Forbidden error?

[Marymoomoo]

I'm running 3.7.1 and I've never had a problem with it until tonight. I updated a member's profile and when I clicked "save", I received a 403 error (Forbidden). I tried several times and got the same error. I tried logging out and logging back in. Same thing. I tried switching browsers. Same thing. I was able to complete other functions just fine (such as add smilies, ban), but I cannot make any changes from user profiles. I haven't updated anything or changed any settings (on the software or the server), so I can't imagine what the problem would be. Any ideas? Thank you in advance!

[Steve Machol]

This may be due to mod_security. Please see this thread for the fix:

http://www.vbulletin.com/go/modsecurity

[Marymoomoo]

Yes, I found that last night after I posted. My apologies for posting before checking the stickies.

Do you know of any "how to add ht.access file for dummies" instructions out there? I'm learning as I go along and this is something I've not run across before. I'd like to fix this myself without calling for help, so any pointers you can offer would be extremely helpful.

Thank you!

[Zachery]

You make a file on your harddrive called htaccess.txt. Add the code to it, upload it to your webserver. After its uploaded, rename it to .htaccess

[Marymoomoo]

Thank you! That is done, but maybe it wasn't done correctly because it didn't work?

Looking from the server side, I first see a folder titled public_html. Below that I see forums. In folders below that I see admincp, archive, etc.

There is a ht.access file already there directly below the signatures folder (our site is PW protected if that makes a difference). I ignored that file and uploaded the file as described in the instructions above. When I uploaded, it saved below the signature folders (with many other files, php and otherwise). So, my question is should the file be uploaded directly under the forums heading? If so, that might be why it's not working. If not, then I may have a bigger problem.

[Marymoomoo]

Please let me know if I need to further clarify the issue. I'm eager to get this fixed.

Thank you in advance for your help!

[Steve Machol]

The .htaccess file needs to be uploaded to your main forums directory.

[Marymoomoo]

Fixed. Thank you.