15 Simple Ways to Fix the NET - Astra

What Is the NET::ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID Error? ... If you want to secure your WordPress website, you have probably installed an SSL ... Skiptocontent BacktoBlog QuickandSimpleWaystoFixtheNET::ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALIDError LastupdatedonJuly31,2021byEditorialTeam Theproblem:youhaveanSSLcertificateinstalledonyoursite,butyouruserskeepgettingaNET::ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALIDerrormessage. Itcancertainlybeveryfrustrating,especiallyifyou’vespentthetimetomoveyourwebsitefromHTTPtoHTTPS. Whatcausesthiserror?Itvaries,buttherearetwobasictypesofproblems,issueswithyourownbrowserorInternetconnectionandissueswithyourwebsiteanditsSSLcertificate. Inthispost,we’llexaminethiserrorandlookatthedifferentwaysitoccursinseparatebrowserslikeGoogleChrome,FirefoxandSafari. Then,we’llwalkyouthroughsolvingtheissuebygoingthroughoveradozendifferentsolutions. Thankfully,theNET::ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALIDerrorisn’ttoodifficulttofix,althoughtrackingdowntheexactsourceoftheproblemmayrequirerunningafewdifferenttests. TableOfContents WhatIstheNET::ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALIDError?WhatDifferentBrowsersDisplayChromeFirefoxSafariOperaDon’tIgnoreThisMessageonOtherWebsitesWhatCausestheNET::ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALIDError?FixingtheNET::ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALIDErrorIssuesWithYourPersonalBrowserorConnectionIssuesWithYourWebsite/SSLCertificateConclusion WhatIstheNET::ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALIDError? IfyouwanttosecureyourWordPresswebsite,youhaveprobablyinstalledanSSLcertificate.ThiscertificateallowsyoutomovefromHTTPtoHTTPS,whichisamoresecuretechnology. SSLisanabsolutemustforanywebsite.That’sespeciallytrueforanywebsitethathandlessensitivedatalikecreditcardsorbankinginformation. Ifthebrowserperceivesthecertificateashavingaproblem,itwillusuallyrefusetoloadthepageanddisplayanerrormessage. ThismessageistheNET::ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALIDerror. Theerrorcanbecausedbyanissuewithyournetwork,deviceorbrowserthatstopstheSSLcertificatebeingproperlyread. Itcanalsobecausedbyaninvalidcertificateonthewebsite’send. We’llshowyousometroubleshootingstepsforboth.Thatway,wecanhelpsolvetheissuewhetheryou’rejustbrowsingorifyou’remanagingyourownwebsite. WhatDifferentBrowsersDisplay Dependingonwhichbrowseryouuse,theerrormessagedisplayedwillbeslightlydifferent. Theseareallessentiallythesameerror,explainedinslightlydifferentterms. Chrome InChrome,you’llseeamessagethatlookslikethis: Yourconnectionisnotprivate.Attackersmightbetryingtostealyourinformationfromyoursite.com(forexample,passwords,messages,orcreditcards). Then,belowthat,you’llseetheactualerrormessage: NET::ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID. Firefox Firefoxwillusuallytellyouthatyourconnectionisnotsafeandthatyoushouldgobacktothepreviouspage. Safari InSafari,youwillgetamessagewhichsaysthatsomeoneistryingtoimpersonatethesite.TheNET::ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALIDerrormessagewillalsolikelybedisplayedatthebottomofthepage. Opera Opera’serrormessagewillusuallybesomethinglikethis: Operacannotverifytheidentityoftheserver“yoursite.com”,duetoacertificateproblem.Theservercouldbetryingtotrickyou.Wouldyouliketocontinuetotheserver? Othervariationsoftheerrormessageincludethefollowing.Theyallbasicallymeanthesamething: NET::ERR_CERT_INVALIDERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALIDNETERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALIDNET:ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALIDNET::ERR_CERT_INVALIDNETERRCERTAUTHORITYINVALID Don’tIgnoreThisMessageonOtherWebsites Asafinaldisclaimer,don’tbetooquicktobrushoffthiserror,especiallyifyouarevisitinganexternalwebsitethatyouarenotincontrolof. Thismessagesometimesappearsbecausethesitehasbeencompromisedbyhackers.Ifyouenteranypersonalinformation(likeaccountnames,passwords,orbankcredentials)youareatseriousriskofidentitytheft. IfyouseeaNET::ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALIDmessageandneedtoaccessthisparticularsite,getintouchwiththewebmastersbeforeenteringanypersonalinformation.Theymightnotevenknowaboutit. WhatCausestheNET::ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALIDError? Nowthatwehaveafirmgraspofwhatthiserrorlookslike,let’stalkaboutwhatcausesit. Aswementionedaminuteago,thereareanumberofreasonswhythiserroroccurs.Theycanbecategorizedintotwobroadcategories: IssueswithyourpersonalcomputerornetworkIssueswithyourwebsite/SSLcertificate Errorsinthefirstsectionarecausedbyissueswithyourcomputerand/orinternetconnection,whileerrorsinthesecondsectionarewiththeSSLcertificateonthewebsiteitself. Iftheissueiswithyourpersonalbrowserorconnection,youcanfixitbychangingsomesettingsortryingadifferentcomputer. IfyourunyourownwebsiteandtheissueiswithyourSSLcertificate,you’llneedtoreinstallthecertificateorcorrectanyerrorswiththecurrentone. Whileyoumayhaveacertificateinstalledcorrectly,ifitcan’tbeaccessedbyabrowser,itisfunctionallyuseless. FixingtheNET::ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALIDError Herearesomefixesweknowtoworkwiththisparticularerror.We’llbeginwiththosemostrelevantforgeneralwebbrowsing. Ifyouownthewebsitecausingtheerror,yourfixescomeafterwards. IssuesWithYourPersonalBrowserorConnection Thefirstcategoryofissueiswithyourownindividualcomputer,connection,orbrowser.Thesearenormallyeasiertofix,astheyonlyrequirechangingsomeaspectofyourowndevice. 1.ThePageLoadedIncorrectly Itseemssimple,butoftentimesasimplereloadwillfixaproblem.Ifyouhaven’treloadedthepage,trythatnow. Youcanalsotryclosingthebrowserandre-openingit,thenreloadingthepage. 2.YouAreUsingaPublicNetworkorOtherInsecureConnection Sometimes,publicnetworks(e.g.WiFiatacoffeeshoporlibrary)havecertainrestrictionsthatpreventwebpagesfrombeingloadedcorrectly.ThiscanalsocausetheNET:ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALIDerrortoappear. Ifyouareonapublicnetworkandreceivetheerrormessage,trytoconnecttoaprivatenetworkandseeiftheissueremains.Ifyoudon’thaveimmediateaccesstoaprivatenetwork(forexample,ifyouareworkingatacafefarfromhome),tryusingthepersonalhotspotfeatureonyoursmartphone. IfyouhaveaVPNinstalled,youcouldalsotrythat.ConnecttoyourVPNandretrythewebsite.AVPNisasecurenetworkthatusesdifferentsecurityrulestopublicWiFiandmayallowthewebsitetoloadproperly. 3.YouNeedtoUpdateYourTimeandDateSettings Ifthedateortimeisincorrectonyourdevice,itcanoftenbeflaggedbythebrowser.ThebrowsercaninterpretthisincorrectdataasindicatingthattheSSLcertificatehasexpired. Somebrowsersalsoflaganyincorrecttime/datedataasbeingindicativeofsomeothersecurityissueandwillthengiveasecuritywarninginresponse. Toavoidthissortofissue,makesurethetimeanddatearesetautomatically. Tofixyourdate/timeonaMaccomputer,gotoSystemPreferences>Date&Time. TofixitonaWindowscomputer,gotoSettings>SelectTimeandLanguage. 4.YourBrowserIsOutdatedandNeedstoBeUpdated Ifyou’reusinganoldoroutdatedversionofChrome,Firefox,Safari,orotherbrowser,youmayrunintoerrors. Asbrowsersareupdated,securityholesareclosed,bugsarefoundandfixed,andotherissuesaddressed.Assuch,ifyouuseanolderversionofthebrowser,theremaybeaconnectionissueasaresult. 5.TheOperatingSystemIsOutdated Ifyouareusinganoldorveryoutdatedoperatingsystemonyourcomputer,it’slikelythatyoursystemwillhaveissueswithnewerwebsitesandbrowsers. Theonlysolutionhereistoupdateyouroperatingsystem.Ifforsomereasonyouareunabletodothis,considerusinganonlinevirtualmachinelikego4hostingorClearVM. 6.TryFromaDifferentComputerorDevice Doyouhaveadifferentcomputeravailable?Whataboutasmartphone?Tryvisitingthesitefromthesedevicestoseeifthesameissuepersists. Ifotherdeviceshavethesameissue,it’slikelythattheproblemiswiththewebsite.Ifonlyyouhavetheissue,it’sprobablycausedbyyourbrowser,device,orconnection. 7.UseIncognitoMode Incognitoorprivatemodeisaquickwaytoseeifyourbrowserhascacheorcookieissues. GoogleChrome:OpenanincognitowindowbygoingtoFile>NewIncognitoWindow.Firefox.GotoFile>NewPrivateWindowtoopenanincognitowindow.Safari.Toopenanincognitowindow,gotoFile>NewPrivateWindow.Opera.GotoFile>NewPrivateWindow.YoucanalsousethekeyboardshortcutCtrl+Shift+NforWindowsor⌘+Shift+NforMac. Afteropeninganewprivatetab,navigatetothesite.You’llseewhata“totallynew”visitorwillsee. 8.CleartheBrowserCacheandCookies Yourbrowsercacheorcookiesmaybeloadinganoldversionofthepage.Topreventthisfromhappening,youcanresetyourcacheandcookies. GoogleChrome:Inthetopleftcorner,clickontheChromemenuitem.Then,clickClearBrowsingData.Anewtabwillopen.MakingsurethatCookiesandCachedimagesandfilesareselected,presstheClearDatabutton.Firefox.OpenthePreferencessectionfromthemenu,clickonPrivacyandSecurity,andthenscrolldowntoCookiesandSiteData.ClicktheClearDatabutton.Safari.OpenthePreferencessectionfromthemenu.Then,clickonthePrivacytabandtheManageWebsiteDatabutton.Finally,clicktheResetAllbutton.Opera.PressCtrl+Shift+Del([shift]+[cmd]+[del]onMac)toopenyourClearbrowsingdataoptions.MakesureCookiesandsitedataisselected,aswellasCachedimagesandfiles.Finally,presstheCleardatabutton. Nowtryvisitingthewebsite.Istheerrormessagestillappearing? 9.ConnecttoaDifferentNetwork Sometimes,theproblemisjustwithyournetwork.Tofindoutifthat’sthecase,tryconnectingtoadifferentnetwork.Ifyoudon’thavemorethanonenetworkatyourhomeoroffice,tryapublicplace,likealibrary,coffeeshop,ortrainstation.MostoftheseestablishmentswillhavefreeWiFi. Ifyou’reusingyourcomputer,tryusingyourphone.Connectusing4G/5Gandseeifyoucanseethewebsiteornot. Onceyouconnecttoadifferentnetwork,tryvisitingyoursite.Istheerrorstillthere? 10.BrowserExtensions Ifyouareusingbrowserextensions(especiallyinChromeorFirefox),it’spossibleforthemtocauseissueswiththebrowser. Thisismorecommonwithextensionsthataren’tmadebylargercompaniesorwell-knownsoftwaredevelopers. Trydisablingallofyourextensions. InChrome,youcandothisbygoingtoWindow>Extensionsandmakingsureeveryextensionisgray,notblue. InFirefox,clickthemenubutton,thenclickAdd-onsandThemes.SelectExtensions,andclickthebluetogglenexttoallofthem. Then,visityoursite.Doestheerrorgoaway? 11.DisableYourFirewallorAntivirus Wegenerallydon’trecommenddisablingyourfirewallorantivirussoftwarebecauseitcanopenupyournetworktorisk.However,firewallscanbeasourceofconnectivityissues. Windows InWindows,clicktheStartmenu,findthesearchbox,andtypein“WindowsFirewall”.Picktheoptionwhenitappears. Then,inthesidebarontheleft,clickonTurnWindowsFirewallOnorOff. Finally,undertheheadingHomeorWorkNetworkLocationSettings,clickTurnOffWindowsFirewall. MacOSX InMacOSX,theexactlocationdependsontheOSXversionyouareusing.Nonetheless,theseinstructionsshouldbemostlyaccurate,nomatterwhatversionyou’reon. GotoSystemPreferencesandfindtheSecurityicon.Then,clickontheFirewalltab.Unlockthepagebyclickingthelockiconinthebottomleftandenteringyourpassword.Finally,clickTurnOffFirewall. Afterdisablingyourfirewallorantivirussoftware,visitthewebsite.Stillgettingtheerrormessage,ornot? Don’tforgettoturnthefirewallbackonwhenyou’refinished! 12.TurnOff(orOn)YourVPN Avirtualprivatenetwork(VPN)allowsyoutoconnecttoawebsitefromanotherserver,typicallyfromadifferentpartoftheworld. VPNscancauseconnectivityissues,especiallyifyouareconnectingfromafarawaycountryorfromaplacethathasrestrictionsoninternetuse.Theycanalsobepartofthesolution. Ifyou’reusingaVPN,turnitoffandtrytoaccessyoursiteagain.Istheerrormessagestilldisplayed? Alternatively,theissuemaybewithyourownregionalinternetandusingaVPNcanbeawaytotestthesitefromanotherlocation. IfyouhaveaVPN,tryconnectingfromacountrythatisfarawayfromyoursbuthasunrestrictedInternet. Forexample,ifyouarelocatedinNewYorkCity,trytoconnectfromTokyo. IssuesWithYourWebsite/SSLCertificate Doyouownthewebsitethat’spresentingtheerror?Theproblemcouldbewithyourwebsiteand/ortheSSLcertificateitself. Let’srunthroughsomepotentialsolutions. 13.RunanSSLTest Beforetryingotheroptions,ithelpstofirstrunatestonyourSSLcertificate.Therearemanyfreetoolsthatcandothisforyou. SSLLabsZeroSSL Ifthetestissuccessful,you’llgetaresultlikethis: Ifthetestisunsuccessful,youwillgetanumberofdifferentmessages.Youcanscrolldowntoseethem,butinessence,theysaythat… Acertificatewasfoundbutitdoesn’tmatchthedomainnameThewebsitedoesn’tuseSSLbutsharesanIPaddresswithanotherwebsitethatdoesThedomainusesaCDNthatinterfereswiththeSSLcertificate Inotherwords,thereisamismatchbetweenthedomainandtheSSLcertificate.Youmayalsojustgetan“invalidcertificate”error. Ifyougetanunsuccessfulresult,trytoreinstalltheSSLcertificate. Aseachwebhosthasdifferentwaysofdoingthis,wesuggestcheckingwithyourhostforspecifics. 14.TheCertificateIsSelf-Signed Ifyouareusingaself-signedcertificate,youwillalmostcertainlygetanerrorasallbrowserswillconsidertheminvalid. MosthostsmakeiteasytogetaSSLcertificatewhenyoupurchaseadomainorahostingpackage. YoucanalsouseLet’sEncrypttogetoneforfree,althoughsettingitupandrenewingitdoesrequiresomework. It’salsonotabadideatopayforapremiumSSLcertificate.Theydon’tneedtoberenewedasoftenandofferextraprotection. Ifyouaren’ttechnically-inclinedandplanonhandlingsensitiveinformation(e.g.creditcardsorpersonaldata)itisprobablyagoodideatojustpayforapremiumSSLcertificate. 15.TheCertificateHasExpired Asmentionedabove,somefreeSSLcertificatesneedtobemanuallyrenewedeverysooften.Usually,thisisevery90days.Thisistoensurethatyoustillhaveactivecontroloverthedomain. Let’sEncryptshouldsendyouemailstowarnyouaboutanexpiringcertificate.Ifyouarecomfortablewiththecommandline,youcanmanuallyrenewityourself.However,manyhostslikeSiteGroundwillautomaticallyrenewthecertificateforyou. Conclusion TheNET::ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALIDerrormessagecanseemlikeaconfusing,difficultproblemtohavetofix.Itisn’treally. ItcouldsimplybeaconfigurationissuewithyourcomputerorthepublicWiFinetworkyou’reusing. Ifyouownthewebsiteinquestion,itcouldalsobetheSSLcertificateyou’reusing.WhilesettingupaSSLcertificateisusuallyaneasyprocess,therecansometimesbetechnicalproblems.Thankfully,findingasolutionisn’tasdifficultasitseems. Inthispost,wewalkedyouthroughoveradozendifferentpossiblesolutionstosolvingtheNET::ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALIDerror.We’resureoneofthemwillwork! Haveyouseenthiserroryourself?Whatsolutionworkedforyou?Shareitinthecommentstohelpoutotherreaders! Join635,020Subscribers Getexclusiveaccesstonewtips,articles,guides,updates,andmore. YourfirstnameYouremailaddressSUBSCRIBE AbouttheAuthor OureditorialteamatAstraisagroupofexpertsledbytheco-founderofBrainstormForce,SujayPawar.Weaimtocreatewellresearched,highlydetailedcontentrelatedtoWordPress,Webdesign,andguidesonhowtogrowyouronlinebusiness. SharingisCaring! 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