Boonetown Posted May 19, 2006 Share Posted May 19, 2006 Can someone enlighten me on the extent of the IP address blocking when set in Cpanel. Here's my situation. My guestbook for my website is being filled by some people in South Korea (SK) with free ring tone entries. Every entry has a different IP address to it but all originate from SK. Instead of blocking each IP address, which could keep me busy for sometime, I have blocked an IP address that I believe is the entry point for all traffic from SK. I did a trace route and found one IP address that was common in all traces. This IP address is the hop just before entering the USA. Have I shut off the whole country of SK, or at least a large part of it? I don't mind that I have shut out SK and I'll only block long enough for them to get the idea that they are wasting their time. Thx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCH-Bruce Posted May 19, 2006 Share Posted May 19, 2006 Welcome to the forums Boonetown. Instead of banning an IP range or router somewhere you should update your guestbook with better spam controls. By either upgrading to the most recent version of what ever guestbook program you are using or switch to a guestbook that offers a CAPTCHA before an entry is accepted. Or a moderated guestbook where you need to approve the comment before it's added. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCH-Thomas Posted May 19, 2006 Share Posted May 19, 2006 Welcome to the forum, Boonetown. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abinidi Posted May 19, 2006 Share Posted May 19, 2006 Welcome to the forum, Boonetown. I think that Bruce's advice is good. The problem with banning IP address ranges or whatever, is that there are always more spammers coming from somewhere else. You can block these guys today, but then what to do tomorrow when somebody else starts attacking. You're always playing catch-up and never really get ahead of the problem. The best treatment for a disease isn't the one that just numbs the pain after the fact, but the one that erradicates the disease. If you really want a guestbook on your site, try one that uses some Spam control including Capatcha or Askimet (or something like that). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCH-Don Posted May 19, 2006 Share Posted May 19, 2006 Welcome to the forums Boonetown The guestbook in cpanel is not the best. You may want to look at Lazarus Guestbook which is a rewrite of the advanced guestbook with spam controls including moderation. And you can keep your current entries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gail Posted May 19, 2006 Share Posted May 19, 2006 Hi All, Hope you don't mind if I ask a question in this thread. I use the Viper Guestbook - moderated mode. Is there a big difference between Viper and the Lazarus Guestbook? Don - I think perhaps you have used both. I do get spam although certainly not a lot compared to the amount some people get. It is just a nuisance to reject the few entries each day. Also, would I be able to copy the entries in Viper to Lazarus? I have been curious about Viper vs. Lazarus for a long time. I also agree banning IP addresses doesn't work. Thanks kindly. Gail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boonetown Posted May 20, 2006 Author Share Posted May 20, 2006 Thanks for all the comments and suggestions. I'm using the Viper Guestbook from the Fantastico scripts. I did not know, at the time, that Viper was vunerable to spam and unfortuanately I'm to far into it to back out and use a different guest book or other option. I've just looked at Capatcha and Akismet as per your suggestion and don't know a way of incorporating either into the Viper Guestbook. Unless there is a way to transfer all entries from Viper to another guestbook that supports anti-spam I will be forced to block IP addresses for the time being. My guestbook will only be used during the months of April thru June so at the end of June I can look into something different. My original question does seem to be unanswered. Am I effectively blocking the whole country of South Korea if I block an IP address that is the last hop before entering the USA? Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCH-Don Posted May 20, 2006 Share Posted May 20, 2006 You can set Viper to moderate the entries and wait for your approval. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCH-Don Posted May 20, 2006 Share Posted May 20, 2006 Gail, I don't think there is a way to import viper entries into Lazarus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TweezerMan Posted May 20, 2006 Share Posted May 20, 2006 My original question does seem to be unanswered. Am I effectively blocking the whole country of South Korea if I block an IP address that is the last hop before entering the USA? I would think not. The IP banning in CPanel looks at the IP address of the machine that orginated the message. It does not matter what IP addresses (machines / servers / routers / etc.) the message had to pass through to get to you. I don't know what South Korea's internet infrastructure is like, but I imagine that the IP address you're talking about is a national ISP or backbone node. Unless the messages were initiated from that IP address, banning that IP address wouldn't gain you anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gail Posted May 20, 2006 Share Posted May 20, 2006 Thank you Don for your response. I am thankful that Viper has a moderated mode - at least the spam doesn't reach my Guestbook. Gail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCH-Thomas Posted May 20, 2006 Share Posted May 20, 2006 Just a note on the Viper Guestbook. This guestbook is as far as I know not going to be updated anymore (ie the author shut down the project), so to keep your guestbook up to date, you should look for another guestbook script. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boonetown Posted May 20, 2006 Author Share Posted May 20, 2006 David, thanks. That is exactly what I was wondering. I'll be switching over to another guestbook after June. I found one that looks pretty good. Has anyone used Gbook by PHPJunkyard? It also has a flooding mode as well as anti-spam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTD Posted May 20, 2006 Share Posted May 20, 2006 Gail, I don't think there is a way to import viper entries into Lazarus. I think carbonize. Has it on the burner to make a script to be able to add entries from viper to Lazarus. But I am not real sure on this. You might want to go here and check it out and ask questions. Lazarus Forums Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gail Posted May 20, 2006 Share Posted May 20, 2006 Thanks JTD. I shall do that when I get a chance. I actually have downloaded and installed Lazarus on my computer (XAMPP) but I haven't had much time to look at it. I have been thinking of switching for awhile - sadly, I had spent a fair bit of time editing one of the themes for Viper so it is like the rest of my site. That is one reason I hate to switch but I know sooner or later I will have to. I do realize the chap who was working on the Viper project has dropped it. It would be nice if the Viper entries could be imported into Lazarus. Are you out there Carbonize? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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