Enable TLS 1.2 on Windows 7

Transport Layer Security (TLS) is the next generation for Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocal. It provides secure communication over internet. TLS is used by Web Browsers and other applications which require data to be securely exchanged over a network such as VPN, email, FTP etc.

Windows 7 support TLS 1.1 and TLS 1.2, but those are not enabled by default. Those are enabled by default in later versions such as Windows 8, 10. We can enable it in Windows 7 by using the following steps

1. Open registry editor ( By using "regedit" command in Run)
2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecurityProviders\SCHANNEL\Protocols
3. Right click on "Protocols" and Select New -> Key. It will create "New Key #1" under "Protocols"
4. Right click on "New Key #1" and Select Rename. Rename it to "TLS 1.2"
5. Right click on "TLS 1.2" and Select New -> Key. It will create "New Key #1" under "TLS 1.2"
6. Right click on "New Key #1" and Select Rename. Rename it to "Client"
7. Right click on "Client" and Select New -> "DWORD (32-bit) value". It will create new file in the right pane with name "New Value #1". 
   
8. Right click on "New Value #1" and Select Rename. Rename it to "DisabledByDefault"
9. If you are using the machine as local IIS server for development server, then 
• Right click on "TLS 1.2" and Select New -> Key. It will create another "New Key #1" under "TLS 1.2"
• Right click on "New Key #1" and Select Rename. Rename it to "Server"
• Right click on "Server" and Select New -> "DWORD (32-bit) value". It will create new file in the right pane with name "New Value #1".
• Right click on "New Value #1" and Select Rename. Rename it to "DisabledByDefault"
10. Close the editor and reboot the machine.

Happy Coding 😊!

Gopikrishna