Title: Bad Behavior 403 renders WordPress useless Last modified: August 18, 2016 --- # Bad Behavior 403 renders WordPress useless * Resolved [teleferico](https://wordpress.org/support/users/teleferico/) * (@teleferico) * [18 years, 7 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/bad-behavior-403-renders-wordpress-useless/) * I’ve read other posts on this, but they have not helped resolve my problem. I’ve had Bad Behavior for a long time and haven’t had any problems. Today, suddenly, it will not allow me to log in or do anything. It blocks all my actions with the 403 intercept. It does this from multiple computers and multiple IP addresses. * More than once just now, I’ve completely deleted the Bad Behavior directories and dropped the bad_behavior table from the database. As soon as I freshly install a fresh download and activate it, it blocks me again. I have no idea what has changed to cause this behavior. * Some of the posts addressing this issue say to look in the bad_behavior_log table. I don’t have a bad_behavior_log table. I tried looking for my current IP address in the bad_behavior table and it’s in there, but I don’t see any thing about it being blocked. And how could I already be blocked in the database immediately upon a fresh install after dropping the bad_behavior table anyway? I’ve refreshed my ATT/Yahoo DSL IP address multiple times, too, and every one is blocked. At this point, I’ve had to deem Bad Behavior as utterly useless and have removed it for the time being. Is there a fix or is there a comparable, less-problematic substitute? Thanks for any help!!! Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 16 total) 1 [2](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/bad-behavior-403-renders-wordpress-useless/page/2/?output_format=md) [→](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/bad-behavior-403-renders-wordpress-useless/page/2/?output_format=md) * [breakingball](https://wordpress.org/support/users/breakingball/) * (@breakingball) * [18 years, 7 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/bad-behavior-403-renders-wordpress-useless/#post-663178) * My first instinct, when I had the same problem a little while ago, was to visit the BB site to look for information, and what do you think I found…? * [http://www.bad-behavior.ioerror.us/2007/12/06/bad-behavior-2011/](http://www.bad-behavior.ioerror.us/2007/12/06/bad-behavior-2011/) * > All users should update to Bad Behavior 2.0.11 immediately to prevent being > blocked from your own site. > Within the past two days users have found themselves blocked from their own > sites while using recent versions of Bad Behavior. A third party blacklist > which Bad Behavior queries recently began sending false positives for any IP > address queried, causing everyone using Bad Behavior to be blocked. This issue > is fixed in Bad Behavior 2.0.11 * . (And it _is_ fixed.) * Thread Starter [teleferico](https://wordpress.org/support/users/teleferico/) * (@teleferico) * [18 years, 7 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/bad-behavior-403-renders-wordpress-useless/#post-663180) * Thanks! I’ll try that and report back. Thing is, I checked the BB site and could only find 2.0.10 as the current version. I’ll go back and look for 2.0.11… Don’t know how I missed it, though! * Thread Starter [teleferico](https://wordpress.org/support/users/teleferico/) * (@teleferico) * [18 years, 7 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/bad-behavior-403-renders-wordpress-useless/#post-663182) * Got 2.0.11 and all is well. Thanks! * [breakingball](https://wordpress.org/support/users/breakingball/) * (@breakingball) * [18 years, 7 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/bad-behavior-403-renders-wordpress-useless/#post-663188) * > Don’t know how I missed it, though! * You posted here at pretty much the same time the update was posted there, so you could say that it missed you. 😉 * Thread Starter [teleferico](https://wordpress.org/support/users/teleferico/) * (@teleferico) * [18 years, 7 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/bad-behavior-403-renders-wordpress-useless/#post-663193) * That’s reassuring! Thanks again for your help! * [seattletravelgal](https://wordpress.org/support/users/seattletravelgal/) * (@seattletravelgal) * [18 years, 7 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/bad-behavior-403-renders-wordpress-useless/#post-663213) * Happy to have found this post since I can’t get into my admin. * My webmaster is tied up with projects for the next few days and I’m baffled as to what to do with the Bad Behavior files that I’ve now downloaded onto my laptop. * Can someone please tell me, step by step, what exactly I do with these 2.0.11 files so that I no longer receive the 403 error? Do they go into my FTP files, do I have to have my hosting company handle this or do they get uploaded elsewhere? * Sorry for the ignorance but I’m the publisher/blogger on a relatively robust site and would like to get this set up without having to wait a few days for my webgal. * Thank you thank you thank you in advance! * [moshu](https://wordpress.org/support/users/moshu/) * (@moshu) * [18 years, 7 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/bad-behavior-403-renders-wordpress-useless/#post-663214) * There is no such thing as “FTP files”… * You upload the plugin folder to your server (via FTP) into the example.com/wp- content/plugins/ folder. Delete the existing bad-behavior folder and upload the new one. Then log in to your blog and go to the Plugins submenu and activate it. * [seattletravelgal](https://wordpress.org/support/users/seattletravelgal/) * (@seattletravelgal) * [18 years, 7 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/bad-behavior-403-renders-wordpress-useless/#post-663220) * Brilliant. You rock, Moshu. * [error](https://wordpress.org/support/users/error/) * (@error) * [18 years, 7 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/bad-behavior-403-renders-wordpress-useless/#post-663377) * I’ve gotten Bad Behavior’s listing current on the WordPress site. Somebody should have told me that was there. Apparently people have been downloading ancient versions from there. 🙁 * [mbrosenyc](https://wordpress.org/support/users/mbrosenyc/) * (@mbrosenyc) * [18 years, 7 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/bad-behavior-403-renders-wordpress-useless/#post-663465) * Moshu: I did as instructed and it seems resolved (I got into my blog – yeah!). However, Bad Behavior does not show up in plug-ins although it is in the database. I assume it is activated and there is nothing further I need to do? * [Sjroep](https://wordpress.org/support/users/sjroep/) * (@sjroep) * [18 years, 7 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/bad-behavior-403-renders-wordpress-useless/#post-663472) * You also need to upload Bad Behavior to your plugin directory of wordpress and then activate from your dashboard * [mcdermotts](https://wordpress.org/support/users/mcdermotts/) * (@mcdermotts) * [18 years, 7 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/bad-behavior-403-renders-wordpress-useless/#post-663474) * Hi could someone please confirm that this is the same problem I am having on my blog * here is the link [Chris McDermott](http://blog.mcdermotts.org.uk) * I thought i was using the latest version of bad behaviour * [mcdermotts](https://wordpress.org/support/users/mcdermotts/) * (@mcdermotts) * [18 years, 7 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/bad-behavior-403-renders-wordpress-useless/#post-663475) * Hi please ignore my last post. * I decided to delete the plugin from my plugins folder and upload the latest version again. * After doing this i was able to login to my blog. I assume this was the problem and has now fixed it * many thanks * chris mcdermott * [jillesvangurp](https://wordpress.org/support/users/jillesvangurp/) * (@jillesvangurp) * [18 years, 7 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/bad-behavior-403-renders-wordpress-useless/#post-663481) * I ran into this as well and was pretty annoyed about it. Just edit the whitelist. inc.php file to add your IP address. * I’ve listed some detailed instructions here: [http://blog.jillesvangurp.com/2007/12/30/bad-behavior/](http://blog.jillesvangurp.com/2007/12/30/bad-behavior/) on how to properly disable the plugin without killing your site (hint deleting the directory without disabling the plugin first is a bad idea). * Also, I was pretty annoyed to find out that the bad behavior table has a plain text password field and is basically harvesting passwords of people who try to login (like me for example). * [genesteinberg](https://wordpress.org/support/users/genesteinberg/) * (@genesteinberg) * [18 years, 3 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/bad-behavior-403-renders-wordpress-useless/#post-663511) * I installed your most recent version (2.0.15) yesterday and, since then, Host- Tracker reports 403 errors on my site, even though normal access seemed fine. * Here’s the most recent message, and note that the time my service was “restored” is the same time I disabled the plugin: * > Hello, > [http://macnightowl.com] [http://macnightowl.com](http://macnightowl.com) now > work OK. > Operation restored at 2008-04-22 10:57:21. > Url was down as a result of: > Http error:403 > First error was detected at 2008-04-22 09:42:48 > Last error was detected at 2008-04-22 10:56:50 > Downtime total 1 hour(s) 14 min(s) 3 sec(s). > Check failures total: 5. * I’d happily try this again if this problem can be cured. * One more thing: I use WP Super Cache. Does it require the patch you specify too? * Peace, Gene Steinberg Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 16 total) 1 [2](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/bad-behavior-403-renders-wordpress-useless/page/2/?output_format=md) [→](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/bad-behavior-403-renders-wordpress-useless/page/2/?output_format=md) The topic ‘Bad Behavior 403 renders WordPress useless’ is closed to new replies. * 16 replies * 10 participants * Last reply from: [error](https://wordpress.org/support/users/error/) * Last activity: [18 years, 3 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/bad-behavior-403-renders-wordpress-useless/page/2/#post-663512) * Status: resolved ## Topics ### Topics with no replies ### Non-support topics ### Resolved topics ### Unresolved topics ### All topics