Support

Hi there.

I installed an instance of Joomla using Quick Install Plugin from @ my Cpanel.

Believe it was Joomla V.3.01, from there I used Joomla to self update to the newest V.3.2...
No problems... Everything works.... I start building site... adding extensions... Perfectly fine...

I Install Admin Tools Pro (first time user)
I follow the Admin Tools Documentation // Quick Install Guide (https://www.akeebabackup.com/documentation/admin-tools/ch01s04.html)

Everything is going fine until the last security setting change is suggested ////

Another thing to do is to go to Components, Admin Tools, .htaccess Maker and click on Save and Apply .htaccess. If you get a blank page or 500 Internal Server Error on your site, use your FTP client to delete the .htaccess file (if it's not visible, just upload an empty text file named .htaccess), go back to .htaccess Maker, try disabling some option and repeat the whole process until your site loads correctly.

"Another thing to do is to go to Components, Admin Tools, .htaccess Maker and click on Save and Apply .htaccess."

I do this... No problem

"If you get a blank page or 500 Internal Server Error on your site, use your FTP client to delete the .htaccess file"

I got a 500 error, so I opened Cpanel/ Filemanager and deleted the .htaccess as advised...


Now both front and back Joomla sites display
"Your host needs to use PHP 5.3.1 or higher to run this version of Joomla!"

I know my server owner personally, I guess she used PHP 5.2.9 cause she likes it...
In any case, the .htaccess file I had obviously allowed my site to function fine.. I do want to allow Admin Tools to secure my site better but ATM I cant do anything... Please advise?

I am stuck please Help///

.htaccess Maker should have left a backup of your original .htaccess file named .htaccess.admintools. The command that changes the PHP version is usually an ADDHANDLER directive. The directive changes from one host to another, so I can't give you the exact command. Your host can do that.

Some option that you put into your .htaccess file does not work on your server. That is not unusual, it frequently takes some trial and error to find what works and what doesn't. You will need to put the ADDHANDLER command in .htaccess Maker as a line at the top of the file.

Hi,

Firstly, Thank you for your time, Immensely helpful.
If you are able can you please clarify the following for me?

.htaccess Maker should have left a backup of your original .htaccess file named .htaccess.admintools.

I don't believe it did. How could it have anticipated to do this? Is it pertinent that I adjusted my security settings as directed, then finally proceeded to delete the .htaccess file before refreshing/ saving the Extension settings in Joomla Backend?
FYI I was unable to work with Joomla immediately after deleting the .htaccess file/

The command that changes the PHP version is usually an ADDHANDLER directive. The directive changes from one host to another, so I can't give you the exact command. Your host can do that.

Ok, I can understand this. Saw other threads mentioning the ADDHANDKER command. Actually
tried to insert a directive into the empty .htaccess file that the server must have re-created. I will ask my server for the relevant code, hopefully shell know about this (otherwise I may have to reload the whole installation/ ).
WHen I attempted myself, using a generic command from the net... I simply used Cpanel's own filemanager/ file editor function to paste the command snippet into the file as text.. I was promted and used the default Utf8 setting for txt type. Afterwards there was no change on the front/ back end of Joomla (as you might expect).. And the once empty .htaccess file now contained the new (useless) code snippet.
Is that the correct process for inserting the ADDHANDLER command/ directive into .htaccess?
Is there any other required code, phrasing or percuiarities?

Some option that you put into your .htaccess file does not work on your server. That is not unusual, it frequently takes some trial and error to find what works and what doesn't.

I didn't touch my .htaccess file until it was suggested by the documentation to delete it.
Also, what trial and error attempts specifically are you referring to? I wish to not do any coding as I my abilities are limited. How can I simply rely on the Admin Professional software to do this without further endangering my installations?

You will need to put the ADDHANDLER command in .htaccess Maker as a line at the top of the file.

What is .htaccess Maker? Do you mean just .htaccess? If Admintools was supposed to create a duplicate or critical file for my site, and didn't, what should I now do?

You said in your original post that you used .htaccess Maker, which is a feature of Admin Tools. It creates a custom .htaccess file with many security options not in the file shipped with Joomla! When you clicked Save and Apply, .htaccess maker would have created the backup file. Note that this file would be hidden, so you have to have your FTP client or your host's file manager set to display hidden files in order to see it.

If you can't find the backup file, your host will be able to tell you what to add in the file. You would not be able to find this information through a search on the web. If your host has a help section, it may very will be there. This information is host-specific.