Issue with W3 Total Cache and BulletProof Security

I don’t this is a problem at all…

Bulletproof Security automatically locks the htaccess file with 404 permissions instead of the default 644 ones…
That’s why W3TC displays this warning and WP Super Cache does exactly the same…

Try Unlocking the file and see that the warning will go away (it does in my case that is).

I’ve done that in the past and doing so results in the message not appearing. Then, I upgrade BulletProof Security and the issue arises again.

However, I don’t understand how you can write this isn’t a problem. At the very least, the message being displayed is incorrect since it states the caching functions are not enabled because the .htaccess file couldn’t be updated, yet the directives for the caching functions ARE in the .htaccess file already.

It seems to me that W3 Total Cache assumes the caching functions will be disabled simply because it doesn’t have write access to the .htaccess file and it doesn’t actually check the .htaccess file to see if the cache directives are in it or not.

Right now, I can view my site, look at the HTML source and see that disk caching, either basic or enhanced, is enabled as stated in the HTML comments at the bottom of the HTML and then I can go into WordPress and W3 Total Cache will report that caching function isn’t enabled because it can’t update .htaccess.

How is that, at the very least, NOT a problem?

Thanks!

Peace…

It isn’t a problem because it does not cause any problem to your site or your plugin’s function…it only displays a false report you know is false…
By the way, you shouldn’t unlock the htaccess file so as only to skip that false report…you are safer when your htaccess file is locked, and the false report doesn’t mean anything…

If you upgrade Bulletproof Security, then you WILL HAVE to unlock the file and save your W3TC settings again to get the code into your htaccess file.
You can also backup your htaccess file, but when you upgrade BulletProof Security, you should use the newest version of the htaccess rules. You can save any custom code in “My Notes” or the appropriate predefined places in “Custom Code”, but you should better ask Bulletproof Secyrity personnel if you can put your W3TC code there (supposing you are using the same settings – so no change in W3TC code – and W3TC is not updated to use new code)

To sum up:
– Your site works
– Your caching plugin works
Yet you are for some reason unhappy as if you want a REAL problem to match that false report.

By the way, if you want to complain to someone you got the wrong guy.

Thanks for the reply. I started this thread in the support forum for the plugin, so I didn’t attempt to contact you directly but to simply seek support for the plugin and see if this is an actual bug that should be formally reported or not.

The funny thing is, I agree with you that it’s not safe to unlock the .htaccess file but that’s exactly what the message suggests doing. ??

So, I’ll a bug report indicating the message needs to be corrected and the .htaccess file needs to be checked to see if the directives being warned about are actually in the file before stating the caching functions are not enabled.

As for my being unhappy, it’s due to the message simply being erroneous and not something I would have realized until I had actually looked in the .htaccess file in question. Others who don’t realize this message is erroneous could be putting their sites in jeopardy simply because the message suggests changing permissions to an unsafe state.

Peace…