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SOIS Webspace (How to) Fix the 403 Forbidden Error (Try this second)

This document was written to assist SOIS students in resolving the Forbidden 403 error when visiting their primary domain on soisweb.uwm.edu.

*****Important Changes to SOIS Web Space Access*****

,Beginning January 7, 2025, the SOISWEB environment will require a UWM VPN connection (for access off-campus), an on-campus wired connection, or a WiFi connection to UWMWiFi or Eduroam WiFi (not UWMVisitor) for web server administrative tasks such as SFTP/SSH and cPanel web portal access.

This change will still allow website viewing access on HTTP (port 80) and HTTPS (port 443) from anywhere.

Instructions on installation/setup and usage of the UWM VPN can be found here: VPN Knowledgebase Articles

If you encounter problems connecting to the SOISWEB environment after this change is implemented, please contact the UWM Helpdesk to report the issue.

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Assumptions

  • You already have an active account on the soisweb.uwm.edu server.
  • You wish to see the index of files and folders when visiting your primary domain but receive the 403 Forbidden error was encountered... error shown below.

403 Forbidden

Steps to Take

 

1. Open a web browser and go to https://soisweb.uwm.edu/cpanel.

2. Log in with your soisweb cPanel credentials.

cPanel log in

3. Click File Manager in the Files section of Tools.

File Manager

4. Click the Settings button (upper right corner of the FileManager).

Settings

5. Click the checkbox for Show Hidden Files (dotfiles) and click the Save button.

Preferences

6. Click the public_html folder in the left pane.

public_html

7. Right click the .htaccess file and click Edit.

.htaccess

8. Click theEdit button.

edit button

9. Add in Options +Indexes after the AddHandler line.

Options +Indexes

10. Click the Save Changes button then click the Close button.

Save Changes

11. Re-visit your primary domain and you should see something like the image below.

 Index of



Keywords:
SOIS webspace web space cPanel cpanel 403 forbidden 
Doc ID:
135279
Owned by:
Help Desk K. in UW-Milwaukee Help Desk
Created:
2024-02-07
Updated:
2025-01-06
Sites:
UW-Milwaukee Help Desk