Problem: You receive a You are not authorized to perform this action error message when you try to log into the Control Panel, leave a comment, register as a new user, etc.

Solution: There are a few reasons why this might be happening.

Logging into the Control Panel
First, your member account must be part of a Member Group that has access to the Control Panel.  If you’re using the account you set up on installation (which is part of the “SuperAdmin” Member Group) then this isn’t the problem.

In General
Logging in also, by default, requires that your browser send your IP address and User Agent information.  This helps prevent hacking attempts.  Occasionally, people will have software or firewalls installed on their computer that block this information.  You can turn this feature in EE off, though:

- If you can log into the Control Panel, go to Admin > Security and Session Preferences and turn off the “Require IP Address and User Agent for Login?” and “Require IP Address and User Agent when receiving comments?” settings.  Otherwise…

- Open your config.php file and find the “require_ip_for_login” setting.  Change the value for that setting to ‘n’.

This error will also occur for users that have been banned or are being blocked by the Blacklist.  Ensure that you aren’t blocking a particular User Agent or other blacklisted item under Modules > Blacklist/Whitelist in the Control Panel.  Also, make sure the IP address is not blocked under Admin > User Banning.