• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
How2forU

How2forU

easy answers for you and me

  • Laptop & PC
  • Smartphone & Tablet
  • Office
  • Apps & Software
  • Glossary
  • Blog
  • Hobby
Home » How to fix an HTTP 403 forbidden error

How to fix an HTTP 403 forbidden error

11/24/2020 by Anita Sommer

When surfing the web, your browser may sometimes display HTTP errors. We will explain how to proceed in case of an error code 403.

Error-Code 403 – what is that?

All errors starting with “4” are client errors, so the reason is your personal device.

  • The error code 403 or the message “access forbidden” appears if the server does not allow you to access the target directory / file.
  • There are several sources for this error.

Possible error source: “No-directory-browsing”

Almost all websites prohibit browsing their directories.

  • For example, if you can call the file “http://…/html/index.html”, calling the parent directory “http://…/html” is usually not allowed.
  • Instead, a 403 error is returned. This serves to protect the website so that strangers cannot see the server structure and thus hidden files.

Incorrect browser settings

An incorrectly configured browser or firewall can also induce a 403 error. So please go through this checklist:

  • Clear your browser cache.
  • Disable proxy plugins. AdBlock programs can also cause problems – so disable them temporarily and test the faulty page again.
  • Check if your firewall is blocking the traffic of your browser. Check whether your browser is registered in the firewall and which permissions it has.

Problem detection with extended 403 error codes

Some web servers that use, for example, the IIS developed by Microsoft, do not just output “Error 403”, but a more precise error code.

  • This allows the problem to be narrowed down considerably. Instead of “403”, for example, “403.2” is output. You can find the list of the corresponding codes on the official Microsoft homepage.

Contact the website owner

It is also possible that the reading rights of the page are not set correctly: Due to wrongly configured .htaccess files it is possible that the whole directory is locked for foreign users, even if some files should be publicly accessible.

  • If you still receive the error code after several days, do the operator a favor and report it to him. You can often find an e-mail address in the imprint.
  • However, only contact the website owner if you are directed from the website by a link to a 403 page: If you cannot open some URLs you entered in the search bar, there is usually a reason for this.

Filed Under: Laptop & PC

Tags

4G 5G Alexa Android app Apple backup Covid-19 DIY documents e-mail Excel Gmail Google Halloween health Instagram iOS iPad iPhone Mac messages messenger Microsoft Office music Netflix network Outlook passwords PDF Samsung screenshot shortcuts Signal Smart Home smartphone Snipping Tool social media Spotify video call WhatsApp WiFi Windows10 Word Zoom

Primary Sidebar

Browse our How Tos

Browse by category

  • Glossary
  • Smartphone & Tablet
  • Laptop & PC
  • Hobby
  • Office
  • Apps & Software
Rapper

“Thug life” meaning: This is how to define Thug

04/12/2021 By How2forU

Especially in rap circles but also increasingly in YouTube videos “thug life” is becoming a common expression.

A smart home speaker placed on top of a laptop with a textbox superimposed on it reading "Alexa: How to activate and set up Drop in"

How to activate Alexa Drop In

03/25/2021 By Nadine Noppinger

You can activate and set up Alexa Drop in to use your echo devices as a hands-free kit. To do so, simply follow our step-by-step guide.

mac

How to take a screenshot on your MacBook

04/08/2021 By How2forU

If you’d like to take a screenshot you’ll just need to know simple key combinations. We’ll show you how to take a screenshot.

White House in the background and on top of it a text box reading "What does impeachment mean?"

What does impeachment mean?

02/09/2021 By Beatrice Predan-Hallabrin

Donald Trump became the first US president to be impeached twice. But what exactly does impeachment mean and could Trump be convicted?

pages

Word: How to start page numbering on page 3

03/01/2021 By Sarah Winter

It´s easy to start page numbering on page 3 of a Microsoft Office Word document. Even if numbering should start with 1 instead of 3.

Picture showing a phone on a table, in front of it a text box reading "How to delete Signal messages for both sides"

Signal: How to delete messages for both sides

04/14/2021 By Ferdinand Pönisch

It is possible to delete messages sent on Signal for both yourself and your chat partner. We show you how it’s done.

Categories

  • 💡 Laptop & PC
  • 💡 Smartphone & Tablet
  • 💡 Office
  • 💡 Apps & Software
  • 💡 Glossary
  • 💡 Hobby

Smartphone & Tablet

How to change app icons on Android & iOS14💡 iPhone: How to recover deleted text messages💡How to share your iPhone calendar💡Sidecar: How to turn an iPad into a secondary Mac display 💡Huawei: How to take a Screenshot 💡 Samsung Galaxy S8: How to take a screenshot 💡 How to find your IMEI number 💡 iPad: How to take a screenshot

Laptop & PC

How to check your CPU temperature 💡 Is there a snipping tool for Mac? 💡 How to take a screenshot on your MacBook 💡 How to connect laptop to monitor

Office

How to fix slow running Windows 10 💡 How to use emojis in Microsoft Outlook 💡 How to password protect a folder in Windows 10 💡Excel: How to change the background color based on the cell value 💡 How to disable startup programs in Windows 10 💡 Word: How to start page numbering on page 3 💡 How to take screenshots on Windows 10

Apps & Software

How to start a video call on viber 💡 Funny questions you can ask Alexa💡Alexa glows green 💡 How to recover deleted WhatsApp messages 💡 Alexa glows yellow 💡 How to delete your Snapchat account 💡 How to merge several PDF files 💡 How to edit PDF files 💡 How to create a Gmail account 💡 Spotify Family: How to share an account 💡 Spotify costs: Free Account vs. Premium

Hobby

How to make homemade hand sanitizer 💡 What to eat after a colonoscopy 💡 How to keep chickens 

Glossary

What is 5G? 💡 What is 4G and 4G+? 💡 What’s Bixby? 💡 What is a VPN connection? 💡 What is the WPS button and where can I find it? 💡 “Thug life”: What does that mean? 💡What is a hashtag? 💡 What is SSID?

Footer

Pages

  • Blog
  • How2forU
  • Imprint
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2021 · Genesis Sample on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in