TheFactoryFiveForum.com support thread

[Saul S]

Just jumped on board with lifetime silver membership, time to give back.

Thanks Dave!

Saul

[David Hodgkins]

Thanks Saul! I’ll update your account before the end of the day.

[RBachman]

Usually trying to open the page to the site is hit-and miss with "server not responding" errors more often than anything else. Even when I do get logged in, it frequently locks up. So I just signed up for Supporting Member thinking that would somehow improve access to this site. But now I get a pop-up page saying you've blocked my IP address when trying to post an image. This does not happen on any other website or forum I visit. It only happens with this forum and it happens with all 5 of our computers (Mac, Windows, HP, Dell, etc.), 2-tablets, our phones, etc. But never with any other site. What gives? Is there a setting somewhere that I need to change? I've deleted cookies, opened the firewalls, re-booted, etc. numerous times. What else do I try?

[Joe Campbell]

When I tried to open the site today, my antivirus (Trend Micro) halted it with a potential malicious warning, with a threat type of 'C&C Server' whatever that is, just for the admin's info.

[RBachman]

I still have a hard time trying to log on as well. It's literally 1 out of 10 to 15 attempts.

[Jammer369]

Usually trying to open the page to the site is hit-and miss with "server not responding" errors more often than anything else. Even when I do get logged in, it frequently locks up. So I just signed up for Supporting Member thinking that would somehow improve access to this site. But now I get a pop-up page saying you've blocked my IP address when trying to post an image. This does not happen on any other website or forum I visit. It only happens with this forum and it happens with all 5 of our computers (Mac, Windows, HP, Dell, etc.), 2-tablets, our phones, etc. But never with any other site. What gives? Is there a setting somewhere that I need to change? I've deleted cookies, opened the firewalls, re-booted, etc. numerous times. What else do I try?

Sorry I didn't see this before. The issue is almost certainly the cloud based firewall the hosting site is using to protect the site. I have had the exact same issue for the past year that I have been back on the forums getting ready for my order. I am a Cyber Security guy for my adult post USAF job and manage firewalls for a living. The particular company of firewalls they are using is called Sucuri. You can google "Sucuri blocking my ip address" and come up with a ton of posts stating the same thing. I contacted Sucuri and they confirmed they are blocking my ip address after I have been on for anything more than 20 minutes or so. The system is very sensitive and comes up with false positives that then automatically block you for 20-30 minutes. You can confirm this is the issue by switching to a hotspot on your phone which will use a different ip address and the site should let you back on right away.

A lot of people will tell you this is an issue with too much traffic and the site can't handle it. Not the case. Firewalls are designed to block IP addresses without warning the person trying to connect so they won't know why they can't connect. This is by design.

The way to get around this issue is to type in to a google search "What is my IP address". The search results will tell you what IP address your ISP has assigned to you. Now, unless you pay for what is called a static IP address, that address can change from time to time but in general, you should have the same address for up to a few months before it changes if it does change at all. You can then send a message to David Hodgkins and ask him to have the hosting site "whitelist" your ip address. If this works, great. If your ip address changes very often, you can call your ISP to see how much they would charge you to assign you a static IP address. Usually for a residential account, the fee is ~$10-$20/mo.

I just went through this process last night with David emailing me today that my IP address is whitelisted. For the first time in a year, I was now able to surf the site all night without interruption. It was awesome!!

Let me know if you have any questions otherwise just reach out to David.

Troy

[Jammer369]

Hi David,

Thanks for everything you do for this community. Just signed up for a silver annual this year. Will upgrade next year to the lifetime. I love this site, especially now that I can surf it obsessively without interruption

Troy