Is your IP banned on a platform and you are looking for a workaround method to keep accessing the platform? Then you are on the right as we would describe some of the best methods to bypass IP ban.
Each device connected to the Internet has the IP address tech to thank for being connected to the Internet for two main reasons. First, IP addresses are the means of identification in a network and also serve as the protocols interface without which no communication in a network.
However, while IPs are good inventions, their unique nature could be a problem for you on the Internet as they are meant to identify and track you. One of the adverse effects of these is that a platform will ban your IP address if it does not want you to access it.
But what is an IP ban, what are the reasons your IP address could get banned and what are the walk-around methods to evade such a ban? These and many more of the questions surrounding the IP address ban will be discussed in this article. In the end, you will learn how to keep accessing a platform despite your IP address having been blocked in the past.
What is an IP Address Ban?
IP ban otherwise known as IP address ban, or IP block is a scenario whereby a platform blacklists your IP address to prevent further requests from going through. This is usually done as a punishment for going against their term of usage, or as a precaution to prevent access from certain regions. Whoever is the case, except you are able to deal with an IP ban that had been imposed on your IP address, you won’t be able to access the platform that placed that on you.
Fortunately, this is not too common, especially for the regular web user. It is more common against Internet marketers, spammers, and scammers. However, there are times it could happen to a regular Internet user.
Major Reasons for IP Ban
What are the major reasons why an IP address gets banned? There are a good number of reasons why an IP address gets banned. Below are some of the popular reasons.
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Web Scraping and other Forms of Automation
The easiest way to get your IP address banned is by using a bot on a platform. Most websites do not support automated access to their platforms and can easily detect such with IP request frequency. Once you cross the threshold allowed, you are blocked from further accessing the platform.
It is for this reason that most web scrapers and bot operators use proxies together with their bots. Your real IP address will get blocked in no time if you try botting any website with it. By using proxies, you get as many IP addresses as you need to hide the footprint that you are using a bot to access the platform.
Read more, How to Scrape a Website and Never Get Blacklisted & Blocked
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Managing Multiple Accounts
Most websites that require user login have a rule for users — it’s one personal account per user. While they could allow a user to use manage 2, when a user starts managing 3 and more at the same time, then there is a problem. Usually, the punishment for this is the banning of the account.
However, it does not stop there — they make sure your IP address is also blocked. This way, you won’t be able to create another account on the same machine again. When this is done, you will n need to change your device IP address first before thinking of creating another account as all further created accounts will also get blocked immediately.
Read more, Instagram IP Ban? Guide to Using Instagram Despite IP Block!
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Spamming or Other Related Offences
Another sure way to get your IP address banned is by spamming. Whether you are indiscriminately sending messages to too many people or advertising your products aggressively on a forum, all of these are seen as spam. And spamming, whether done for commercial, political, or social reasons is prohibited.
The way websites prevent you from further spamming on their platforms is by blocking your IP address. Aside from spamming, scamming, trolling and other activities that go against terms of usage of sites will get your IP address banned.
Read more, Why the Harvester on Your ScrapeBox Isn’t Working
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Web Content Geofencing
Sometimes, your IP is banned from accessing a site or content on the Internet not because you did something wrong. But because you are visiting from an unsupported region. There are sites that are meant for users from specific countries. If you try visiting from an unsupported region, you will discover you have been blocked.
And this case, one million IPs from your current location will not help you — all you need is to use an IP address from a supported region and you will be granted access. Doing this is easier than you think as you have the option of using proxies with IPs from a supported region.
Learn more, Best Telegram Proxies of 2023 – Proxy to Unblock Telegram restrictions
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Other Reasons
Another reason that could get your IP address banned is by using a blacklisted IP address or one provided by a network that is considered spammy. Nowadays because of the proliferation of mobile devices, IP addresses are being dynamically assigned. This means that you could get assigned an already abused IP by the previous user. If you try using the IP address on the platform that blacklists it, then you will get banned.
In some cases, blocks are just a product of false alarms. Most websites use one form of anti-spam and anti-fraud system or the other. While these are effective, there are instances where they could raise a false alarm and that will get your IP address banned.
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How to Fix IP address Ban
Make no mistake about it, an IP address as simple as it is can be lethal. If you are a victim of this type of ban on a website, then you need to fix it in other to continue accessing the website. In this section, let’s take a look at some of the methods to fix IP address bans.
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Use Proxies
Proxies are intermediate servers that seat between your computer and web servers on the Internet. This server replaces your IP address with an arbitrary one, thereby masking your real IP address. The power of proxies lies in the fact that you can get as many IP addresses as you require from tens of thousands rot millions of IP addresses. For this reason, proxies are meant for tasks that require many IP addresses or the change of IP addresses frequent.
Proxies are used mostly by coders and Internet marketers. They are the IP masking tools used in web scraping and all kinds of automation. When choosing the proxies to use, there are about 4 types available to you based on the source of the IP address. First are datacenter proxies that use IPs from hosting services.
Residential proxies use the IP addresses of regular Internet users assigned to them by Internet Service Providers (ISPs). For ISP proxies or static residential proxies, the IPs are gotten directly from ISPs. Mobile proxies use IP addresses assigned by Mobile Network Operators (MNOs).
In all of these, the proxies that are the best in terms of common ground between affordability and undetectability are the residential proxies. And they have become the most used proxies in the market. Some of the best providers of proxies include Bright Data, Smartproxy, Soax, MyPrivateProxy, and Proxy-Seller.
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Use of VPN
Another tool to use to fix your IP ban issue is a VPN software. VPNs are a lot more like proxies as they also serve s intermediary servers through which your requests are routed in other to hide your real IP address. However, there are some key differences.
First, a VPN work from the system level forcing all of your web requests via the VPN server. This is different from proxies that work from an application level. There is also the issue of traffic and data encryption you get from a VPN. However, they are considered generally slower than proxies and you are required to install a VPN software in other to use one.
VPN software are more mainstream and used by individuals than proxies. Most users of VPN use VPNs for privacy concerns. They are also used to unblock websites and stream entertainment content they are blocked from accessing. There are a good number of VPN vendors out there but you get into the wrong hands.
To avoid such, you can stick to the tested and trusted solution that will ensure your security and privacy while maintaining performance. ExpressVPN, SurfShark, and NordVPN are our recommended VPN vendors.
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Use The Tor Browser
The Tor Browser is a web browser that anonymizes your web traffic and masks your IP address using the Tor Network. The Onion Reuter (TOR) is a network of volunteer computers known as nodes that are meant to serve as an intermediary and exit node in the network. If one is using the Tor browser, his web requests are routed via multiple nodes before leaving the tor network to the intended website.
This is done to remove any form of an identifiable trace. This method is the method used by those looking for the highest level of anonymity and the de facto method in the dark web. As someone looking to avoid getting his IP address banned, this might be overkill but it does work. Unlike proxies and VPN software described above that you need to spend money on, the Tor network is maintained by volunteers and as such, completely free.
However, there is the issue of the bad neighborhood effect since the tor network has become the tool of bad actors on the web. There is also the issue of being slow because of the rerouting of web requests involved. You can learn more about the Tor Browser and Network from the Tor Project.
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Contact Your ISP
Your IP address is assigned by your Internet Service Provider (ISP). If you get your IP address banned on a website and you need to get another, you can contact your ISP. Most ISPs will change your IP address upon request. In some cases, you do not even need to contact your ISP as in the case of dynamically assigned IP addresses.
Mobile Network operators (MNOs) do not assign static IPs to users as the number of IP addresses available to them is not up to the number of devices requesting for them. So, IPs are dynamically assigned. If you switch off your device overnight, there is a high chance your ISP will retrieve the IP address back in their pool and assign it to another device. By the time you switch ON your device, you get a different IP address assigned to you.
For non-responding ISPs, this is the method to use to get your IP address replaced. The only major problem you will have to deal with in this method is that your real IP address is still being exposed and will also get banned in no time if you continue what led to the IP ban in the first place.
FAQs About IP Ban
Q. Will Changing Your IP address Fix IP Ban Issues?
The methods recommended above will change your IP address but will that solve the problem? It depends. You see, the methods are better used as preventive measures so you don’t get banned in the first place. But when this happens, you will most likely need more than just changing your IP address.
This is because websites do not just ban your IP address, they place cookies and other identifiable objects in your browser and client software to identify you as a banned user. You will need to clear your cache and cookies. In some instances, your browser fingerprint is also used to identify you which will warrant the change of browser or the use of an antidetect browser.
Q. Can Websites Detect Proxies and VPNs?
There are tools developed which websites use for detecting proxies and like tools like VPN and TOR. These devices are actually effective but against low-quality proxies and VPNs. Known proxy nodes are also detectable with these tools. However, if you make use of high-quality proxies and VPNs, it will be highly difficult for these tools to detect you are making use of proxies and VPNs.
The effectiveness of the anti-spam systems of websites in detecting the use of proxies and VPNs varies depending on the tool they use. But generally, no matter how effective they are, there is a proxy or VPN that can evade them.
Q. Is it Illegal to Fix IP Ban Issues?
IP ban issues are a way websites shut their door to you. But is trying to circumvent the block an illegal thing to do? While a website does not like you to visit it, doing so is not illegal. The use of proxies and VPNs to evade IP bans and blocks is completely legal in most regions of the world.
I am not a legal practitioner and nothing I say or write should be taken as legal advice. Seek the advice of a competent legal practitioner in your region to know the legality of bypassing IP ban issues in your region.
Conclusion
IP ban issues might look like small issues but they can be lethal and effective.
This is true as most websites do not just ban your IP address but also record details about your device and place cookies in your browser which will make just changing or faking your IP address ineffective.
So, the best thing to do is to prevent the ban in the first place. If it happens, you will need to clear cookies and cache together with changing your IP address for it to work.
