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Web Hosting Forum | Lunarpages > Lunarpages Web Hosting - Advanced Assistance > Lunarpages - Web Hosting, Email & PC Security > Can I block overseas IPs from accessing my site?
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Author Topic: Can I block overseas IPs from accessing my site?  (Read 628 times)
Fox420
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« on: October 30, 2007, 12:21:06 PM »
I have a localized website for a club in Illinois (USA).


But my forum gets people from Asia & Europe posting porn links on my smf 1.1.4 forum. I've banned about 12 of them so far. Is there a way to fight that?


I've read other posts that refer you to issues with hacking and so on, but those go in to another area. I just need to get a better understanding of why my site gets all these porn links, and another site like this Lunarpages forum does not. Another smf forum also does not get these spammers. And I've been on there for a couple years.

I could end the post here, but I want to mention that the spammers first came right when I installed the Arcade. It may have been coincidence. But I installed it at 2 in the morning when noone is online, and that's when I saw the first 5 people (all from Asia & Europe) show up all at once.

A few weeks later, I had a Database Error in my forum. A crash in my one of mysql tables. I took off the Arcade, per the Helpdesk. But the Helpdesk apologized and said the Arcade didn't have anything to do with the crash. So he reinstalled it. I'm new to webdesigning and don't know enough about code & tables to talk about it. But it doesn't sound like the crash and the spammers are related.

I just wanted to add that information.

Thanks for your help!
« Last Edit: November 14, 2007, 04:40:58 PM by Fox420 » Logged
wektech
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« Reply #1 on: October 30, 2007, 02:11:46 PM »
You can in fact block a good portion of non-US address space using .htaccess but it can be hit or miss. You run the chance of unintentionally banning U.S. users because of the multinational use of some of the address space. I have had pretty good luck with using the akismet add in SMF to block out the spam. That might be a better solution for your SMF script.
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The YumAZone
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MrPhil
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« Reply #2 on: October 31, 2007, 09:22:37 AM »
SMF has (either built-in or as a "mod") a graphical CAPTCHA test to minimize the chances of a spambot signing up as a member. You do restrict posting privileges to members (not guests), don't you?
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Fox420
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« Reply #3 on: November 01, 2007, 10:28:29 PM »
Quote from: MrPhil on October 31, 2007, 09:22:37 AM
SMF has (either built-in or as a "mod") a graphical CAPTCHA test to minimize the chances of a spambot signing up as a member. You do restrict posting privileges to members (not guests), don't you?

 Nope

I'm an idiot! Thank you. And please let this be an example to everyone thinking that we out here can't be this stupid!

The other forum I mentioned, lets guests post. And they don't have this issue. Plus, I figured, these spammers would just create a fake account, and post anyway. But either way, I was in the wrong for letting guests post, when I'm the one having this problem.

I'm also acting on wektech's post. Any, and all, advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks!!
« Last Edit: November 01, 2007, 10:42:53 PM by Fox420 » Logged
Rick_E
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« Reply #4 on: November 03, 2007, 09:40:06 AM »
Another option is to password protect the forum folder (not the forum itself) with one simple username and password that is disseminated to all the members.
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All the best, Rick E

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Fox420
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« Reply #5 on: November 05, 2007, 07:25:31 PM »
I have some new information, but I don't know what to do with it.

IP 66.249.70.35, is one of the 5 IPs which was banned. Then, after a few weeks, I was seeing who was on-line, and it was IP 66.249.70.35 again. Then I realized this IP was from North America (not overseas like the others). I saw it's past activity, and saw that this IP had been trying to log on 8 or 9 times everyday for the last week!

So I did a search on this IP. It's Google crawling the site. I took a chance that I was right in what I found, and removed the ban. No problems. One of the entries during my search called it a "googlebot".

But when the overseas IPs showed up again, I saw the google IP show up too. Then again. And then a third time.  I doubt Google is following the bad IPs. They all show up at once. So it must be that this Google IP somehow brings with it the overseas IPs.

I have over 20 of them on my ban list. I don't want to stop Google from crawling the site. Is there a more obvious answer to my situation now (to eliminate the bad IPs)?

(Also: 3 or 4 of the IPs are always the same. They're already banned. But there are usually 1 or 2 new ones. I've stopped/banned them all before they could post.).

Thanks.
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