Locked out

  • Resolved sanchell2

    (@sanchell2)


    7 years, 11 months ago

    I am locked out of my site by Wordfence. Using the same user name and pw I have always used Wordfence has locked me out completely. I have gone into the file manager on my web host and followed the instructions (below), changing the Wordfence folder to OLD and I’m still locked out. I have changed the name of the default WP cache to cacheOLD and I’m still locked out. Can anyone help?

    Instructions I followed to get back in:

    How you regain access to your site:

    The easiest way to solve this problem immediately is to simply rename the Wordfence folder in your WordPress installation. You can do that as follows:

    Connect to your server using the method your normally use to upload files. Most people either use FTP or SFTP to do this.
    Rename the Wordfence directory (or folder if you prefer).
    If your site has the standard WordPress structure, you can do this by simply renaming the following folder: wp-content/plugins/wordfence/

    The above procedure will immediately unlock your site. If you are still seeing a message that you’re locked out, make sure you disable any caching plugins like W3 Total Cache, or clear their cache. If you can’t access the site to disable the caching plugin, you may have to temporarily rename the caching plugin directory to disable it. You may also have to clear any caches on a front-end caching proxy if you have an advanced configuration.

    In the highly unusual case that you don’t have access to your own files on your server, you will need to log a support call with your web hosting company or whoever manages your server and ask them to rename the wp-content/plugins/wordfence folder.

    https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordfence/

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)
  • wflandon

    (@wflandon)

    7 years, 11 months ago

    Hi sanchell2,

    Can you confirm it is Wordfence that has locked you out? If you followed the instructions pasted, and did not accidentally miss a step, it cannot be Wordfence. If Wordfence has locked you out, you will receive a reason why. Are you seeing any kind of reason why you have been locked out?

    Let me know.

    Thread Starter sanchell2

    (@sanchell2)

    7 years, 11 months ago

    Actually, no. I can’t confirm it was WordFence. The reason is that I had a second plugin that limits the number of login attempts. The problem occurred when the admin login for WP suddenly refused to recognize my p/w. This appears to have occured when someone or something changed my .htaccess and php.ini files in file manager. I successfully reset the p/w on one of two sites. The second site would not allow me to change the p/w and then blocked all attempts at entering.

    Folllowing the WordFence online instructions on WP.org I changed the WordFence, cache, and login plugin folder names. It still did not allow access. I then changed the name of the easycaptcha plugin and access was allowed.

    Was it WordFence? I thought it was. Was it the limit login program or was it easycaptcha? I have been using all three for some time without a problem. I still do not know who accessed my .htaccess files.

    Thank you for responding to this post.

    SA

    wflandon

    (@wflandon)

    7 years, 11 months ago

    I do not think it was Wordfence. It was most likely easycaptcha if renaming the plugin’s directory allowed access.

    If a script changed your .htaccess file, that could be an indication of something mischievous going on. However, some plugins do change the .htaccess file to create some kind of check or a change in functionality. If Wordfence scans are not finding anything out of the ordinary, you are probably OK.

    I am glad you found a solution to your lock out problem!

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)
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