Spamhaus and Board Access
Posted: Wed Oct 02, 2024 9:10 amWe use a service on the VRRA Forum that has a global blacklist (can I still use that word) of IP addresses that have been reported as being involved in nefarious activity.
The problem with that is that Rogers and Bell “lease” IP addresses. You don’t get a static, dedicated one and it changes every couple of days. You have no idea what the last person did with that IP and it may be flagged. It may be quite innocent as well. If they clicked on a link, it could install malware that uses their PC to send spam.
What’s supposed to happen is that Rogers and Bell (and hence resellers like TekSavvy) are supposed to update that database when they reassign the IP. They haven’t been doing that lately.
The result is that you get an IP address that’s flagged, and the Forum will not give you access so it pops up a screen from Spamhaus
You can self-remove your IP by clicking on the link provided by the board and walking through the steps. I can’t do this for you as the request has to come from the IP address that’s being blocked. This is for security reasons.
This is a great overview of what SpamHaus is and how to self-remove your IP Address
https://www.ipxo.com/blog/remove-ip-fro ... blocklist/
However, for the duration of the election I have disabled the integration with Spamhaus. You may need to clear your browser cache to remove the old page and have the browser re-request it.
I’ll keep it down for as long as I can, but I can already see the Forward Proxy getting hammered as there is now no filtering on these addresses. I’ll put some other stuff in place to try to mitigate it but it’s not going to be as elegant.
I would just ask that if a scammer does manage to get registered on the board, don’t click any links they may post.
The problem with that is that Rogers and Bell “lease” IP addresses. You don’t get a static, dedicated one and it changes every couple of days. You have no idea what the last person did with that IP and it may be flagged. It may be quite innocent as well. If they clicked on a link, it could install malware that uses their PC to send spam.
What’s supposed to happen is that Rogers and Bell (and hence resellers like TekSavvy) are supposed to update that database when they reassign the IP. They haven’t been doing that lately.
The result is that you get an IP address that’s flagged, and the Forum will not give you access so it pops up a screen from Spamhaus
You can self-remove your IP by clicking on the link provided by the board and walking through the steps. I can’t do this for you as the request has to come from the IP address that’s being blocked. This is for security reasons.
This is a great overview of what SpamHaus is and how to self-remove your IP Address
https://www.ipxo.com/blog/remove-ip-fro ... blocklist/
However, for the duration of the election I have disabled the integration with Spamhaus. You may need to clear your browser cache to remove the old page and have the browser re-request it.
I’ll keep it down for as long as I can, but I can already see the Forward Proxy getting hammered as there is now no filtering on these addresses. I’ll put some other stuff in place to try to mitigate it but it’s not going to be as elegant.
I would just ask that if a scammer does manage to get registered on the board, don’t click any links they may post.