My New Site Demands a Name and Password!!!

It sounds like you might have an .htaccess/password file that is protecting your WordPress directory, or you may have accidentally included your ftp or cPanel account path somewhere. Can you post a link to your site? Maybe someone can tell you what type of dialog box is popping up.

Thanks. I appreciate your response. I don’t want it to go live until I resolve this, but all that occurs is the usual (Mac) alert which says:

The server xxx requires a username and password. The server says: . (That colon/space/dot punctuation is exactly as it appears)

Then below there is a box asking for User Name and under that another asking for Password.

There are the usual two buttons, Cancel or Log In

The pages are greyed out in the background.

Any help? Also, can you suggest how I might check and remedy these issues you suspect might be the cause without (I hope) my needing a degree in computer science?

It sounds like your WordPress directory might be protected by an apache password file. Log into your hosts control panel and visit the “Security” section. Look for a feature that says something like “Password Protect Directories”. Look in there and see if there are any active password protected directories. If yes, the actions required should be pretty intuitive.

The other issue I mentioned, can be caused when you’ve accidentally included your ftp path or hosting account (login) path, while placing an image or a resource on your blog. The only way to find that is to view the home page source code from your browser.

Well, there is no such password protected directory there and frankly, my hair is falling-out trying one thing after another that does not work, SO…

Is it more feasible for me simply to start again? I can recreate my couple of pages, perhaps even copy them across somehow, but I wonder if there is an easy, straightforward way to erase all possibly corrupt files etc causing this password nonsense, go back to just the minimum required WP stuff on my server and do it that way?

Problem is that my ISP installed wp on the server for me and I really would prefer to be able to do this myself now. I am comfortable using ftp to manage my folders up there. Can it be done and if so, can you advise which files to erase/leave/move? I really cannot make head-or-tail out of all the codex instructions as relate to my need.

Before you start over, it might be worth giving the support group at your hosting service a call. They might be able to spot the issue fairly quickly for you.

Well, frankly I doubt it. I have been trying so many ways to get out of this mess, Lord ONLY knows what files I have messed up along the way. I thought I could just set up a clean folder on my server and start over with a clean set of whatever WP files need to be there before I start.

Even that seems impossible to fathom. As you see, it is proving incredibly difficult to get WordPress to work right. Trying to remove the mysterious uncommanded password thing has brought the whole thing down around my head!

I take it from your latest advice that simply starting again is not what you would be able to help me with. Even so, I am really grateful to you for attempting to help. I appreciate it!

Over the weekend I was working with a friend whose blog was hacked. When I visited the blog url in Firefox all I saw was a box asking for a password. But I was able to view the blog normally in another browser. Have you tried viewing the blog with another browser? Also, ask your host to run a virus scan on the server. When we ran a scan on my friend’s server we found a shell that was inserted into the wp-includes folder by a hacker. There are tons of blogs being hacked using the timthumb exploit.

How very interesting!!! As it happens, I first noticed it on Firefox, but sadly I now get it on everything and every machine – even iPhone!

Not much of a whizz on these hacking tools or how they work (let alone the imbeciles behind them), but I keep coming back to wanting to simply start again with a clean new folder, yet I can’t seem to find how to do that – without unbelievably verbose and complex descriptions and jargon that make my eyes meet in the middle! Isn’t that odd?

Do you have access to your server? Can you view your files on the server? If not, ask your host for help.

Certainly I do. Indeed, I want to be able to do what is needed myself and be independent of the ISP – if at all possible. I can upload and download with ftp at will. Why? Can you help me?

Even that seems impossible to fathom. As you see, it is proving incredibly difficult to get WordPress to work right. Trying to remove the mysterious uncommanded password thing has brought the whole thing down around my head!

I can say with a fairly high degree of certainty that this is probably not directly related to the files in the WordPress package.

If you aren’t going to contact the support group at your hosting service for help (that’s what they are there for) then you may be overlooking a very simple (non-virus, non-hack related) reason for the issue. That said;

Removing WordPress is incredibly easy:

1) Delete all the tables in your WordPress database.
2) Delete all the WordPress files from your server.

That makes it completely gone.

Please read this before doing any of the above. Installing WordPress

I have felt all along that it was not file-content related, but that only supports the belief that to start again would be the easiest solution, to rid the site of whatever hidden corruption crept in – however it may have occurred. I sought a ‘simple’ solution rather than involve the ISP in a detective hunt for perhaps one tiny piece of code in an obscure, hidden file.

I was rather hoping I might be able to simply use ftp to remove specific files/folders and replace them with clean ones. It seems anything BUT as simple as that. To be honest, I am now feeling so intimidated by the mess I find myself in, I am frightened to do my own re-install of WP for fear of messing up something anew. You know, when you just feel like you can only make things worse – dig yourself in deeper.

From your advice, it seems (am I right?) that I can carry out your steps 1 & 2 and then ask the ISP to install WP into a chosen new folder in my server – and start again? Are there any specific page-content files or folders you think I can safely rescue and ‘drag’ onto a new folder thus created?

Once again I am most grateful for such helpful advice from you guys.

From your advice, it seems (am I right?) that I can carry out your steps 1 & 2 and then ask the ISP to install WP into a chosen new folder in my server – and start again?

My actual advice is still to contact your hosts support group…
However, at your request, and believing that it was your intent to do it yourself without involving your ISP, I pointed you to the installation instructions and listed the 2 things you need to do to completely remove WordPress from your server, in order to start over with a fresh database and fresh files.

I was rather hoping I might be able to simply use ftp to remove specific files/folders and replace them with clean ones.

And that’s what you would be doing. How to upload the WordPress files is one of the steps described in the Installing WordPress instructions.

One of the reasons I keep urging you to contact your hosts support group, is that they initially installed WordPress for you, and only they know what they did during the course of that installation. Checking with them first, only seems prudent.

If after reading the installation instructions and requirements, you are still unsure if it is something that you want to tackle on your own, call your hosts support team and tell them that you have some concerns, and would like to start with a fresh WordPress database and fresh WordPress files. I should think they might be willing to give you a hand with starting over if you ask. Beyond that, I’m not sure how else to point you in the direction you want to go.

[edit] The one file you should make a copy of and save locally in a safe location at this point, is the wp-config.php file. It contains all of your database connection information. I will assume at this point – because your ISP installed WordPress for you – that you may not be aware of the database connection information that is in that file. It would be a good idea to save a copy for future reference. Good luck to you!

I am finally conceding defeat! I will ask the ISP to do it. I gave it my best shot but it beat me in the end. Just one question for you – as all this came about because of some corruption creeping in to the access/password code, are you certain that the problem will not lie in the very (wp-config.php) file you are suggesting I keep?

Thank you for trying so hard to help me. People like you and Floridian12 make SUCH a difference. Keep it up! You make a difference.

Just to say that I uploaded WP into a clean, new directory and rebuilt the site from scratch and the problem is solved. It worked first time and was a GREAT deal easier to do than trying to find the corruption. Thanks again to all concerned.

I am now on WP 3.3.2 but two quirks are there which were not there before…

1) On composing pages the HTML tag works fine, but the (more useful) VISUAL tag reveals only an empty box! It makes composing more difficult. I see on other parts of the forum that this is a known problem – which is odd – but I cannot find a way to fix it that is decisive and understandable by mere mortals.

2) The other thing is trying to find a user-friendly way to change the font colours on the Header appearing on all pages. It seems that once you create your front page, you are locked out from editing it.

With these apparently insoluble yet pretty basic obstacles, I am seriously doubting my sanity, which rather throws my suitability to my day job (don’t ask!) into question! Any suggestions?