I'm blocked/blacklisted by the Shield. How to unblock and prevent this

If you're blocked (blacklisted) by the Shield, and you want to know why that happened and prevent this, or maybe you want to whitelist your IP with Shield, please follow these steps:

  1. Go to your FTP manager for that site and create a "forceoff" file by following the steps outlined in this guide here.
  2. This will temporarily disable processing of any Shield security rules. Plugin will be active allowing you to get back into your site and change settings.
  3. Log into your site
  4. Go to the Manage IPs section and remove your IP from the block list.
  5. Use the same section to whitelist your IP (if you need to).
  6. Go to your Activity Log > View Log
    It'll tell you what exactly have happened, why you're getting blocked so you can resolve the block and prevent it from happening again.
  7. Use the Activity Log Glossary to interpret the block entries, find the related settings and take the recommended action.
  8. Remove a "forceoff" file

So, whenever you get blocked/blacklisted as the result of Shield:

use a forceoff method to get back in => remove your IP from the block list => review your activity logs to find the problem cause - why you're getting blocked => use the Activity Log Glossary to find the related Shield settings and take the recommended action to prevent future blocks => remove a "forceoff" file. 

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