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Forbidden Pop-Up Box

  • 6 replies
  • 2 have this problem
  • 28 views
  • Last reply by mosaki2

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I manage a WordPress blog and over the last month or so, some of our Firefox users are reporting a forbidden error.

When they access the blog, a small rectangular pop-up box appears that says forbidden. Once they click on the OK inside the box, it disappears and they are then able to access the blog. It doesn't happen when I access the blog through my Firefox browser, but a handful of members are having this issue.

I've researched your help forums, but can’t seem to locate the issue. Can someone help? Thanks.

I manage a WordPress blog and over the last month or so, some of our Firefox users are reporting a forbidden error. When they access the blog, a small rectangular pop-up box appears that says forbidden. Once they click on the OK inside the box, it disappears and they are then able to access the blog. It doesn't happen when I access the blog through my Firefox browser, but a handful of members are having this issue. I've researched your help forums, but can’t seem to locate the issue. Can someone help? Thanks.

All Replies (6)

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Have you gotten any screenshots to see whether it is a JavaScript alert, a pop-up window, etc.?

Did those members mention using a saved/bookmarked URL that has any parameters you might not have tested?

You might also want to check for a possible server hack that is only triggered by certain kinds of accesses. For example, to fly under a webmaster's radar, pharma spam hacks may only inject into pages when a blog is accessed through a search engine results page (HTTP_REFERER populated with a known search engine domain) rather than through a bookmark or the address bar.

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Thanks for your quick reply. I'll gather some more information from my members and report back.

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I've attached a screenshot. It appears that everyone is performing a search rather than using a bookmark. The common theme among everyone is that they are using Firefox Browser.

Comments from those who are experiencing the problem: "I use Firefox, a quick click and the forbidden box goes away for maybe 5 mins .. or I may not see it reappear for a 1/2 hour."

"Yes, I use Firefox also, and as john stated, a click on the “o.k.” box makes it go away, it just seems weird that this “forbidden” message shows up as though I’m opening a can of plutonium or something."

"yes I am using Firefox and cleared the cache in the cookies and data sites and in the history. Will see how it goes tomorrow."

"Lately, within the past few weeks every time I access this blog, I receive a small rectangular pop-up which has the word “Forbidden” in it. Is this an issue with Firefox Browser?"

Thanks again!

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There is security software like Avast, Kaspersky, BitDefender and ESET that intercept secure connection certificates and send their own.

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/firefox-cant-load-websites-other-browsers-can

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/firefox-and-other-browsers-cant-load-websites

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/secure-connection-failed-error-message

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/connection-untrusted-error-message

Websites don't load - troubleshoot and fix error messages

http://kb.mozillazine.org/Error_loading_websites

What do the security warning codes mean

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Interesting. It seems to be a message generated by this WordPress plugin:

https://wordpress.org/plugins/cleantalk-spam-protect/

It sends a background POST request to https://theyflyblog.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php

The server responds with a 403 Forbidden code and a page with the heading "Access Denied - GoDaddy Website Firewall" (this part isn't displayed).

This triggers an alert().

Since the code is minified, it is very hard to follow why that request is even being sent. ??

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Thank you, jscher2000. That explains it. I just added that spam plugin a couple months ago and right around the time it started happening.

I appreciate the insight. Now I know which haystack to look in.