Access Forbidden to ArtCall website

ReidMac wrote:

Mac Jim, Thanks for the Reload and Show IP tip. Went to ArtCall, Access Forbidden, Reloaded with show IP, got access to site, and was able to log in. Much easier! Great tip!

Might be a dumb question, but assume it is recommended to keep private relay activated for security. Any reason not to activate it?

Glad to hear that worked!

As for keeping Private Relay activated, to be honest in my opinion it is just a personal choice. The topic is a debatable one, just as using a VPN. If anyone was partial to using a VPN, I would recommend to use Private Relay instead every time. Personally, I would never use a third party VPN, and although I have tried Private Relay in the past, I don't use it anymore.

The purpose is to hide your IP Address from the website. It is important to note that in no way will the IP Address give someone access to your computer to steal any data. The IP Address can be used to see the general area you are in, but certainly not your street address and will be more like an area the size of a city. There are legitimate reasons why a website would want to know that, such as when they are offering a service that is region restricted.

A website can attempt to build a profile using the IP Address, such as how often you access their site, what part of the site you use, keep track of ads displayed to you, and target specific ads based on your activity on the website. They can also do many of those things without the IP Address by saving a cookie on your browser data where they can access it again next time you visit. A website can read their own cookie, but not those by others due to security protections on Safari.

Specifically for ArtCall, this is what they say about using your IP Address:

We use IP addresses to analyze trends, administer the site, track user’s movement, and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use. IP addresses are not linked to personally identifiable information.

https://artcall.org/pages/terms-conditions

The downside is that it does slow down your internet connection slightly and as you have found some sites won't work. Even many banking websites will not give access using a service that hides your IP Address in an attempt to keep your account secure.

I don't remember the exact location to delete a specific cookie on Ventura, but the one you want to remove is artcall.org.

On Sequoia the location is at Safari > Settings > Privacy > Manage Website Data, so it would be something similar to that. You can enter "artcall" in the Search field to remove just that one instead of all website data.

• What happens when you click "OK"?
• That message is what is seen when you click the Lock icon in the address bar, is it possible that is being accidentally pressed? It is not a warning, it is used to verify the website certificates after clicking the Lock icon. I can navigate to the page you identified just fine and the Certificate in your Screenshot only appears if I choose to see it. It does not pop up just by navigating to the website.

For the previous Access Forbidden message:

• Are you using any Extensions installed on Safari as seen in Settings, possibly a Content Blocker?
• Do you have a VPN or Antivirus installed on your Mac? This can affect network connections.
• And I see that Servant of Cats has brought up a very good point that navigating to a suggested location deep within the website may not be allowed. Some sites will require you to navigate to their Start Page, where Safari may autocomplete to a previous location.

And finally, without any success in finding an Extension or VPN blocking access, I can only recommend to post the free EtreCheck report using the Additional Text option when posting to see if there is something else installed on your computer that is preventing access. The report contains no personal information. Since you are having no problems on your cell or another iMac, it does point to something uniquely installed on this computer that may be the cause.

How to use the Add Text Feature When Post… - Apple Community

Thanks for the update. Yes it does appear they want to identify you by your IP Address and that can also be for tracking or approximate location. While it appears you have solved the problem by turning it on/off when using that site, another option that might be easier is when you go to that site, choose the View menu in Safari, then go down to Reload and Show IP Address. Just not sure if navigation beyond that page would require you to constantly do that making it more of a hassle than just turning Private Relay off.

Manage iCloud Private Relay for specific websites, networks, or system settings - Apple Support

By any chance, did you make a typo when entering the URL? Attempt to go directly a page deep within the site, instead of going to a main login page? (Sometimes if you start typing the main URL, a browser might "helpfully" auto-complete it with old stuff you don't want.). Or install a VPN right before you started getting the error?

If we're talking about a regular HTTP 403 Access Forbidden error, it's my impression that any of those sorts of things could cause the problem.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/1691582/how-do-i-get-past-the-error-403-on-every-web-page

Try a different browser, Firefox, Brave, etc.?