Knowledge Base

Overview

By the end of this article you will be able to identify why CodeGuard cannot reach your website over File Transfer Protocol (FTP) or Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP), and resolve the problem yourself where possible.

The article covers three causes in the order you should check them:

• Incorrect credentials, the most frequent cause, which you confirm by testing the same details in a standalone FTP client.
• Blocked IP addresses, where your hosting provider is refusing connections from CodeGuard servers.
• Unresolved connection failures, which need Sectigo support.

A short Verify the connection section explains how to confirm the fix has worked.

Before you begin

Have the following ready:

• The hostname, username, and password you entered in CodeGuard for the site.
• The protocol the site uses — FTP or SFTP — and its port number.
• An FTP client installed on your computer, such as FileZilla or Fetch, for testing the credentials independently of CodeGuard.
• A way to contact your hosting provider, in case the connection is being blocked at their end.

Cause 1: Incorrect credentials

The most common reason CodeGuard cannot connect is that the username or password entered for the site is incorrect. Credentials can also stop working after a hosting password reset or a plan change.

To confirm this is the cause, test the same details outside CodeGuard:

1. Open an FTP client on your computer — for example FileZilla (http://filezilla-project.org/ ) or Fetch (fetchsoftworks.com ).
2. Enter the same hostname, username, password, and protocol you gave CodeGuard.
3. Attempt to connect.

If the client cannot connect either, the credentials or hostname are wrong. Obtain the correct details from your hosting provider and update them in your CodeGuard dashboard.

If the client connects successfully but CodeGuard still cannot, move to Cause 2.

Cause 2: Your hosting provider is blocking CodeGuard

If the hostname, username, and password are confirmed correct, your hosting provider may be refusing connections from CodeGuard servers. Some providers block unfamiliar addresses by default, or restrict access to an approved list.

Contact your hosting provider and ask them to allow connections from the following CodeGuard IP addresses:

• 54.236.233.46
• 54.236.233.28
• 54.174.91.34
• 54.174.153.212
• 54.174.115.171

Once the provider confirms the addresses are allowed, retry the connection in your CodeGuard dashboard.

Cause 3: The connection still fails

If the credentials test successfully in an FTP client and your hosting provider confirms the CodeGuard IP addresses are not blocked, the cause is outside these two categories — for example a non-standard port, a firewall between the provider and the server, or an account-level restriction.

Contact Sectigo support with the site name, the protocol in use, and the results of your credential test so the connection can be investigated.

Verify the connection