Access Denied - No Permission to Access Site

Question

Level 1

5 points

Access Denied - No Permission to Access Site

Over the past week or so, I've been getting the following message when trying to access a few different websites, including https://www.usnews.com/ and http://www.senate.gov/:

Access Denied

You don't have permission to access "http://serve-403-cf.www.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/hearings" on this server.

Reference #18.296533b8.1503149863.f457b7a

Or something similar.

This happens with any browser I use (Safari, Firefox, Chrome).

My specs:

- macOS Sierra (10.12.6)

- MacBook Air (13-inch, early 2014)

- Processor: 1.7 GHz Intel Core i7

- Memory: 8 GB 1600 Mhz DDR3

- Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 5000 1536 MB

I've looked at previous solutions to the same problem, and none have worked. Specifically, I tried clearing all website data and the cache on Safari, quitting Safari, and relaunching, but there was no effect.

MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2014), macOS Sierra (10.12.6)

Posted on Aug 19, 2017 7:00 AM

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Answer 1

rose_10

Community Specialist

Aug 20, 2017 11:06 AM in response to rss102

Hello rss102,

Thanks for that info and choosing the Apple Support Communities. If I understand correctly, you are unable to access certain websites on your MacBook Air. You can figure out if unexpected behavior is related to a user file or setting by trying to reproduce the issue from another user account. This process includes creating a new user account, logging in to it, and testing for the issue.

How to test an issue in another user account on your Mac

Next, use safe mode to start up your Mac as it does the following things:

Verifies your startup disk and attempts to repair directory issues, if needed

Loads only required kernel extensions

Prevents startup items and login items from opening automatically

Disables user-installed fonts

Deletes font caches, kernel cache, and other system cache files

Log into your user account and test the issue while in safe mode and then restart normally and test the issue again.

Use safe mode to isolate issues with your Mac
Limited graphics performance in OS X recovery or safe mode

Cheers!

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Answer 2

Jan 7, 2018 7:14 AM in response to rose_10

Hello,

I have been having the same issues as the original poster. I tried your solution and I am still running into a couple of websites that gives me the "Access Denied on this server" error.

My specs:

macOS High Sierra 10.13.2

Macbook Air (13 inch, Early 2015)

Processor: 1.6 GHz Intel Core i5

Memory: 8 GB 1600MHz DDR3

Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 6000 1536 MB

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Answer 3

Eric Root

Level 10

684,081 points

Jan 7, 2018 7:48 AM in response to ohmygyarados

Did you have the problem in the Safe Mode? Try accessing the sites while logged into a different admin user account.

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