OSE Firewall – Google bot: Invalid URL or server does not respond, HTTP return code: 403

[SlimJimbo]

Hi, When I have the .htaccess file set for BulletProof Security I’m having problems withe Google Bot retrieving my pages:

Invalid URL or server does not respond, HTTP return code: 403

I’d appreciate any help you can give me with this please. I’ve taken changed the .htaccess file back my default for now so that Google can see the pages.

Re: pro version

I’m interested in the pro version – but will probably need some help to set it up and ensure that it’s not causing problems with Google, my forum and other stuff. Would I be able to get help setting it up?

Thanks,

Jim

[AITpro Admin]

BPS Pro should not and does not normally block the Google Bot so something is not setup correctly.
Do you have a Custom Permalink Structure?
Please post this information from the BPS System Info page:
Server Type: Apache
Operating System: Linux
Server API: cgi-fcgi – Your Host Server is using CGI.

WordPress Installation Folder: /
WordPress Installation Type: Root Folder Installation
Network/Multisite: Network/Multisite is not enabled
Plugins Folder: wp-content/plugins
Uploads Folder: wp-content/uploads

WP Permalink Structure: /%postname%/
Permalinks Enabled: √ Permalinks are Enabled
PHP Version Check: √ Running PHP5

[SlimJimbo]

Hi, Sorry I think I may be mistaken  about the cause of my issues.

Our traffic at http: //www.glasgowwestend.co.uk was plummeting – and on investigation I saw that Google was not being allowed to view some of our pages.  I tested the site using the service at http: //www.smart-it-consulting.com/internet/google/googlebot-spoofer/ and was showing the problem when Bulletproof was on – but not when it was back to a standard .htaccess file; that’s why I jumped to the conclusion and posted on the forum.

However I’ve since used Google’s own ‘fetch as Google’ and it seems to be fetching the pages ok even with Bulletproof on. I also was using OSE Security application as I have pages other than WordPress on the site – and that looks like it was the main culprit for our drop in traffic – because it really was barring Google from indexing the site; wish I’d realised earlier. 🙁

I’m still interested in the Pro version; just wondering what help I would need (if any) to install it and use it?

Thanks,

Jim

[AITpro Admin]

Ouch!  Thanks for reporting what was causing the problem.  Is the name of the plugin OSE Firewall or are you using a stand alone version of OSE?  Any loss of traffic is a nightmare so I definitely feel your pain on that.  😉  Please let the creators of that plugin or application know about this so that they can fix this ASAP.

We offer to do 1 free installation and setup of BPS Pro on 1 website.  If you need BPS Pro installed and setup on multiple websites we can connect you with the Developer that we refer folks too that want mulitiple BPS Pro installations/setups.  His rate is $10 per website.

Most of BPS Pro is very simple to setup.  The Plugin Firewall is the only challenging thing to setup in BPS Pro at this point.  The Plugin Firewall is completely optional so you can choose to activate it or not activate it right away or forever.  😉

Please watch the BPS Pro Setup Video tutorial here to get an idea about what is involved in installing and setting up BPS Pro:  http://www.ait-pro.com/aitpro-blog/2841/bulletproof-security-pro/bulletproof-security-pro-overview-video-tutorial/

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