Apache Gives me 403 Error when trying to access "/" on server

Question

When I try to change the web root path to any other folder it give me a 403 error (Forbidden), The default path is /Library/WebServer/Documents, but since this rather annoying for me, I changed it too /Users/Xero/WebServer

Permissions

I got the permissions from /Library/WebServer/Documents by right clicking and selecting Get info (https://i.stack.imgur.com/jeX2b.png What it looks like)

So I changed it to be the exact same for /Users/Xero/WebServer. But it give me a 403 error still.

Attempt to fix

So, I looked it up on Google, and I tried these solutions to fix my problem:

http://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/apache-403-forbidden-error-and-solution/

Error message "Forbidden You don't have permission to access / on this server" (Stack Overflow)

But they didn't help.

Other Notes

Remember I'm using the preinstalled Apache on OS X Snow leopard. And, my virtual host isn't local, so it's not part or the hosts file issue (It's hosted off my DNS, and my IP as a backup, neither work)

My Virtual Hosts:

<VirtualHost *:80>                                      ( Edited 2 )
    DocumentRoot "/Users/Xero/WebServer" 
</VirtualHost>

<VirtualHost *:80>
        Options Indexes FollowSymLinks Includes ExecCGI
        DocumentRoot "/Users/Xero/WebServer"
        ServerName wrks.tk
        ErrorLog "/Logs/Workarea/wrks-err"
        CustomLog "/Logs/Workarea/wrks-acc" common
        DirectoryIndex index.html index.cgi index.pl index.php index.xhtml
        <Directory "/Users/Xero/WebServer">
                Options +Indexes FollowSymLinks +ExecCGI
                AllowOverride AuthConfig FileInfo
                Order allow,deny
                Allow from all
        </Directory>
</VirtualHost>

<VirtualHost *:80>
        DocumentRoot "/Users/Xero/WebServer"
        ServerName 209.169.203.53
        ErrorLog "/Logs/Workarea/ip"
        CustomLog "/Logs/Workarea/ip-acc" common
        <Directory "/Users/Xero/WebServer">
                AllowOverride All
                Order allow,deny
                Allow from all
        </Directory>
</VirtualHost>

Also, I have my httpd.conf User and Group setup like this:

User _www
Group _www

Responses to Answers

Edits

So, I fixed the path's to the document's, but it still giving me the same error, 403.
I checked my FireWall settings and it's off. I also checked my `Sharing Preferences`, `File Sharing` and `Web Sharing` are on.
I edited the duplicate of `DirectoryIndex Home.php Home.html` in the `wrks.tk` VirtualHost, but still, I'm getting the same error. (See Other Notes)
Added more too Other Notes.
Fixed directory, but still didn't fix problem.
Added another to Answer Responses.
Tried a computer restart, did not work.
I put a `index.html` in the folder, still got the same 403 error, I tried accessing `/index.html`, still, 403.

sudo chown -R www-data /Users/Xero/WebServer ..... chmod -R 644 /Users/Xero/WebServer — Hackerman, Jan 28 '14 at 01:10
Please avoid answering in the comments (So I can vote for a answer if I get one). But I'll give it a try. — user3186208, Jan 28 '14 at 01:12
@RobertRozas The first one gave this error: `chown: www-data: Invalid argument` And the second one did not fix the problem. — user3186208, Jan 28 '14 at 01:15
Check the user of the /var/www folder...you have to give that user ownership over /Users/Xero/WebServer and the right perms...in osx the user is not www-data(my mistake) but _www — Hackerman, Jan 28 '14 at 01:23
@RobertRozas Okay, check the 4th edit, and I'll try it again. — user3186208, Jan 28 '14 at 01:24
sudo chgrp _www /path/to/upload/folder sudo chmod 664 /path/to/upload/folder — Hackerman, Jan 28 '14 at 01:28
you have to fix the permissions for the parent directories too. — Karoly Horvath, Jan 28 '14 at 01:32

tomirons · Answer 1 · 2014-01-28T02:37:13.710

What file exactly are you getting all of this from?

<VirtualHost *:80>                                      ( Edited 2 )
DocumentRoot "/Users/Xero/WebServer" 
</VirtualHost>

<VirtualHost *:80>
    Options Indexes FollowSymLinks Includes ExecCGI
    DocumentRoot "/Users/Xero/WebServer"
    ServerName wrks.tk
    ErrorLog "/Logs/Workarea/wrks-err"
    CustomLog "/Logs/Workarea/wrks-acc" common
    DirectoryIndex index.html index.cgi index.pl index.php index.xhtml
    <Directory "/Users/Xero/WebServer">
            Options +Indexes FollowSymLinks +ExecCGI
            AllowOverride AuthConfig FileInfo
            Order allow,deny
            Allow from all
    </Directory>
</VirtualHost>

<VirtualHost *:80>
    DocumentRoot "/Users/Xero/WebServer"
    ServerName 209.169.203.53
    ErrorLog "/Logs/Workarea/ip"
    CustomLog "/Logs/Workarea/ip-acc" common
    <Directory "/Users/Xero/WebServer">
            AllowOverride All
            Order allow,deny
            Allow from all
    </Directory>
</VirtualHost>

There are more than one file for those settings. If you have apache, then take a look in the sites-enabled and sites-available folders.

Change the bottom part of your httpd.conf file to:

#
# AllowOverride controls what directives may be placed in .htaccess files.
# It can be "All", "None", or any combination of the keywords:
#   AllowOverride FileInfo AuthConfig Limit
#
AllowOverride All

#
# Controls who can get stuff from this server.
#
Require all granted

Make a new file index.html and put the following in it:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>

<h1>It works!</h1>

<p>This is the default web page for this server.</p>
<p>The web server software is running but no content has been added, yet.</p>

</body>
</html>

Then place the index.html file into the empty directory.

create a file in /etc/apache2/users/ called yourusername.conf (yourusername being the account short name, e.g. hulu – it's usually the name of your home folder in /Users) with the following contents:

<Directory "/Users/yourusername/Sites/">
Options Indexes MultiViews
AllowOverride None
Order allow,deny
Allow from all
</Directory>

Apache, I'm using the preinstalled OS X (Snow Leopard) version. — user3186208, Jan 28 '14 at 02:01
Yes, I do. But it's not "Exactly" the same, but it's very similar — user3186208, Jan 28 '14 at 02:09
Added a bit of a change, after you change it, restart apache. — tomirons, Jan 28 '14 at 02:18
Nope, the folder is just empty, it is supposed to give me a list of the things in the folder, and if there is nothing, it should give me a list of nothing. — user3186208, Jan 28 '14 at 02:24
Try the most recent suggestion at the bottom of my answer, it it works then then its a setting to change the way you view directories. — tomirons, Jan 28 '14 at 02:28