Have you ever experienced a problem when trying to connect to a website? The browser keeps showing that it might be because of outdated or unsafe TLS security settings. This is the last thing you want to see, especially when you are in a tight deadline. How to solve this security setting problem when you are not a computer geek? What is actually TLS security setting?
Well, there is nothing to do with computer expertise. Even if you are not a techy person, you can solve this TLS problem in no time. All you need to do is understand what TLS security really is and how to set it to default. Here, you are about to know more about TLS including what it is, how to set to default, and many others. Keep scrolling and be insightful!
What Is TLS Security Settings?
Transport Layer Security (TLS) as a successor of Secure Socket Layer (SSL) is a cryptograph protocol to provide a secure and safe internet communication. Both TLS and SSL use X.059 certificate to perform their asymmetric encryption. Asymmetric encryption typically use private key and public key. TLS also requires certificate authority to make sure the encryption that uses public key infrastructure can be carried out securely.
In an internet protocol, TLS and SSL conducts encryption in Application layer. The encryption is subsequently brought to Transport layer to continue the data. To perform its job, TLS requires to be set to default. Otherwise, you will be unable to access any website and your screen shows that you have outdated or unsafe security settings.
Each browser may require different method to set to default. If you happen to experience the same problem, make sure you set the setting according to the browser you are using. Setting the TLS is quite easy as it does not require complex steps. As long as you have the tutorial, you can do the computer geek way to solve the problem.
How to Set TLS Security Settings to Default
After noticing that your web browser has problem with TLS security setting, you can directly find simple tutorials to set the TLS to default. As aforementioned, each browser requires a different method to set the TLS to default. Having that said, all of them are pretty easy that you can do it by yourself. Check this out to find how to set TLS security for Safari and Firefox.
- Firefox
Follow the instructions below to enable TLS 1.1 and TLS 1.2 in your Firefox browser:
- Open Firefox
- Navigate to address bar and type about:config then press Enter
- In your Search field, type tls. Double-click for the security.tls.version.max entry
- Set the integer value to 4. This is to force a TLS 1.3 maximum protocol.
- Click OK
- Close and restart your Firefox browser.
- Safari
In fact, there is no way to enable SSL Protocols in Safari. If you are using later version of Safari, 7 or greater, both TLS 1.1 and TLS 1.2 are enabled automatically. If you want to boost the performance by using TLS 1.3, you can do the following steps:
- Open the terminal, then become a root
- Type command defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.network tcp_connect_enable_tls13 1 then hit enter
- Relaunch your Safari browser and feel the difference.
Unsafe TLS Security Settings
Unsafe TLS security issue is undoubtedly annoying. You didn’t do anything wrong, only use the browser as usual and this problem suddenly emerges. You may not know what possibly cause unsafe TLS security. But when you don’t fix the problem, it is nearly impossible to use the browser unless you have the other one.
The issue can be caused by related features that are disabled. You may unintentionally disable the feature in the Settings, causing an alteration in the browser settings that affects the TLS security. Or else, it can also be caused by Windows update or application re-setup. If you didn’t do anything with the browser, the second reason may explain the problem.
The one and only way to get rid of unsafe TLS is by restoring the settings to the default. As stated previously, the method depends on what browser that you are using. Internet Explorer requires different steps from Firefox or Safari. However, solving the problem by restoring the setting is not a permanent solution. The issue may appear again in the future.
TLS Security Settings Internet Explorer
Many Internet Explorer users complain about having TLS security issues. The error message indicates that your TLS is outdated or unsafe. Good news, you can get rid of this problem without too much effort. Specifically for Windows 10 users, you can use the following steps to fix TLS issue in IE.
- In the Windows Search field, type Internet Options. Open the top result
- You will see a pop-up dialog box. Navigate to the Advanced tab. Find the tab under the Security heading. Try to find Use SSL 3.0 and check the box.
- Also check the boxes of TLS 1.0, TLS 1.1, and TLS 1.2. Click Apply and OK button.
- Restart your IE browser and the issue will disappear.
You can also try another method to fix the TLS security problem. This may be a shortcut as you can do the setting directly from the IE browser.
- Open Internet Explorer
- Click Tools, then click Internet Option
- Navigate to Advanced tab and click.
- Under the Security section, check USE TLS 1.0, TLS 1.1, and TLS 1.2.
- Reload the website you are opening, check if the method works.
Source : Microsoft Community
TLS Security Settings Chrome
In Chrome, the connections are automatically performed at the highest grade. Specifically for Google Chrome version 22 or later, TLS 1.1 is automatically enabled. For Chrome version 29 and later, TLS 1.1 and TLS 1.2 are automatically supported. But you can always enhance the experience by enabling TLS 1.3 in your Chrome browser. Follow the instructions below:
- Open Chrome
- Type the command chrome://flags/#tls13-variant in the address bar then press Enter
- Relaunch your browser and feel the difference.
All in all, TLS security settings play a major role in ensuring your internet communication. It ensures your communication is safe and secure in the internet. When you see the error message related to TLS issue, you don’t need to worry as it requires simple steps to overcome.