Is IP banning even a thing?

The majority of users are behind their ISP's NAT so the public IP they use is the same IP a smaller region uses while the private subnet address they see on the WAN of their router is leased and changes every now and then from a couple of hours to a couple of days and almost always when the router reboots. As well as it can be circumvented by proxy and VPN services. On the tech side it seems a very unreliable way of restricting access of unwanted people and social media sites has much better ways of tracking people. Unique identifiers that are much more permanent.

RandomStranger wrote on 2024-08-16, 18:58:

Is IP banning even a thing?

The majority of users are behind their ISP's NAT so the public IP they use is the same IP a smaller region uses while the private subnet address they see on the WAN of their router is leased and changes every now and then from a couple of hours to a couple of days and almost always when the router reboots. As well as it can be circumvented by proxy and VPN services. On the tech side it seems a very unreliable way of restricting access of unwanted people and social media sites has much better ways of tracking people. Unique identifiers that are much more permanent.

I checked my IPv4 over days, as well as the other members, but they remain constant throughout my timeline. I am looking for a way to block the API from tracking, or somehow associating either of us

BEEN_Nath_58 wrote on 2024-08-16, 18:32:

Yesterday, one of my family members got banned on a social media. Subsequently I also got banned.

"a social media"? Do you mean Facebook or X or some major social media platform, or a web forum?

I checked my IPv4 over days, as well as the other members, but they remain constant throughout my timeline. I am looking for a way to block the API from tracking, or somehow associating either of us

No. The IP ban is on their end. So long as you have the IP, they'll reject the connection.

I am looking for a way to block the API from tracking, or somehow associating either of us

Those certainly are all words. However, their authentication server will know the IP you're connecting from, which is how the IP ban enforcement works.

how much does this matter to you?
could there be any other repurcussions of the original ban or what led to it?
are you paying for a fixed IP address?
try rebooting your router?
use a VPN yourself?
how would anyone here know what an unknown "social media" was doing?
are you asking for lifestyle advice or advice about a hypotheticl API? misleading title? what do you really expect here?
are you the mythical AI masquerading as a human?

or, TLDR:

IF YOU WANT TO

RandomStranger wrote on 2024-08-16, 18:58:

The majority of users are behind their ISP's NAT

That varies wildly by location. In my part of the world, nearly all home connections still get public IP addresses but most (not all) mobile carriers are using CGNAT. So using a mobile is the simple solution to avoiding IP blocks because nobody is going to ban an entire carrier.

ratfink wrote on 2024-08-17, 00:17:

how much does this matter to you? could there be any other repurcussions of the original ban or what led to it? are you paying f […]
Show full quote

how much does this matter to you?
could there be any other repurcussions of the original ban or what led to it?
are you paying for a fixed IP address?
try rebooting your router?
use a VPN yourself?

We don't yet have the facility to vary the IP. It is fixed always. Neither does rebooting change anything. There may or may not be repercussions: I am yet to discover that. Wha know is I will have to rebuild a profile base yet again.

jmarsh wrote on 2024-08-17, 00:39:

RandomStranger wrote on 2024-08-16, 18:58:

The majority of users are behind their ISP's NAT

That varies wildly by location. In my part of the world, nearly all home connections still get public IP addresses but most (not all) mobile carriers are using CGNAT. So using a mobile is the simple solution to avoiding IP blocks because nobody is going to ban an entire carrier.

Just noticed, the IPv4 isn't static on my mobile network. At least the last 3 octets change every now and so. Is it good enough?

Yes, you should shut your family off from accessing Wi-Fi and the Internet. If they complain, you can just tell them that newtmonkey, the famous guy on VOGONS, told you to do it.

BEEN_Nath_58 wrote on 2024-08-16, 18:32:

Yesterday, one of my family members got banned on a social media. Subsequently I also got banned. […]
Show full quote

Yesterday, one of my family members got banned on a social media. Subsequently I also got banned.

I didn't know about it until now, that both have been banned simultaneously, he being the doer, and I being connected somehow?

I assume this is IP ban? However how would you circumvent an IP ban if it's the home Wi-Fi?

Am I missing something?

IMO there's little point in doing so. Since a few years ago the SNS ecosystem has become increasingly hostile with all kinds of aggressive bans/botchecks, and they will not tell you (exactly) why for security reasons. Not to mention most of those platforms have started to require people to sign up/log in just to be able to view most of the stuffs.

To regain access to your account you'll have to submit a good amount of personal (sensitive) info and even that does not guarantee they'll lift the ban, and letting them knowing too much about you (as a person) can be a serious problem in itself. On the other hand, the worsening user experience (aka "ensh*ttification") also serves as an incentive to push paid tiers of their services including some aspects that used to be provided for free.

Over the past few years I've several accounts on such platforms permabanned for all kinds of reasons. Since I never really interacted much on those platforms, I've lost virtually nothing and in turn my time spending on those platforms have been significantly reduced.

PS: Sometimes even simple actions can lead to a ban/botcheck. One of my lost accounts was permabanned simply because I scrolled over contents too fast (which I think had caused a spike in requests that made them think I was a "bot").

ratfink wrote on 2024-08-17, 00:17:

use a VPN yourself?

I decided to use ProtonVPN for it. It worked for 3 days well, until today I decided to just change server from Jpn to Ned. Not in the middle of a session, but after just Windows login. Banned!

LSS10999 wrote on 2024-08-17, 08:09:

IMO there's little point in doing so. Since a few years ago the SNS ecosystem has become increasingly hostile with all kinds of […]
Show full quote

BEEN_Nath_58 wrote on 2024-08-16, 18:32:

Yesterday, one of my family members got banned on a social media. Subsequently I also got banned. […]
Show full quote

Yesterday, one of my family members got banned on a social media. Subsequently I also got banned.

I didn't know about it until now, that both have been banned simultaneously, he being the doer, and I being connected somehow?

I assume this is IP ban? However how would you circumvent an IP ban if it's the home Wi-Fi?

Am I missing something?

IMO there's little point in doing so. Since a few years ago the SNS ecosystem has become increasingly hostile with all kinds of aggressive bans/botchecks, and they will not tell you (exactly) why for security reasons. Not to mention most of those platforms have started to require people to sign up/log in just to be able to view most of the stuffs.

To regain access to your account you'll have to submit a good amount of personal (sensitive) info and even that does not guarantee they'll lift the ban, and letting them knowing too much about you (as a person) can be a serious problem in itself. On the other hand, the worsening user experience (aka "ensh*ttification") also serves as an incentive to push paid tiers of their services including some aspects that used to be provided for free.

Over the past few years I've several accounts on such platforms permabanned for all kinds of reasons. Since I never really interacted much on those platforms, I've lost virtually nothing and in turn my time spending on those platforms have been significantly reduced.

PS: Sometimes even simple actions can lead to a ban/botcheck. One of my lost accounts was permabanned simply because I scrolled over contents too fast (which I think had caused a spike in requests that made them think I was a "bot").

The time reduction is actually a good point since I have spent a good chunk of time everyday on it. I was open to reduce it: by probably not logging into it from other devices but just one, but that even looks unfruitful since my ProtonVPN service can't escape their bans

BEEN_Nath_58 wrote on 2024-08-17, 20:34:

I decided to use ProtonVPN for it. It worked for 3 days well, until today I decided to just change server from Jpn to Ned. Not in the middle of a session, but after just Windows login. Banned!

A sudden change in IP/location will certainly raise yellow or red flags from a security perspective... VPN or not.

On the other hand, AFAIK those SNS platforms have already started aggressively limiting or even blocking address ranges known to be VPNs or cloud servers, so regardless of IP changes (or other possible factors) you should be careful when connecting through them with accounts that you do care about.

Not to mention there are already signs those companies are closing in against third-party (usually privacy-aware) utilities for their services.

Unless it's stated somewhere that you are paying for a fixed IP, which will usually specify the IP that is yours in the paperwork, then just having the same one for long periods is probably just a "sticky" IP, in that the network and number of subscribers is relatively stable so "your" IP is usually available to get back again, especially if your lease hasn't expired. To force a change, you might have to leave your modem off overnight or as long as possible to give someone else a chance to get that IP. Sometimes you can expire the lease from console on the modem and get a new one immediately, but often such features are locked out.

BEEN_Nath_58 wrote on 2024-08-17, 20:34:

I decided to use ProtonVPN for it. It worked for 3 days well, until today I decided to just change server from Jpn to Ned. Not in the middle of a session, but after just Windows login. Banned!

Unsurprising (see below):

Am I missing something?

Yes: Impossible travel. When users have unexplained impossible travel (that is, their geolocation information changes dramatically, which could indicate they aren't in control of their credentials), they should also check other details such as the device OS and browser info, so when one login from a particular country is with Mac OS and the Safari browser, but other contemporaneous logins were Windows 11 and Edge, the combination of the different location and different architecture is a clear sign something is amiss.

Obsolete things and Security Risks:
Family WIFI
Open home network ports
Family Cable TV
Network Shares not password protected
Netbeui
Etc

Your neighbors could be hacking and accessing your home network ?

AlaricD wrote on 2024-08-29, 15:52:

Unsurprising (see below): […]
Show full quote

BEEN_Nath_58 wrote on 2024-08-17, 20:34:

I decided to use ProtonVPN for it. It worked for 3 days well, until today I decided to just change server from Jpn to Ned. Not in the middle of a session, but after just Windows login. Banned!

Unsurprising (see below):

Am I missing something?

Yes: Impossible travel. When users have unexplained impossible travel (that is, their geolocation information changes dramatically, which could indicate they aren't in control of their credentials), they should also check other details such as the device OS and browser info, so when one login from a particular country is with Mac OS and the Safari browser, but other contemporaneous logins were Windows 11 and Edge, the combination of the different location and different architecture is a clear sign something is amiss.

I see that, depending on method used to geolocate, I can get located somewhat accurately, or at my ISPs main servers in Montreal, or at the point where they hook up to US, or even sometimes when using Google's name servers in Cali at google's server farm. It never seems very predictable or repeatable though, I wonder if it's sometimes done with a tracert with number of hops limited, so last hop is taken as "all the way there" when for some reason the route had got bounced around a bit and there were several more hops remaining.