If we ask you, what’s the most dreadful error message that you can receive while browsing a website… which one would you choose? Most website owners choose the one shown below.
It makes your website feel like the most insecure website in the world, even when there’s no cyberattack going on!
The error, which tells visitors that “Your connection to the site is not private” with error code net::err_cert_authority_invalid, can eat a good chunk of your revenue as it makes your website not just inaccessible but also untrustworthy in the eyes of visitors.
That’s why we’ll explore in this tutorial how to fix this error and get your website online once again. Let’s start!
The net::err_cert_authority_invalid error is caused when there is an issue with your SSL certificate.
The certificate may be expired, not issued by a trusted CA, or there may be some other misconfiguration with your installation that may be causing this error.
Can I Force Chrome to Trust a Certificate?
You can visit a website that generates this error if you want to, but you can’t force Google Chrome (or any web browser) to trust an SSL certificate that they do not trust.
There’s no such way to do that, and that’s in the best interest of internet users.
The net::err_cert_authority_invalid error is usually generated because of server-side issues, but sometimes it may also be a result of some misconfiguration with your own browser or system.
So we’ll explore how we can resolve it on both fronts — by a website owner as well as a visitor.
If you’re a website owner
Let’s start with the scenario of a website owner first. Because as we said above, this error usually appears because of server-side issues.
Here’s everything that you can do if your website is generating this error for your visitors:
1. Perform an SSL Test
If your website started giving the net::err_cert_authority_invalid error right after you installed the certificate, then something might have gone wrong with your SSL installation.
In that case, you need to check your installation and find out what went wrong. Fortunately, it’s not difficult to do so.
Nowadays there are many SSL testing tools available in the market that can perform automated tests on your SSL installation and tell you what’s wrong.
Two popular ones among them include:
You can use any of them by entering your website URL, and they’ll tell you what exactly is wrong with your SSL installation.
2. Get a Certificate from a Valid Authority
If you are using a self-signed SSL certificate, then this step is for you.
Self-signed SSL certificates nowadays are as good as nothing, because there are many tools available to break their protection.
If you’ve chosen a self-signed certificate because of cost, you can get a free SSL certificate from Let’s Encrypt.
But again, free is free — it can protect your website from net::err_cert_authority_invalid error, but there are other limitations of Let’s Encrypt certificates.
Those limitations make them less reliable than a premium certificate from a reputed Certifying Authority (i.e. Comodo, Verisign, etc).
That’s why we’d suggest that you should get your certificate from a reputed CA.
3. Renew Your SSL Certificate
Lastly, if your certificate is expired (the SSL checker tools mentioned above can tell you if that’s the case), the solution is to renew it.
SSL certificates are generated for a fixed period of time (usually annual), so you need to renew them year-on-year.
There are certificates you can purchase for longer durations (just like domain names).
However, there are certain reasons why you should not go for them:
- Google doesn’t recommend you to do so because that can also cause security-related complications.
- Technology keeps improving at a fast rate. Better certificates with newer security features come to the market. If you’ve bought a certificate for a long duration (i.e. 5 years), you’d remain stuck with outdated technology for too long.
That’s why we too would suggest that you renew your certificate for a maximum duration of two years only.
If you’re a user
We said it earlier, and we’d like to emphasize again that this error usually appears because of a server-side misconfiguration.
However, in the rare case when the site you’re trying to access is opening fine on other devices while generating the net::err_cert_authority_invalid error on your computer, we’d suggest that you follow the tips outlined in our other tutorial to fix the err_SSL_protocol_error.
That’s because the actions that you can take to fix it on your computer are precisely the same ones that we’ve outlined in that other tutorial.
Err_SSL_Protocol error is also an issue related to SSL certificates, so the steps to fix both of them are the same for users.
Similar Tutorials to Check Out
- How to Fix a “403 forbidden” Error: If you’re getting a 403 forbidden error while visiting a website, it generally means that you are forbidden by the server from accessing the URL that you’re trying to access. This tutorial explains how to get rid of it.
- How to Fix the “err_connection_refused” Error: The connection refused error is generated by servers when there is an issue or misconfiguration with them. It can block your visitors from accessing your site, thus causing a significant loss of revenue. This tutorial can help you fix it.
Wrapping Up
So this is how you can resolve the net::err_cert_authority_invalid error for your website.
Generally, the solution involves replacing your SSL certificate with one from a trusted CA. That is because most of the time this error appears for expired or self-signed certificates.
What are your thoughts regarding this short guide?
Share your feedback in the comments, and let us know if it helped you fix the error. We’d love to hear your thoughts. And keep sharing our work on your social media handles too.
