Unfortunately, I installed the "BotBanish_Client_SMF_v7.0.12" mod, and now no users can log in and only the Google search is displayed.
I can't even access the admin page. Only the Google page appears.
How can I uninstall or deactivate the mod?
I tried to restore a backup before installing BotBanish_Client_SMF_v7.0.12, but instead of the forum, the Google page continues to appear.
I use SMF 2.16
Aloha daranus,
If you are the admin BotBanish will not allow you to be locked out with the IP that it was installed with. Going to the Google page will indicate that the IP used is being blocked. You can verify or correct this by looking in the bbc_botbabisnclient_ip_dnb table to make sure if your ip is in the table. Also truncate the bbc_botbanishclient_session and bbc_botbanishclient_ip tables. We use this on all our sites. Also look in the table SMF error table (log_errors) and let me know what errors that you see.
We use BotBanish in every site we manage including this one.
If this does not help I can send you a script that can uninstall BotBanish.
daranus,
Here is a link to a script to remove BotBanish BotBanish Cleanup (https://randemsystems.cloud/data/botbanish/BotBanishCleanup.zip)
Procedure:
- Unzip and upload contents into the root of your domain. I.E. The folder where SMF is installed (same location as the sources folder)
- In yoru browser type: https://yourdomain/BotBanishCleanup/BotBanishInstallCleanup.php?system=SMF&version=7.0.12
Of course
yourdomain should be replaced with the actual location of your SMF installation.
This will remove BotBanish From your system.
The problem is that I had an SMF forum around 2017, and after a server crash, I was persuaded to switch to MyBB.
I am an admin, but I have no idea about scripts, PHP, and the like. Until May 2025, I ran my sites on a server with 2 TB via Plesk, 2 blogs, and a forum. However, I had to close it because I have a small pension and pay €40 every month.
A friend installed the new forum for me, but he is very busy.
Now the forum is on a V server with 100 GB and very few settings options.
I can't find the ones listed above with bbc_*.
And I can't access the forum at all.
As soon as I click on the page, Google Search comes up. See image.
Quote from: Randem on January 20, 2026, 11:38:49 AMdaranus,
Here is a link to a script to remove BotBanish BotBanish Cleanup (https://randemsystems.cloud/data/botbanish/BotBanishCleanup.zip)
Procedure:
- Unzip and upload contents into the root of your domain. I.E. The folder where SMF is installed (same location as the sources folder)
- In yoru browser type: https://yourdomain/BotBanishCleanup/BotBanishInstallCleanup.php?system=SMF&version=7.0.12
Of course yourdomain should be replaced with the actual location of your SMF installation.
This will remove BotBanish From your system.
Thank you very much, but I'll take care of that tomorrow. Right now, my concentration is at zero :)
At 70 years old, you're not as mentally agile...(https://bam-dorner.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/old.gif)
The Pre-Install Check script should be run on any system that BotBanish will be installed on to make sure that all the components needed are present before attempting an install.
If you have trouble with installation / deinstallation I can help.
Also a new version 7.0.14 was uploaded to correct some minor issues.
What is your site URL. I want to see if it is visible from here.
I checked on the BotBanish server side and the IP you have is not blocked on our server, so it would have to be blocked on your side.
BotBanish will NEVER block the IP of which it was installed with. It will not check that IP for anything.
If I could see the SMF and the server error logs, it would give me a better understanding of the issue.
I can check these things on your server if you would like me too.
What does the script look like? Botbanish removed it.
BotBanish System Cleanup Started
BotBanish Folder Deletion Started
Directory deleted successfully - /home/www/www/music-lofo.de/html/BotBanish/bot/
Directory deleted successfully - /home/www/www/music-lofo.de/html/BotBanish/
Directory deleted successfully - /home/www/www/music-lofo.de/BotBanish_Data/
BotBanish Folder Deletion Complete
BotBanish Table Deletetion Started
Existing tables:
Table Name Engine Rows Collation
bbc_botbanishclient_debug_log InnoDB 0 utf8mb4_unicode_520_ci
bbc_botbanishclient_debug_trace InnoDB 0 utf8mb4_unicode_520_ci
bbc_botbanishclient_doc_errors InnoDB 0 utf8mb4_unicode_520_ci
bbc_botbanishclient_domain_bad InnoDB 12 utf8mb4_unicode_520_ci
bbc_botbanishclient_domain_good InnoDB 4 utf8mb4_unicode_520_ci
bbc_botbanishclient_htaccess InnoDB 0 utf8mb4_unicode_520_ci
bbc_botbanishclient_ip InnoDB 26 utf8mb4_unicode_520_ci
bbc_botbanishclient_ip_dnb InnoDB 3 utf8mb4_unicode_520_ci
bbc_botbanishclient_session InnoDB 1010 utf8mb4_unicode_520_ci
bbc_botbanishclient_settings InnoDB 225 utf8mb4_unicode_520_ci
bbc_botbanishclient_spiders_bad InnoDB 772 utf8mb4_unicode_520_ci
bbc_botbanishclient_spiders_good InnoDB 78 utf8mb4_unicode_520_ci
bbc_botbanishclient_tables InnoDB 28 utf8mb4_unicode_520_ci
bbc_botbanishclient_url_block InnoDB 6 utf8mb4_unicode_520_ci
bbc_botbanishclient_url_dnc InnoDB 0 utf8mb4_unicode_520_ci
bbc_botbanishclient_website_blocks InnoDB 7 utf8mb4_unicode_520_ci
bbc_botbanishclient_website_downloads InnoDB 0 utf8mb4_unicode_520_ci
bbc_botbanishclient_website_visits InnoDB 0 utf8mb4_unicode_520_ci
botbanish_country_code InnoDB 254 utf8mb4_unicode_520_ci
botbanish_language_text InnoDB 0 utf8mb4_unicode_520_ci
botbanish_language_text_english InnoDB 314 utf8mb4_unicode_520_ci
botbanish_language_text_french InnoDB 317 utf8mb4_unicode_520_ci
botbanish_language_text_german InnoDB 317 utf8mb4_unicode_520_ci
botbanish_language_text_italian InnoDB 317 utf8mb4_unicode_520_ci
botbanish_language_text_portuguese InnoDB 317 utf8mb4_unicode_520_ci
botbanish_language_text_spanish InnoDB 317 utf8mb4_unicode_520_ci
botbanish_language_text_swedish InnoDB 317 utf8mb4_unicode_520_ci
botbanish_languages InnoDB 7 utf8mb4_unicode_520_ci
botbanish_timezones InnoDB 202 utf8mb4_unicode_520_ci
BotBanish Table Deletetion Complete
BotBanish File Deletion Started
Deleted - /home/www/www/music-lofo.de/html/BotBanish_RegisterAccount.html
BotBanish File Deletion Complete
BotBanish .htaccess File Cleanup Started
BotBanish .htaccess File Cleanup Complete
BotBanish System Cleanup Complete
But now there is a new problem.
There seems to be a problem with this website.
https://music-lofo.de/ may be experiencing a temporary issue or has moved.
Error code: 500 Internal Server Error
The website may be temporarily unavailable. Please try again later.
Ok, this seems to be an issue with your .htaccess file. Can you send that?
Please excuse me for coming to this page, but for some reason I can no longer access the page. As soon as I tried to send the desired file, I was redirected back to the Google page.
I deleted the cache and cookies, but unfortunately I was still redirected to the wonderful Google page. :(
I hope it works here:
https:bam-dorner.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/htaccess-1.zip
PS: I'm online via Vodafone as usual.
I don't use VPN, Tor, or any other proxy.
Now I'm logged in with a VPN, so I can access your site. Otherwise, it immediately goes to google.com.
In Germany, about 50% of people are online via Vodafone. With this bot blocker, many of my users can no longer access my forum.
htaccess
# * * * * * BotBanish RULES Start * * * * *
# DO NOT REMOVE OR CHANGE!!! - MUST BE FIRST IN .htaccess FILE FOR PROTECTION!!!
# Everything between the BotBanish Start and End markers will be removed when the BotBanish is uninstalled
Options All -Indexes
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} ^.*(loopback|127\.0\.0\.1).* [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} ^.*(md5|benchmark|union|insert|drop|alter).* [NC]
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://music-lofo.de/BotBanish/bot/Subs/BotBanish_AccessError.php?docerror=401 [L,QSA]
RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} ^.*(else|require|include|isset|foreach|global).* [NC]
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://music-lofo.de/BotBanish/bot/Subs/BotBanish_AccessError.php?docerror=400 [L,QSA]
ErrorDocument 401 /home/www/www/music-lofo.de/html/BotBanish/bot/Subs//BotBanish_AccessError.php
ErrorDocument 402 /home/www/www/music-lofo.de/html/BotBanish/bot/Subs//BotBanish_AccessError.php
ErrorDocument 403 /home/www/www/music-lofo.de/html/BotBanish/bot/Subs//BotBanish_AccessError.php
ErrorDocument 404 /home/www/www/music-lofo.de/html/BotBanish/bot/Subs//BotBanish_AccessError.php
ErrorDocument 405 /home/www/www/music-lofo.de/html/BotBanish/bot/Subs//BotBanish_AccessError.php
ErrorDocument 406 /home/www/www/music-lofo.de/html/BotBanish/bot/Subs//BotBanish_AccessError.php
# * * * * * BotBanish RULES End * * * * *
# * * * * * BotBanish HTACCESS Start * * * * *
# Block .htaccess access
<Files .htaccess>
order deny,allow
deny from all
</Files>
# * * * * * BotBanish HTACCESS End * * * * *
Delete your .htaccess file and you should be ok. There should also be a backup of the previous .htaccess file if there was one in the same folder.
Curious, what is the browser that you are using and the USER-AGENT?
The only blocks that I see on this site in the last 24 hours are from China, Russia and Singapore.
Quote from: Randem on January 22, 2026, 10:04:16 AMDelete your .htaccess file and you should be ok. There should also be a backup of the previous .htaccess file if there was one in the same folder.
There is one, but it is empty.
htaccess173756
Good, then just delete the .htaccess and clear your browser cache or put ?a (or other characters after ?) after the domain IE. https://music-lofo.de?s
What is your IP address that gets blocked?
Quote from: Randem on January 22, 2026, 10:25:01 AMGood, then just delete the .htaccess and clear your browser cache or put ?a after the domain IE. https://music-lofo.de?s
What is your IP address?
when I back home, i will do this
OK, with BotBanish uninstalled the only redirection should be from the cache in your browser. After deleting the .htaccess and clearing the browser cache or using a different browser you should be able to access the site. We don't have Vodafone in our block list but that does not mean that something else in the USER-AGENT did not trigger this response.
Check your USER-AGENT - https://dnschecker.org/user-agent-info.php
Quote from: Randem on January 22, 2026, 10:39:26 AMOK, with BotBanish uninstalled the only redirection should be from the cache in your browser. After deleting the .htaccess and clearing the browser cache or using a different browser you should be able to access the site. We don't have Vodafone in our block list but that does not mean that something else in the USER-AGENT did not trigger this response.
Check your USER-AGENT - https://dnschecker.org/user-agent-info.php
I usually use two browsers: Firefox and Vivaldi (Chrome-compatible).
I don't usually use a VPN.
Kabel Deutschland was taken over by Vodafone a few years ago. Unfortunately. The service used to be much better before that.I usually use two browsers: Firefox and Vivaldi (Chrome-compatible).
I don't usually use a VPN.
Kabel Deutschland was taken over by Vodafone a few years ago. Unfortunately. The service used to be much better before that.
(https://bam-dorner.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/22-01-_2026_23-01-16_Uhr.jpg)
Should I delete the htaccess or not?
Yes, delete the .htaccess file.
done!
No change, same problem :(
Anscheinend gibt es ein Problem mit dieser Website
https://music-lofo.de/?s hat möglicherweise ein temporäres Problem oder ist umgezogen.
Fehlercode: 500 Internal Server Error
Die Website könnte vorübergehend nicht erreichbar sein, versuchen Sie es bitte später nochmals.
Check your PM and email
in a hour I go to sleep. Here is after midnight
I believe the issue is with the NGINX cache and it may need to be cleared. You can do this in a couple ways.
In WMM, go to "Software->NGINX Manager" Click "Clear Cache For All Users"
The other method involve command line entries and deleting the cache fie.
This may differ depending on the OS on your server.
Restart NGINX server after deleting the cache.
I can't do that because I don't know anything about it, but I'll ask the friend who installed the SMF forum for me to restart the forum. I was hoping I could avoid that because he's a busy person and he'll scold me for installing the mod. The forum was working great before.
Now I can see the advantages of the MyBB forum software.
MODs are independent modules that do not change the structure of the forum. If something does not work as desired, you can simply delete the plugin.
SMF has more convenient admin functions, while MyBB is quite complicated to use and doesn't have a package manager. You have to upload files laboriously via FTP or SFTP.
Thank you for your efforts and support.
No, not restart the forum, the VPS server. That is where the issue lies. The forum is fine. access to the server is blocked. The VPS server is blocking access to the forum. You do have a VPS server yes? It could just be an SSL issue. Your hosting company will know why it is blocking access to the forum.
It's sorted. Just spoke to my friend on the phone, he's taking care of it. He wasn't angry. :)
He might join the thread. The guy is a genius.
He programs online banking for various banks and is a very good musician.
Ok, mke sure he knows NOT to re-install SMF. Only regain access to the site from the hosting company.