The Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge are two web browsers developed by Microsoft. Although we must mention that, to date, there exist even better browsers that Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge, a part of Windows users still prefer not to upgrade and use the good old ones. They, for the most part, are business organizations as the latter two are accessible to easily integrate with Active Directory, which implements group policies for users. But, of course, when it comes to our modern era and the newer browsers with much extensive features and performance, Internet Explorer and the Microsoft Edge isn’t much of a competitor. But it does have its own merits.

The Microsoft Edge came into play a bit late, starting its service back in 2015 exclusively for Windows 10 and Xbox One. Then, it later evolved and expanded to Android and IOS in 2017, and for macOS in 2019. Internet Explorer, on the other hand, made its debut sooner with the introduction of Windows. With its service extensively reaching almost all platforms, it was the default web browser for Windows, until Microsoft Edge took over in the latest Windows 10. However, keeping everything aside, the latter web browsers have been popping out the DLG_FLAGS_SEC_CERT_DATE_INVALID error sometimes when users try to visit a website. This error message concerns the security website of the domain you’re trying to access. There are several fixes to counter this, so let’s see how to fix the DLG_FLAGS_SEC_CERT_DATE_INVALID error in Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge.

Step to Fix Internet Explorer or Edge Error: DLG_FLAGS_SEC_CERT_DATE_INVALID

As we’ve already mentioned, this error originated with the security certificate of the website you’re trying to access. Either the website’s security certificate ran out of date, is invalid, corrupted, etc. However, this issue could still be a problem from your end. Try out the following fixes and see if the problem still persists. If it still does, that means the error solely holds responsible by the owner of the website, and there’s nothing else you can do about it.

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1. Clear browsing data

The first step is to clear your web browser’s browsing data. This includes cookies, cache, and any temporary data stored in the browsers. We can do this if the problem somehow exists with our browser or the data it accumulates from web pages.

– Clearing browsing data in Microsoft Edge

  • Open your Microsoft Edge browser app and click on the three dots at the top right corner
  • From the popup menu, click Settings
  • On the next screen, click Privacy and services
  • From the Privacy and services section, scroll down a bit. You’ll now see a Clear Browsing Data heading. Beneath it, to the right, click the Choose what to clear option
  • This will open a popup menu. From the menu, click on the drop-down menu and choose the All-time option
  • You can now choose what you want to clear. The basic data you must clear for our process are Cookies and other site data, Cached images and files, and Site permissions. So make sure to check/choose/tick the boxes of these three. Once checked, click Clear Now. This will initiate the process and will be finished in a few seconds. It will probably take longer, depending on how much files and data your browser has accumulated.
  • Once the process is complete, restart your browse or computer.

– Clearing browsing data in Internet Explorer

  • Open your Internet Explorer browser app and press ctrl+shift+delete to open the Delete Browsing History window
  • You can now choose what you want to clear. The basic data you must clear for our process are Temporary Internet Files and Cookies. So make sure to check/choose/tick the boxes of these two. Also, make sure to uncheck the Preserve Favourites website data option if it is shown.  Once checked, click Delete. This will initiate the process and will be finished in a few seconds. It will probably take longer, depending on how much files and data your browser has accumulated.
  • Once the process is complete, restart your browser or computer.

2. Disable certificate mismatch verification

If the above method doesn’t fix the issue for you, then this is the next option to look at. When you see the DLG_FLAGS_SEC_CERT_DATE_INVALID error, that means your browser is telling you that the website is insecure to visit. This means that either the website is a scam, have fraudulent activities involved, etc. Your browser verifies this by ensuring the particular website has an active security certificate, which ultimately is the tool that marks the authenticity of a domain.

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However, even when your browser warns you with the error, you can still proceed. That means you can tell your browsers that the website you’re trying to visit is trusted by yourself and not to warn you anymore, even though its security certificate is actually invalid. Doing so doesn’t really resolve the issue, but the browser wouldn’t bother to warn you about the issue anymore since we’re literally gonna tell our browsers that any website we try to visit with an invalid security certificate is trusted by ourself and safe to enter. This is just forcing our browser not to verify the security certificate of domains we visit, and that exposes us to any potential risks containing in the domain/website.

If you still want to proceed regardless of the security risk you are exposed to, below is the guide to disable certificate mismatch verification.

  • Press the Windows/Start key+R key to open up the Run dialog box.
  • In the text box of the Run dialog box, type in “inetcpl.cpl” (without double quotes) and press enter. Depending upon your Account Control settings, you will be prompted to grant Admin access. Just follow the on-screen instructions and allow access/permission whatsoever.
  • This will take you to the Internet Properties screen. From there, select the Advanced tab
  • Inside the advanced tab, scroll down the Settings menu to the very bottom and uncheck the Warn about certificate address mismatch option
  • Now, to implement the changes, click Apply first and then click OK.
  • Restart your computer, and the changes will be enforced in your computer settings.

3. Update Computer Certificate store

Another fix you can try out is to update your Computer Certificate store. This is because your computer might be running on an outdated Certificate store, or it contains corrupted data. The Certification Store is a collection of locally stored certificates that every Windows-run computer has. This Certificate Store has numerous certificates from numerous different certification authorities(CAs). So whenever you use your browser to visit a website/domain, the browser will first check-in with the Certificate Store on your computer. And in the process, your browser will return the DLG_FLAGS_SEC_CERT_DATE_INVALID error message in instances where the Certificate Store is outdated or corrupted due to virus, update interruption by your computer itself, etc. So to fix our issue, we can update our computer Certificate Store. To do so, go through the guide that follows:

  • Press the Windows/Start key+R key to open up the Run dialog box.
  • In the text box of the Run dialog box, type in “cmd” (without double quotes). After you’ve entered it in, press ctril+shift+enter. Depending upon your Account Control settings, you will be prompted to grant Admin access. Just follow the on-screen instructions and allow access/permission whatsoever.
  • This will take you to an elevated CMD prompt.
  • Next, copy and paste the following code into the elevated CMD prompt and press enter.
  • certutil.exe -generateSSTFromWU roots.sst
  • Once you pasted that in, just press Enter. This will initiate the update process. Once complete, restart your computer.

4. Create a new User Profile on your computer

Another way to approach this issue is by creating a new user profile on your computer. This helps in case the current user profile you used to access the particular website with having any corrupted data in its Certificate Store. In such instances, you can fix this by simply creating a new user profile. Also, please be aware that doing this will reset the user preferences associated with the computer you’re using. To do so, follow the guide below:

certutil.exe -generateSSTFromWU roots.sst

  • Go to Control Panel on your system
  • In the Control Panel screen, go to User Accounts
  • From the User Accounts settings, choose the Manage another account option
  • Next, click Add a new user in PC settings or Create a new account, depending upon your Windows version.
  • Next, follow the on-screen instructions(giving Microsoft account details, name of the new account, etc.) to add the new user profile.
  • Finally, restart your computer. Once you restart the computer, log in to the newly created user profile/account from the startup screen.

5. Connect to a different network

Apply this method if you’re browsing on a restricted network, such as the school or work networks. Such networks might restrict from entering certain web pages as set by the administrator. So if you are on a restricted network, switching to a different network that’s not implemented with restrictions is a potential fix.

6. Correct your Date and Time

The final method we can work on is to correct your system’s date and time or timezone. An inaccurate date and time will trick your browser into a deduction that the particular website’s security certificate has expired or is invalid. To eliminate this, all we can do is correct the date and time of the system. Your computer might fail to track the right time sometime when you boot up the computer. This is due to a faulty CMOS battery, and the workaround is to either replace it or manually correct the day and time. You may follow the guide below to do so:

  • Press the Windows/Start key+R key to open up the Run dialog box
  • In the text box Run dialog box, type in “timedate.cpl” (without double quotes) and press enter.
  • It will open up the Date and Time menu. You can now change the date and time with 2 methods:
  • Choose the Change date and time option under the default Date and Time tab itself and correct it.
  • Or if you have an active internet connection, you can navigate to the Internet Time tab→Change settings→choose the appropriate server from the drop-down menu and click Update. This will update your system with the internet time and date, which will be exact to your timezone. This is recommended.

Conclusion

Summing up the guide, we are looking at 6 potential fixes that we can apply with. However, if none of the above methods are helping you in any way, the last thing you can do is to contact the owner of the particular website and point out to them the fact that they have some issue with their domain’s security certificate. So, in the end, if these aren’t actually working out, all you can do is wait for the webmaster to resolve the issue from their end.

  • Choose the Change date and time option under the default Date and Time tab itself and correct it.
  • Or if you have an active internet connection, you can navigate to the Internet Time tab→Change settings→choose the appropriate server from the drop-down menu and click Update. This will update your system with the internet time and date, which will be exact to your timezone. This is recommended.

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