Brizy Cloud Hosting will help reduce the risk of security vulnerabilities and helps ensure a secure connection.

Clear the browser cache and reset the SSL cache

In some cases, resetting the SSL cache and clearing your browser's history can be beneficial. These actions allow you to establish a fresh connection, potentially resolving any issues that caused the error. Additionally, with Brizy Cloud, you gain access to a robust global CDN that effectively addresses site insecurity by enhancing performance and reliability. Global CDNs are renowned for their ability to deliver content swiftly, minimizing latency and improving page load times.

Check the date and time settings on your computer

Modern browsers rely on accurate date and time information to verify the validity of SSL certificates presented by websites. It will check the SSL certificate’s expiry dates using the system’s date and time settings.

If your computer's date and time settings are incorrect, browsers may struggle to validate the SSL certificate and consider it no longer valid. You can avoid this by double-checking and correcting the date and time settings on your computer using these simple steps:

Open the settings app on your computer and click on Time & Language.
Here you can check if the time and date settings are correct. If incorrect, you can set it manually by first unchecking the Set time automatically option.
Under Set date and time manually, click on change.
Insert the date and time and then click on Change to finish.
You can also select the correct time zone using the dropdown provided and that’s it.
Doing this will provide browsers with the necessary date and time accuracy for SSL certificate validation for a safe connection

Conclusion

By now, you know that the site can’t provide a secure connection error will mostly occur when a browser detects an issue with your site’s SSL certificate. If the certificate is expired, not installed, or poorly configured, browsers won’t load websites. Browsers do this to safeguard sensitive information shared with a website and to protect websites from malicious third parties like rogue hackers.

As a website owner, you can bypass this error using Brizy Cloud’s hosting. You will get a free SSL certificate that’s constantly being auto-updated. In addition, Brizy Cloud’s hosting is built on AWS and Bunny.net’s global CDN which will offer your website optimal performance, improved user performance, and fast page load times.

Start building secure websites today!

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Article by Bogdan

Co-founder & Head of Design, Bogdan has a passion for everything that works great and looks awesome. Guilty for most of the UI and UX around this place, you can say "Hi" to him at bogdan at brizy dot io