IP Address is Blocked? A handpicked list of Solutions to Fix it?

Imagine you are on holiday having a cup of tea and browsing your website or blog.

Then, what next?

You will get a page showing “Your IP is blocked”

You will forget your hot cup of tea as you must be busy identifying why my IP Address is blocked and what is next?

Hold on! Don’t worry when your website or web app online is hosted on an individual dedicated server or a whole server cluster, it’s frequent to expect uninterrupted access at the time. Further, your server may block your IP address, protecting you from connecting to and using the service.

If you have experienced the same, this article will guide you through all the important information needed to monitor the status of your IP address.  

Additionally, some of the most familiar reasons for blocking are covered along with suggestions on how to unblock and whitelist your IP as quickly as possible. 

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How does IP Address Blocking work?

IP–based blocking develops barriers in a network that block all traffic to or from a set of IP addresses. This point of view to block content doesn’t link to blocking content but traffic to known IP addresses associated with some content or an application. IP-based blocking also leads the software on users’ computers, typically for network security.

IP Address Blacklisting

Here, filtering illegitimate or malicious IP addresses from operating networks is done.  A list is known as a blacklist that is developed of the IPs desired for blocking and may contain individual or a range of IP addresses. Cybersecurity personnel use blacklists with intrusion prevention systems (IPS), firewalls, and other traffic filtering tools to filter malicious traffic as per the policies or by manually adding particular IP addresses.

How do I know if my IP Address has an IP blocked condition?

To know whether you are blocked from using your server, attempt to log in to your web server. Make a note of the connection error message, which should indicate the specific reason for the IP blocking. By chance, an error message is hazy and you are allowed to send a message to your server for more information.

Blocked IP Address Investigation — ping a Server on Windows

Opening Command Prompt with Administrator Privileges:

1. Press the Windows Key + R simultaneously to open the Run dialog.
2. Type cmd in the Open field.
3. Hold the Ctrl and Shift keys, then press Enter. This launches Command Prompt with administrator privileges, which is necessary for certain network commands.
4. Click Yes in the User Account Control prompt to allow Command Prompt to make changes.

Pinging the Server:

1. In the Command Prompt window, type the following command, replacing <server_IP> with the actual IP address of the server you’re trying to reach:
   
2. ping <server_IP>
   

• Press Enter.

Interpreting the Results:

• Successful ping: If you see replies with round-trip times (in milliseconds) and low packet loss, it indicates your IP address isn’t blocked and you can connect to the server.
• “Destination host unreachable” error: This suggests the server might be down, experiencing network issues, or your IP might be blocked.

Further Investigation:

If the ping fails, try pinging a different website (like 8.8.8.8, Google’s public DNS server) to see if the issue is specific to the target server or a wider internet connectivity problem.

Check if your firewall settings might be blocking communication.

If you’re still unsure, consider contacting the server administrator or your internet service provider (ISP) for further assistance.

This method only checks basic reachability. Blocking can happen at different levels (application, firewall rules, etc.), so a successful ping doesn’t guarantee full access to the server’s functionalities.

Read: Explained: Difference between Nameservers Vs. DNS

Blocked IP Address investigation — Ping a Server on a Mac

Here’s how to investigate a potentially blocked IP address by pinging a server on a Mac:

Using Terminal:

Open Terminal. You can find it in Applications > Utilities or by searching Spotlight.

Pinging the Server:

• In the Terminal window, type the following command, replacing <server_IP> with the actual IP address of the server you’re trying to reach:
  

ping <server_IP>

• Press Return.

Interpreting the Results:

• Successful ping: If you see replies with round-trip times (in milliseconds) and low packet loss, it indicates your IP address isn’t blocked and you can connect to the server.
• “Request timed out” or “ping: unknown host” errors: This suggests the server might be down, experiencing network issues, or your IP might be blocked.

Additionally:

If the ping fails, try pinging a different website (like 8.8.8.8, Google’s public DNS server) to see if the issue is specific to the target server or a wider internet connectivity problem.

Check your firewall settings in System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Firewall.

If you’re still unsure, consider contacting the server administrator or your internet service provider (ISP) for further assistance.

Similar to Windows, this method only checks basic reachability. Blocking can happen at different levels (application, firewall rules, etc.), so a successful ping doesn’t guarantee full access to the server’s functionalities.

Failed web login attempts

There are various reasons for the failure of web login attempts. A few things can be signs of that are mentioned below:

• Simple mistake: The most common reason is likely a user simply mistyping their username or password. This can happen due to typos, forgotten credentials, or accidentally using the wrong login information for a different website.
  
  
• Brute-force attack: In a more serious scenario, the failed attempts could be due to a brute-force attack. This is where an automated script tries different username and password combinations to gain unauthorized access to an account.
  
  
• Targeted attack: If you’re dealing with a very sensitive account or system, the failed attempts could be part of a targeted attack by someone specifically trying to break into your account.

Note:

Using a password manager is beneficial and known as a standard security practice that keeps the credentials for many services you are using. In the future, this will remove the issue of getting your IP blocked by the server for this reason.

Read: 5 Major Hosting Problems and How to Avoid it: Comprehensive Guide

Check Firewall Settings

Review your firewall settings on your device or contact the website administrator to see if firewall rules might be blocking access.

Misconfigured FTP or SSH access

Your server shows screens of the login attempts to cPanel and the mail server, but it also checks the FTP and SSH connections. Obviously, there is more room for error when logging in through an FTP client since it needs a bit more information than your regular web login. At a minimum, besides using a regular username and password, you’re required to specify the hostname or IP of your server and the correct port 21 for FTP, and 22 for SFTP, unless an alternation port is being used:

Note: The connection attempt failed with ‘econnrefused – Connection refused by server error indicates that the connection could not be established at the IP/port combo requested. This type of IP-blocked error happens due to the connection failing due to a wrong username/password.

Next, the SSH access configuration is the toughest one and if you’re not sure about using the correct command in the CLI (Command Line Interface) or Terminal), you can contact Hostripples Web Support for setting up the current SSH.

[root@host ~]# ssh root@IP Address

root@IP Address’s password:

Permission denied, please try again.

root@IP Address’s password:

Permission denied, please try again.

root@IP Address’s password:

Steps to unblock the IP Address

Solutions:

1. Wait it Out: If it’s a temporary block due to suspicious activity, waiting for some time (usually an hour or so) might be enough for the restriction to be lifted.
2. Restart Router: If you have a dynamic IP address, restarting your router might assign you a new IP, effectively unblocking you.
3. Change Network: Connecting to a different network, like a mobile hotspot or a friend’s Wi-Fi, will give you a new IP address.
4. VPN: A Virtual Private Network (VPN) masks your IP address, allowing you to connect through a different server. Be sure to use a reputable VPN service.
5. Proxy Server: Similar to a VPN, a proxy server routes your traffic through another server, masking your IP. Free proxies can be slow and unreliable, use them with caution.
6. Contact the Website: If you think the block is a mistake, you can try contacting the website administrator and explain the situation.

Additional Tips:

• Check for malware on your device that might be triggering the block.
• If you have a static IP address, contacting your ISP might be an option. However, they might be hesitant to change it.

Remember, using a VPN or proxy server to bypass restrictions might violate the terms of service of some websites. Always proceed with caution.