Ensuring Slickstream Has Access To Your Site: Whitelisting Servers

Slickstream is a service that operates in the cloud, not inside WordPress or any other CMS.  Slickstream builds an index for your site in the same way Google does by regularly processing your sitemaps and crawling your pages to keep up with any changes.

To make sure Slickstream works properly on your site, our servers need to be able to access your pages without being blocked. If Slickstream is unable to complete the indexing process, it’s likely that a firewall, security plugin, or CDN (like Cloudflare) is blocking our requests.

The most common overlooked issue is that the server is blocking our bot based on its user-agent. Follow these steps to allow Slickstream to work correctly.

Step 1: Whitelist Slickstream’s IP Addresses

Slickstream’s servers use the following IP addresses. These should be whitelisted in your firewall, CDN, and security settings:

Primary IP Range:

51.161.98.0/24

If CIDR notation (/24) is not supported, use one of these formats:

51.161.98.0-63
51.161.98.*

Step 2: Allow Slickstream’s User-Agent

Even if Slickstream’s IPs are whitelisted, some security settings may still block our bot based on its user-agent. This is a common cause of 403 errors.

User-Agent to Allow:

Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; SlickBot/1.0; +http://slickstream.com)

Where to Check:

• Cloudflare: Go to Security > Bots and ensure SlickBot is not blocked.

• Wordfence (or other security plugins): Check Advanced Firewall Options and add SlickBot to the allowlist.

• NGINX / Apache: Look for bot-blocking rules and adjust them accordingly.

If unsure where to change this, use the email template below to contact your hosting provider.

Step 3: Whitelist Slickstream in Security Settings

Cloudflare

1. Log in to Cloudflare.

2. Select your site and navigate to Security > WAF.

3. Click Create a Firewall Rule and configure:

   • Field: IP Address

   • Operator: is in

   • Value: 51.161.98.0/24

   • Action: Allow

4. Click Save and Deploy.

Wordfence (or Other Security Plugins)

1. Log in to WordPress.

2. Navigate to Wordfence > All Options > Allowlisted IPs.

3. Add 51.161.98.0/24.

4. Click Save Changes.

Sucuri Firewall

1. Log in to Sucuri.

2. Select your site and go to Security > Access Control.

3. Under Allowlisted IP Addresses, enter 51.161.98.0/24.

4. Click Save Changes.

Apache (.htaccess File)

If your site runs on Apache, you may need to update your .htaccess file:

Order Allow,Deny
Allow from 51.161.98.0/24

Save the file and restart the server if necessary.

If you’re not comfortable editing this file, ask your hosting provider for assistance.

Step 4: Ask Your Hosting Provider for Help

If you lack access to firewall settings or need assistance, ask your hosting provider to whitelist Slickstream’s IPs and user-agent using the template below:

Hi [Hosting Provider’s Support Team],

We are working with Slickstream, a trusted service that enhances site search and engagement. However, our site is currently blocking their bot (SlickBot/1.0), leading to 403 Forbidden errors.

Can you whitelist the following IP range to allow Slickstream to access our site?

51.161.98.0/24

Additionally, please ensure that our security settings are not blocking the following user-agent:

Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; SlickBot/1.0; +http://slickstream.com)

If a firewall, WAF, or bot protection is enabled, please adjust the settings to allow Slickstream’s bot.

Thank you for your help!

• For details on how to whitelist IP addresses in Cloudflare see https://support.cloudflare.com/hc/en-us/articles/217074967-Configuring-IP-Access-Rules.
• For details on how to whitelist IP addresses in Cleantalk see https://cleantalk.org/help/blacklist-usage.
• For details on how to whitelist IP addresses in Sucuri see https://docs.sucuri.net/website-firewall/whitelist-and-blacklist/whitelist-an-ip-address.

Need Help?

If you’ve followed these steps and Slickstream is still being blocked, contact us at support@slickstream.com.