Have you encountered the “gws_rd=ssl” error while using Google? You are certainly not alone if so; this error message can appear across any service offered by them, including Search, Gmail and Drive. Unfortunately it can prevent users from reaching the page they need and make your experience less than ideal – something no Google user wants!
“gws_rd=ssl” errors are fairly prevalent and offer numerous solutions that you may try in order to solve them. Here, we will investigate possible causes behind it and offer simple steps on how to tackle the situation.
What does “gws_rd=ssl” error indicate?
Error “gws_rd=ssl” occurs when Google attempts to redirect you to a secure SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) connection. SSL provides encrypted links between browser and web servers and ensures their data security and confidentiality. It could be due to browser, cache or SSL issues as well.
How to resolve “gws_rd=ssl” error?
Clear Your Browser Cache:
One of the simplest solutions for the “gws_rd=ssl” error message is clearing your browser cache. Follow these steps in order to delete your cache:
- Google Chrome users: To delete browsing data, navigate to “More tools”, “Clear browsing data”, select the drop-down “Time range”, check both “Cookies and other site data” and “Cached images and files”, before finally pressing on “Clear data” in order to confirm.
- Mozilla Firefox users: To clear cookies and site data from their computers, go to Options then Privacy & Security then “Cookies & Site Data”, click Clear Data then “Time Range to Clear”, choose Everything (the default choice in “Time Range to Clear”) then check “Cookies & Site Data”, as well as Cache Web Content boxes before pressing Clear”. Finally click Clear when complete.
- Microsoft Edge users: To clear browsing data, navigate to “Privacy, search, and services”, “Clear browsing data”, then “Choose what to clear”, checking off “Cookies and other site data”, as well as “Cached images and files”, before pressing on “Clear now”.
Remove Browser Extensions:
Browser extensions may interfere with your SSL connection and cause it to give an “gws_rd=ssl” error, so to try disabling all extensions and see if that helps clear up this problem: Here’s how it’s done:
- Google Chrome: To disable an extension, navigate to “More tools”, “Extensions” and toggle off its switch next to each.
- Mozilla Firefox users: To do this, navigate to “Add-ons”, “Extensions”, then the three-dot menu beside each extension to disable and click “Disable”.
- Microsoft Edge users: To disable extensions, navigate to “Extensions”, and switch off their switches next to each extension by using the three-dot menu in the top-right corner.
Disable antivirus software
Sometimes antivirus software may interfere with SSL connection and lead to “gws_rd=ssl” errors, so temporarily disabling antivirus programs might help solve them – try doing this and see if that fixes things: Here’s how:
- Windows Defender: To open Windows Defender settings, right-click your taskbar Windows logo, click “Update & Security”, “Windows Security”, then “Virus & Threat protection”, followed by “Manage settings”, then switch off Real-time protection if desired.
- For Avast: Right-click on the Avast icon in your system tray, and choose “Avast shields control.” From here, choose “Disable for 10 minutes” in order to temporarily deactivate antivirus software.
- McAfee: To temporarily disable it, right-click its system tray icon and choose the “Exit”. This will temporarily stop its anti-virus software.
Update Your Browser
If the above solutions don’t work, try updating to the most up-to-date browser version available – an outdated one could potentially lead to “gws_rd=ssl” errors and here is how you can update:
- Google Chrome users: To manage settings, click on the three-dot menu at the top-right of your screen, click “Settings,” “About Chrome,” then on “Check for Updates,” to locate and update their chrome version if one exists; finally click on “Update.”
- Mozilla Firefox users: Clicking on the three-line menu at the top-right of your screen, followed by “Help,” will reveal options to “About Firefox,” then “Check for updates”, before being given the chance to “Restart and update Firefox”
- Microsoft Edge users: To change settings, navigate to “Settings”. On the left-hand side of your screen, go to “About Microsoft Edge”, click on it, and then “Check for Updates”. If there are updates available for Edge, if they appear click “Restart” for it to update it.
Conclusion
While “gws_rd=ssl” errors can be frustrating, they’re an easily resolved issue with several straightforward solutions. By clearing your browser cache and disabling browser extensions as well as trying incognito mode or disabling antivirus software and updating your browser you should be able to eliminate this error and get back to using Google without issue – however if none of these work you may require further assistance from either Google Support or your browser support team for assistance.
