How do I block ALL IP's except those from Holland and Belgium on my forum?

[Grover]

Hi,

We are confronted with a troll who is using proxies to sign in on our forum. Banning doesn't work, cause he keeps changing proxies.

I was wondering : since all my visitors come from Holland and Belgium : it is possible to block ALL IP's except those who originate from Holland and Belgium on my forum?

Thanks for any help,

[Chit_n_Chat]

What forum software are you using?

I'm not sure but is there like on phones and IP address prefix for different countries?

[Grover]

VBulletin (ofcourse ; )

[Lightning]

For most forum softwares, there should be a modification or feature to block proxies. I'm very sure that one exists for vBulletin because I've ran into one before.

[DMB]

What if he uses a proxy in Holland or Belgium? This is going to be hard because there isn't a certain ip range these countries use. Some might use AOL which probably uses servers to connect in more than just those two countries. If possible, I would ban the free e-mail domain he keeps signing up with.

[Grover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Newmanium What if he uses a proxy in Holland or Belgium? This is going to be hard because there isn't a certain ip range these countries use.

Ok, so it really is IMPOSSIBLE to ban certain countries (extracted from the IP) on registering to a forum?

[Grover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grover Ok, so it really is IMPOSSIBLE to ban certain countries (extracted from the IP) on registering to a forum?

Does anyone have experience with this? I understand it is NOT possible to ban all IP's from all countries except Holland and Belgium?

[erik]

Which forum software do you use ?

I think you'd have to set up a IP block for every country in your forum software.
That would require some work, and you need a list with IP (main) numbers for all countries (couldn't find a free one)

Contact the maker of the forum software, or your webspace provider to see if they can help you out. (ISP numbers can be blocked on server level too afaik)

[WoodiE55]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grover Hi, We are confronted with a troll who is using proxies to sign in on our forum. Banning doesn't work, cause he keeps changing proxies. I was wondering : since all my visitors come from Holland and Belgium : it is possible to block ALL IP's except those who originate from Holland and Belgium on my forum? Thanks for any help,

Grover,

Honestly you're best bet would be to use .htaccess if your host allows it. This way you could deny all and allow only the IP ranges you want. While I can't think of any sites right this second I do recall seeing sites in the past that listed most countries IP ranges. But again htaccess would be great for this if you have access to it - ask your host.


-Michael

[yozzy]

I posted a reply just a second ago, where did it go ?

Ok, i will try to do it again fast

download from http://www.ip-2-country.com/

upload to the web root both the dta directory and the ip2c.php file

now take the config.php file of your system *(your forum etc...)

add the following to the config file of your system

include('ip2c.php');
$ipofvisitor = $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'];
$longforrange = sprintf("%u\n", ip2long($ipofvisitor));
$ipinfo = returncountry($longforrange);
$cntry2cd = $ipinfo[0];
if (!(($cntry2cd == 'JO') || ($cntry2cd == 'UK')))
{
die("This forum is only for people from Jordan and the United Kingdome");
}

replace JO and UK with the county codes (capital letter) of the places you wish to allow, and surely you can change the message inside the DIE function

[DMB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by yozzy I posted a reply just a second ago, where did it go ?

You made a new thread not a new reply

[AZbb]

There are more ways than one to tackle the issue.

Of course any IP banning is best done at server level, i.e. httpd.conf or .htaccess

You can get the ranges for the countries and allow for those ranges.

But that is not full proof as ranges change and there are proxies for those countries.

My suggestion is to forget about banning.

Some forum software allow you to set admin approval for registrations. If that is the case, the troll can register as many times he/she wants and you don't have to let him/her in.

If your forum software does not have such feature, then you can control it via board access.

Set all the board access requirements, i.e. to some groups, and only give access to people that you know. That way again, no mater how many times a person registers, they can not get access to the boards. That is the best way in my opinion. You can always delete the unwanted registrations.

In most case, the person will get bored and leave.

Good luck
AZ

[MissKerry]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lightning For most forum softwares, there should be a modification or feature to block proxies. I'm very sure that one exists for vBulletin because I've ran into one before.

i am having similar problems. Do you know where i can find that mod or features as i have looked but can't find it?

[Baldilocks]

That is not always a good thing though. Many people who rely on satellite internet for broadband are almost always connected by a proxy.

That would be excluding a lot of people....

[Chaze]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MissKerry i am having similar problems. Do you know where i can find that mod or features as i have looked but can't find it?

Go to vbulletin.org and look at the first 5 pages for 3.7 Add-Ons. You'll see what you're looking for as well as other things that will help you prevent users from accessing your site after being banned.

[Secure]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grover Hi, We are confronted with a troll who is using proxies to sign in on our forum. Banning doesn't work, cause he keeps changing proxies. I was wondering : since all my visitors come from Holland and Belgium : it is possible to block ALL IP's except those who originate from Holland and Belgium on my forum? Thanks for any help,

You want to ban entire countries? You will lose a lot of possible members just to stop some spam.

[Okoji]

Dear, i will suggest you keep banning him. Sooner or later, he will get tired.

Sorry for this forum. I can understand what you are going tru. I was there before but now, it is over.

Okoji

[dadrill]

If he's using a proxy you would need this to find his real IP. Once done you can pull out the BIG BAN HAMMER.