I've been banned from EEVBlog IRC :'(

[Ysjoelfir]

Ampera, what have you done? 
Or did I do something wrong? 

[thinkfat]

Your IP is listed in SORBS. I don't think you got personally banned, just your current IP (I'm assuming you're using a DSL uplink or something else with a dynamic pool of IP addresses attached) was banned. Try forcing your router to reconnect, maybe you get a new IP address that is not listed in a DNS blackhole service.

[Nusa]

The error message tells you why, if you only knew what Z-Lined meant (google it), DNSBL meant (google it) or used the link provided to check your IP address.

Short story, the IP address you were using is on a spam list that's being checked. Doesn't mean it was your fault, but that's what is happening regardless.

If your ISP assigns dynamic addresses, you'll probably get another one assigned soon enough. Especially if you turn off your modem for a while.

[Halcyon]

This wasn't a ban specifically targeted at you personally. Austnet (like most other large IRC services) are frequently subject to abuse and individuals seeking to troll and make a general menace of themselves.

Austnet blocks a number of IP addresses which are commonly used by malicious users and one of the sources used is SORBS.

If this IP address belongs to your ISP (and not a proxy/VPN service) it's possible whoever used that IP address before you either was up to no good or they had devices infected with malware which were sending out spam, participating in a botnet etc...

[Ysjoelfir]

Thanks, I found out why. Ampera just hates me because I'm a filthy kraut :-D


Didn't know about SORBS before and I usually don't like services that force me to register to view information, which is why I didn't investigate further. So I just wait for a new IP
Is that a "new-ish" thing? Back in my early IRC days I did never see such ban lists.

[Halcyon]

Is that a "new-ish" thing? Back in my early IRC days I did never see such ban lists.

Not really. Ban lists have been around for a long time. A lot of them were designed to counter spam emails. Not unlike the various DNS block lists around today.

In terms of IRC, many servers maintained their own banned lists, I know a lot of them block known proxy/VPN ranges.

[T3sl4co1l]

Welcome to message the admins, damian and gremlinz among others I think?, though I don't think they care very much tbh.

Tim

[thinkfat]

Thanks, I found out why. Ampera just hates me because I'm a filthy kraut :-D


Didn't know about SORBS before and I usually don't like services that force me to register to view information, which is why I didn't investigate further. So I just wait for a new IP
Is that a "new-ish" thing? Back in my early IRC days I did never see such ban lists.

FWIW, Freenode requires to register your nick AND do SASL auth before you're allowed to enter. Using a DNSBL is a blunt weapon in comparison.

[Ampera]

lol, SASL.

That's a step above austnet's technology, I've been asking for it for ages, so I don't have to use their "chanop" bot to re-identify whenever it boots me off my reserved nick.

Welcome to message the admins, damian and gremlinz among others I think?, though I don't think they care very much tbh.

It's taken them days just to get TLS certs working, so I'm not transmitting stuff like passwords over plaintext.

[Halcyon]

lol, SASL.

That's a step above austnet's technology, I've been asking for it for ages, so I don't have to use their "chanop" bot to re-identify whenever it boots me off my reserved nick.

I just use a short script in my client to do that on-connect.

It's taken them days just to get TLS certs working, so I'm not transmitting stuff like passwords over plaintext.

Don't forget, this is IRC where most things transmitted on the network as plain text. If you're using the same password on IRC as you are for other services, then you're doing security wrong. Ideally, you should never recycle passwords.