My IP Address Has Been Banned

[nicholst55]

Joined in 2007 (sure seems like it was longer ago than that), been here in South Korea since 2016, working for the U.S. Army. Went to log on yesterday and my IP address has been banned. After three years. And four years here from 2008-2012 - worked fine then. Guess all them cyber attacks that I've been launching have finally caught up with me. Just seems kind of weird, coming all of a sudden. And obviously, I can still get on at work. And at home, with my VPN running a U.S. IP address. Wish the administrator would let me know the reason(s) behind this.

Am I unwanted?

[Der Gebirgsjager]

If you were banned it would say so under your name. It doesn't, and your post has appeared, so it must be some sort of computer glitch(es).

[HATCH]

If you were banned it would say so under your name. It doesn't, and your post has appeared, so it must be some sort of computer glitch(es).

Thats not what he is talking about.

There has been a large amount of spammers in the past few years.
So large blocks of foreign IP address have been blocked.
Republic of Korea happens to be in one of those blocks.
Sorry but I can't unblock that just to give you access when doing so opens the board back up to a dozen cyber attacks from ROK on a daily basis.
Please don't take it personal.

CHARLES

[JBinMN]

Deleted & shared thru PM.

[Big Tom]

I would say, somebody set up a block for a complete provider. I do the same when things get out of control in regards to aggressive hacking attempts from one service provider and in most of these countries, blocking these providers is the easiest thing one can do.

On my company server, I go even further and block complete countries and their published IP ranges. A burden on the server, but cuts out over 90% of hacking and spamming.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Oooooooooooo!

[Kevinakaq]

Subscribe to an ip block/redirect, aka vpn service. Less than five dollars a month and useful for other reasons as well...

I use the following -
https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/

[SciFiJim]

Continue to run things through your VPN. Your internet provider doesn't need to know what you are doing anyway. I'm in the US and still run everything through a VPN for security reasons.

[rancher1913]

FREE OUR BROTHERS IN KOREA




sorry couldnt resist

[nicholst55]

FREE OUR BROTHERS IN KOREA





sorry couldnt resist

Heck yeah!

Continue to run things through your VPN. Your internet provider doesn't need to know what you are doing anyway. I'm in the US and still run everything through a VPN for security reasons.

Which makes the entire exercise, on the part of the administrators, totally pointless - when the hackers and scammers can simply do the same thing.

Deleted & shared thru PM.

Yup, absolutely.

Thats not what he is talking about.

There has been a large amount of spammers in the past few years.
So large blocks of foreign IP address have been blocked.
Republic of Korea happens to be in one of those blocks.
Sorry but I can't unblock that just to give you access when doing so opens the board back up to a dozen cyber attacks from ROK on a daily basis.
Please don't take it personal.

CHARLES

Okay, I got it. Most of the hacks and scams originate in this part of the world. Neither you nor I can influence that. And, when the scammers/hackers can simply log on using a VPN with a different IP address, it makes your efforts rather futile. I will likely continue to visit; just MUCH less frequently.

[Thin Man]

I used to have a similar situation at my day job. The agency I worked for had their IT block off all sited that showed sex, abuse, all the usual forbidden topics, along with any thing concerning firearms. This block existed for all of the employer's computer accesses, all departments. I was responsible for repairing and maintaining our firearms but could not get onto common sites that sold repair parts. Off I went to the IT director and explained how this was a hardship against my assigned duties. She answered "no guns, and nothing concerning guns" websites could be unlocked for viewing. Fine, I answered. If we need a $10 part to repair a firearm and cannot get it, we will (by phone call) order a replacement firearm for $400 from our local supplier. How is that going to square with our maintenance budget? She got the message and opened my computer to the sites I needed. All it took was communication to get things working again.

[marek313]

I have worked in IT for over 20 years now in various positions. Geoblocking is not a new concept and most smart places block traffic from any country they dont do business with. People dont realize how many attempts to hack from Russia, China, middle east etc every organization is facing these days. We are talking thousands a day. 90%+ are all out of US because within US those places would be shut down so blocking those specific countries is a very big deal. Yes I realize that people can use VPNs but Geoblock is just one leyer of protection and most places utilize other filters on top as well.

Also for all of you that think that VPN provide any protection to your web browsing I have some bad news for you guys. It really doesnt. It has been marketed as something its not. VPN or Virtual Private Network provides point to point encryption between you and your VPN provider but it doesnt protect your PC or your security. Its like saying here jump in my tank I'll give you a safe ride to the front line but then you have to get out and walk and your on your own. Its only secure between you and your VPN provider and once you go outside of that your on your own. Also if you think your anonymous because you use VPN I bet your wrong about that too. If you use US based VPN provider then they log your access just the same way your internet provider would and they will provide those logs to any US enforcement agency when asked. You know why? Because thats the only way they stay in business in US.

Its more important to make sure you dont visit any suspecious sites or click on strange email then to have VPN. I can work on unprotected laptop for years and not catch anything but you have to use common sense.