.htaccess Gurus - help!
 

Ok. Here's a strange dilemma I'm experiencing. Got an area protected by an http_referer Rewrite cond. Works like a dream for me and apparently most surfers. However, found out that some surfers that should be gaining access to this particular area are getting redirected. Couldn't figure out why, being that 95% of them are having no problems at all. Then I pinpointed that the ones being wrongfully redirected all have one thing in common... they're Mac users. Here's a sample of the .htaccess itself...

AuthUserFile /dev/null
AuthGroupFile /dev/null

RewriteEngine On

RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http://www.whateversite.com/somedirectory/.* [NC]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http://whateversite.com/somedirectory/.* [NC]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http://www.whateversite2.com/somedirectory/.* [NC]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http://whateversite2.com/somedirectory/.* [NC]

RewriteRule /* http://www.redirectlocation.com/error.html [R,L]

Why would only Mac users be getting sent to the "redirectlocation"? Presuming they are accessing through "whateversite.com" and "whateversite2.com".

:helpme

you should probably put in a condition that allows for blank referrers

^$

Ok... but wouldn't that allow some pple to access through bookmarks? This is an area I only wish to grant access from specific page locations on another domain. IE - I wouldn't want pple being able to just type it in and get there from the address bar in their browsers, or from their favorites folder.

The strangest thing is that so far, it only seems like Mac users are having the problem. They are accessing from the permitted locations, yet still get redirected. Is there something about the Mac browsers that htaccess rewite cond isn't recognizing?

you could allow blank referrer's through htaccess
but deny from a cookie i guess

Have you checked your log files to make sure that these particular MAC users ARE passing a referrer? You should be able to track them by IP address as they progress from one site to another...

The fact that they are all three MAC users could just be a coincedence. :)

You may want to find out which browser they are using also...

Not only would allowing for blank referrers allow them in via bookmarks, it would also allow type-ins and right-click/save as...