I have a feeling my computer's been IP blocked... (not blaming anyone here)

[Quagbert]

I guess this is the appropriate place to post this...

Alright, lemme explain: every single attempt I've made to access any Bulbagarden sites (these forums, Dogasu's site, any of the Wikis) since this past Friday has resulted in a "connection timed out" error. At first I thought the server was down, but when I mentioned this in the chat, people said they were getting on the sites with no problem. Someone told me to clear my cache, which I did, with no success. I even tried closing and reopening Firefox, restarting my computer, opening Internet Explorer, rebooting on my rarely-used copy of Linux, and resetting my internet connection numerous times attempting to get a different IP address (I keep getting the same one). Right now, I have to use my sister's computer - which shares the same DNS server but has a slightly different IP - to get on, meaning I can't check the forums or Pedia when she's using it.

Now, I think I have an idea why I have this problem: when Zhen Lin mentioned on my Bulbapedia talk page that anyone with FTP access could change the configuration file to control account creation on the Pedia, I downloaded a random FTP program that I found via Google, then tried to log in using my Bulbapedia username and password, to see if I could find this file for future reference. It recognized my username, but kept rejecting my password, and several attempts later I started getting the aforementioned "connection timed out" errors. Apparently the server mistook me for a malicious hacker and blocked my IP address. Finally realizing the mistake I made, I have since deleted the FTP program and begun waiting for this apparent IP block to expire.

Four days later, I've decided to post here (using my sister's computer) hoping to get the attention of someone with the authority to reverse this, so I can go back to checking the Pedia using my own computer, especially now that Zhen Lin has granted me Bureaucrat powers there. I won't post my IP here for privacy reasons, but I'm on both [HASHTAG]#bulbagarden[/HASHTAG] and [HASHTAG]#pocketmonsters[/HASHTAG] on my computer, so anyone on either of those channels can get it.

 

[evkl]

That's actually on our host's end as an antihacker measure, I believe.

We'll have to get in touch with Elixant...

 

[Archaic]

I've actually been blocked in exactly the same way before, when I connected/disconnected repeatedly from our FTP during a short period thanks to an unstable wireless connection.

If this ever happens to you again, you can use a free proxy server (just Google one) to access the forums from your own computer, until we can get Elixant to unblock you.

 

[Zhen Lin]

Now, I think I have an idea why I have this problem: when Zhen Lin mentioned on my Bulbapedia talk page that anyone with FTP access could change the configuration file to control account creation on the Pedia, I downloaded a random FTP program that I found via Google, then tried to log in using my Bulbapedia username and password, to see if I could find this file for future reference. It recognized my username, but kept rejecting my password, and several attempts later I started getting the aforementioned "connection timed out" errors. Apparently the server mistook me for a malicious hacker and blocked my IP address. Finally realizing the mistake I made, I have since deleted the FTP program and begun waiting for this apparent IP block to expire.

It happens every so often. They rarely block more than your specific IP address though, so getting a new one is the fastest way to evade.

Also, I did not mean "everyone has FTP access" - the fact is, few do - but certainly more people than just me.

Four days later, I've decided to post here (using my sister's computer) hoping to get the attention of someone with the authority to reverse this, so I can go back to checking the Pedia using my own computer, especially now that Zhen Lin has granted me Bureaucrat powers there. I won't post my IP here for privacy reasons, but I'm on both [HASHTAG]#bulbagarden[/HASHTAG] and [HASHTAG]#pocketmonsters[/HASHTAG] on my computer, so anyone on either of those channels can get it.[/QUOTE]