My Wife's iPad has been banned ... I 'm puzzled.

[fastpedaller]

When we are away from home I sometimes use my Wife's iPad for internet searches etc. A few days ago I looked at Cycling UK forum and was able to just look at areas of interest to me (generally the tech section). A couple of days later I looked again to find a message along the lines of "This IP address has been permanently banned from using this forum". Although it's no big deal, I wonder what happened to prompt this action, and if a mistake has been made?
To add more 'evidence' if needed a) I was using the iPad as a 'casual user' and not logged in as my usual 'fastpedaller' ID. b) As I wasn't logged in I clearly didn't post any messages c) I don't believe my Wife has a login for the site (although she may think I spend too much cashon bikes LOL)
Is there a 'default ban' if someone views the forum 'casually' ie doesn't log in but just views?
I don't know how to find the IP address of my Wife's iPad, but if this is required I can of course provide it (But may need some guidance to find it as I have limited tech knowledge)
regards, Martin (Fastpedaller)

[slowster]

An increasing number of IP addresses used by spammers and the like have been blocked. Most of these, but not all, are from servers outside Europe and are VPNs used by spammers to conceal themselves.

At the time was the iPad connected to the internet using third party wifi? If so, it's probably the third party's IP addresses that have been blocked, because they have also been used by spammers.

[Pebble]

just type
"What is my IP"
into google (or whatever search engine you use)

[fastpedaller]

An increasing number of IP addresses used by spammers and the like have been blocked. Most of these, but not all, are from servers outside Europe and are VPNs used by spammers to conceal themselves.

At the time was the iPad connected to the internet using third party wifi? If so, it's probably the third party's IP addresses that have been blocked, because they have also been used by spammers.

I was using our Daughter's home internet. Is there any way I can check is anyone else has 'used' the IP address. Now we are home again I'll try to read the forum using the iPad.

[Paulatic]

Were you using Safari?
For a couple of days there were times I couldn’t log in or IP not found messages.
I’d then try with DuckDuckGo and get in no problem.

Everything OK now

[fastpedaller]

Yes, Using Safari. I just tried it at home and it still says "A ban has been issued on your IP address. I don't think we can use anything other than Safari (that's what Wife says it uses), so I won't fiddle with it unless I break it even more

[admin]

An IP address is associated with an internet connection, not a specific device like your iPad - the iPad will usually have a different IP addresses depending on the internet connection it's using at the time.

Could it be that your iPad is connecting to the internet via a mobile phone network?

Or is your iPad using a VPN for security (something like NordVPN, ExpressVPN, or Surfshark?).

To help to diagnose this problem, please could you use your iPad and type "What is my IP address?" into Safari/Google search?

[slowster]

I was using our Daughter's home internet

If you send me a PM with her IP address, I will be able to advise further.

In the meantime, I have started a new thread to explain in more detail how and why this may happen and for further general discussion of the subject - viewtopic.php?t=163662, while we use this thread to deal with the specifics of fastpedaller's case.

[fastpedaller]

Thanks for all the advice and guidance - It looks like the reason has been identified! My Wife has a VPN in use (Is that the correct description?) which collects info for an IPSOS survey. I'm afraid tech has left me behind somewhat! I still have something which I've found out recently is called a 'dumbphone'

[admin]

Aha, that'll be it.

A VPN is a "Virtual Private Network" - instead of connecting to the internet directly, you connect via a VPN server, which then, in turn, connects to the internet.

Normal connection:

You <——(public network)——> The Internet

VPN connection:

You <——(Virtual Private Network)——> VPN Server <——(public network)——> The Internet

(Where the bold items can see each other.)

VPNs were originally used to allow people to connect to their office networks even when they were somewhere else, the office network being made available "virtually" by routing encrypted network traffic over the internet.

VPNs are now also used for bypassing internet blocks (e.g. accessing blocked computers from within countries that limit internet access), pretending to be in a different country (e.g. to access content only available in another country), for security (e.g. NordVPN does checks on what you're connecting to, and keeps your location and identity secret), and for remotely accessing computers you have at home.

Spammers sometimes use VPNs to bypass country-of-origin blocks that some websites, including this Forum, have. Hence some VPN IP addresses are blocked here, because of spammer abuse.