I have the same problem (Windows 10), but it only occured recently.
Never had an issue before and I don’t use a VPN. Any ideas? (Possibly it started with the recent update, but I’m not sure as I wasn’t using Anki for a while now.)
I also tried 1) restarting Anki in safe mode (holding shift key), 2) deleting and reinstalling Anki, 3) restarting Windows. Also, the Android version still works fine.
I don’t have antivirus software other than the one integrated into Windows 10 (Windows Defender). I deactivated it, just in case, but it did not work. Still I’m getting the same message.
I also tried to repair the database of Anki, but it seems to be ok (and also works fine on the mobile version).
Side note: If it was possible to add images to cards in the web version, I wouldn’t need the desktop client at all.