Unable to access 914World from outside the US, Only a US VPN currently works Options

[chmillman]

Hi there,

Was off for a couple of weeks on a motorcycle tour and now that I'm back, I can no longer access the World from Europe (Switzerland). I am able to write this because I am currently logged into a US-based VPN. Other VPNs located outside the US don't work either... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/hissyfit.gif) I can't stay on this all the time because I need to be 'local' for a bunch of other stuff. This has been going on for several days now.

The message I get is:
403 Forbidden Access is Denied
You do not have permission to view this directory or page using the credentials you supplied


I know we've been having various kinds of DDoS attacks recently but something on defense changed in the last couple of weeks and legitimate (paid) users (me in any case) are now being screened out. HELP!

@SirAndy

[GregAmy]

SirAndy made it clear in the DDoS thread: attacks were coming via various VPN sites so he's disabled their access to 914World.

You'll need to disable that VPN to access here (or change to another VPN site).

EDIT: http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?s=&...t&p=3268965

[chmillman]

SirAndy made it clear in the DDoS thread: attacks were coming via various VPN sites so he's disabled their access to 914World.

You'll need to disable that VPN to access here (or change to another VPN site).

EDIT: http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?s=&...t&p=3268965

Re-read my message - I am unable to access the site unless I am logged in to a US VPN. Normally I do not want or need use a VPN, I am only using it temporarily as it's the only way I found to be able to make a post here. @SirAndy is not only blocking some Europe VPNs, he is apparently blocking legitimate ISPs in Europe also... I am using Switzerland's largest ISP - the (original) phone company Swisscom. No VPN.

[GregAmy]

Re-read my message...

Re-read that link:

"Unfortunately, that might also block legit users that happen to be routed through the same endpoints, even if they aren't using a VPN themselves."

[chmillman]

Re-read my message...

Re-read that link:

"Unfortunately, that might also block legit users that happen to be routed through the same endpoints, even if they aren't using a VPN themselves."

Lovely... So basically that's saying "Get lost!"

Then it's time to rename '914World' to '914America' - the word 'World' has no business being in the site name anymore.

[Superhawk996]

Re-read my message...

Re-read that link:

"Unfortunately, that might also block legit users that happen to be routed through the same endpoints, even if they aren't using a VPN themselves."

Lovely... So basically that's saying "Get lost!"

Then it's time to rename '914World' to '914America' - the word 'World' has no business being in the site name anymore.

I understand the frustration but when you get down to it, we all ought to be using VPN for a multitude of privacy and security reasons. Is it that much to ask to use the VPN to get a US based endpoint?

Let’s face facts. This site is a passion project that is kept online by less than a handful of guys. The software is ancient. The audience is largely old guys like me that will be lucky if we are still above ground in 10-20 years.

I don’t think anyone is intentionally saying get lost. They have simply resorted to limiting ISPs and IP address blocks where the attacks originate from. We all miss the site when it goes down but at the same time, Sir Andy and the moderators don’t have the luxury of migrating this to a high dollar cloud hosted platform that isn’t economically viable.