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I can't visit some website with this browser

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403 forbidden, You don't have permission to access on this server

403 forbidden, You don't have permission to access on this server

All Replies (3)

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Please explain the problem in detail. What happens? What are the exact error message(s) ?

Is this with many websites, some, a few?

Please provide a public link (no password) that we can check out. No Personal Information Please !

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i have recently found it impossible to access some websites in the Fine Woodworking magazine's website using Firefox, but I can access them using Chrome and IE on Windows 10 and Safari and Chrome on a Mac using the Apple OS.

Below are two of the URLs from the Fine Woodworking website that contain a hyperlink to a PDF that I can't access via Firefox. I am a subscriber so I can access the articles containing the URL that lead me to the URL that when I click it should open the article in PDF format.

https://www.finewoodworking.com/2005/09/01/a-durable-exterior-finish

https://www.finewoodworking.com/2001/02/01/shopmade-tension-gauge

I may have to switch to Chrome from Firefox it this continues.

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Hi jem2, are you getting a 403 Forbidden error when you click the link to the PDF?

One possible reason is that your authorization for the main page isn't carrying over to the linked page. That could be caused by blocking third party cookies or possibly other settings. Because the site requires an account, it's difficult for support forum volunteers to test.

If a site is generally known to work in Firefox, these are standard suggestions to try when it stops working normally:

Double-check content blockers: Firefox's Content Blocking/Tracking Protection feature, and extensions that counter ads and tracking, may break websites that embed third party content (meaning, from a secondary server).

(A) Do you see a shield icon toward the left end of the address bar, near the lock icon? More info on managing the Tracking Protection feature in this article: Enhanced Tracking Protection in Firefox for desktop (before Firefox 70: Content Blocking).

(B) Extensions such as Adblock Plus, Blur, Disconnect, Ghostery, NoScript, Privacy Badger, uBlock Origin or uMatrix should provide toolbar buttons to manage blocked content in a page. There may or may not be a number on the icon indicating the number of blocked items; you may need to click the button to see what's going on and test whether you need to make an exception for this site.

Cache and Cookies: When you have a problem with one particular site, a good "first thing to try" is clearing your Firefox cache and deleting your saved cookies for the site.

(1) Clear Firefox's Cache

See: How to clear the Firefox cache

If you have a large hard drive, this might take a few minutes.

(2) Remove the site's cookies (save any pending work first). While viewing a page on the site, click the lock icon at the left end of the address bar. After a moment, a "Clear Cookies and Site Data" button should appear at the bottom. Go ahead and click that.

In the dialog that opens, you will see one or more matches to the current address so you can remove the site's cookies individually without affecting other sites.

Then try reloading the page. Does that help?

Testing in Firefox's Safe Mode: In its Safe Mode, Firefox temporarily deactivates extensions, hardware acceleration, and some other advanced features to help you assess whether these are causing the problem.

You can restart Firefox in Safe Mode using either:

  • "3-bar" menu button > "?" Help > Restart with Add-ons Disabled
  • (menu bar) Help menu > Restart with Add-ons Disabled

and OK the restart.

A small dialog should appear. Click "Start in Safe Mode" (not Refresh).

Any improvement?