paint-brush
How to Avoid an IP Ban with Proxiesby@brightdata
134 reads

How to Avoid an IP Ban with Proxies

by Bright DataOctober 11th, 2024
Read on Terminal Reader
Read this story w/o Javascript

Too Long; Didn't Read

An IP ban means your digital address has been blacklisted. Getting stopped by the “Your IP has been banned!” message usually means you’ve broken the rules or misbehaved. This can be due to manual bans from moderators or automatic bans from anti-bot technologies.
featured image - How to Avoid an IP Ban with Proxies
Bright Data HackerNoon profile picture

“Your IP has been banned!” Ever been hit with that frustrating message? If you have, it’s probably because you were acting up, your bot got caught scraping, or maybe you were just wrongly flagged. Whatever the reason, dealing with an IP ban is a total pain in the 🍑… …unless you’ve got proxies on your side! 🦸


Let’s dive into the world of IP bans, exploring how they work, why they happen, and most importantly, how you can dodge them like Neo!

What's an IP Ban?

You can think of your IP as your home address, but for the Internet. Every time you go online, your IP—whether it is IPv4 or IPv6—tells websites where to send all that sweet data you’re after. But what happens when you act suspiciously or don’t respect your host's rules? Your IP gets banned! 📵


What happens when your IP gets banned


An IP ban means your digital address has been blacklisted. It’s like getting your house added to a “do not deliver” list, meaning the server refuses to communicate with you. Yes, it’s not just your crush—servers can ghost you too! 👻


In our metaphor, it's like the letter carrier deciding, "Nope, not delivering to this house anymore!" 🚫 ✉️ 🚫

But Wait… Why Ban an IP in the First Place?

Getting stopped by the “Your IP has been banned!” message usually means you’ve broken the rules or misbehaved—or at least looked like you did.


Whether it's on websites, gaming servers, community hubs, or mobile apps, if you don’t play by the rules, you could end up blacklisted by an IP ban.


Now, see the two most common scenarios when it comes to getting your IP kicked to the curb. 😬

Manual IP Bans From Moderators

Manual bans happen when a human operator, typically a moderator 👮, notices you're disrespecting the other members on the server— whether it’s cheating, trolling, or flat-out violating community guidelines.


This scenario is common on gaming servers, when using hacks or offensive language in the chat, and on Discord servers, when spamming nonsense in channels. Once moderators decide to kick you out, they can also ban your IP address, making sure you can’t just waltz back in with a different username. 🥸


"It's not me!"


A manual IP ban is like being tossed out of a party by bouncers for causing too much chaos—you’re not welcome anymore. And unlike automatic bans, manual bans come with a personal touch: a mod specifically decided you’re done. 💀

Automatic IP Bans From Servers

Web servers can hit you with automatic IP bans based on algorithms designed to detect bots and malicious users. Here are a few reasons why a server might give you an IP ban:

  • Not complying with rate limiting: If you’re sending too many requests in a short time, your IP might get flagged. 🚩

  • Non-standard HTTP headers: Sending HTTP headers that scream “I’m a bot!” instead of a regular browser? Yeah, that’ll get you banned. Avoid that with our guide on HTTP headers for web scraping.

  • Suspicious behavior: If your automated script acts in ways that are not typical of a human user while browsing the site, you’re on thin ice. 🥶

  • Low IP reputation: If your past actions have earned you a bad reputation—or if you’re using a low-reputation IP from a VPN or server farm—you’re likely to get blocked.


    A low-quality IP from your VPN got you blocked!


Many sites employ bot protection techniques to keep automated software at bay, preventing it from stealing data or ruining the user experience.


Those systems—which include anti-scraping technologies—inspect incoming requests or operate in the background, ready to blacklist problematic IPs without a second thought. 🔍

Your IP Has Been Banned! Now, What?

After seeing the dreaded “Your IP Has Been Banned!” message, don’t panic! Below are a few workarounds you can try:

  1. Just wait: Like that brief stint in Monopoly’s jail, most IP bans are temporary. Waiting a few hours or days can magically restore your IP reputation. Unfortunately, this isn’t always an option… ⏳
  2. Connect to a different network: Switching to another network gives you a new IP. But let’s face it: most households have limited options, usually just Wi-Fi and mobile data. So, this isn’t a foolproof plan! 🛜
  3. Restart your router: If you have a dynamic IP plan from your ISP, restarting your router might grant you a new IP. Just keep in mind that ISPs often assign IPs on a monthly basis, so this stratagem won’t work most of the time. 🔄


For more detailed strategies, follow our dedicated guide on how to bypass an IP ban.


While these tricks are worth a shot, they’re not guaranteed fixes. The real solution to IP bans? Proxy servers!

Why Proxies Are the Ultimate Solution to Avoid an IP Ban

When it comes to avoiding IP bans, proxies are your best friends! 🌟


A proxy server acts as a middleman between your device and the target server. It receives your requests, forwards them to the site, retrieves the response, and sends it back to you.


Schema of how a proxy server works


During this process, the target server only sees the proxy’s IP address, hiding your IP and keeping it safe from bans.

Worried about the proxy’s IP getting banned? No need! 😌


Best proxy providers like Bright Data come with pools of millions of IPs. Specifically, they offer IP rotation, allowing you to continuously cycle through fresh IPs among the proxy network servers.


As highlighted in this video, there are various proxy types, each tailored for specific scenarios:


Check out the proxy services from Bright Data, the leading provider on the market! 🚀

Proxy Integration

Now you might be wondering how to integrate proxies into your HTTP client tool or browser? 🤔 Don’t sweat it! We’ve got you covered with several dedicated tutorials.

Browsers

HTTP Clients

CLI Tools

Scraping Tools

Others

For more guides, explore our proxy integration hub.

Final Thoughts

Now you’ve got the scoop on what an IP ban is, why it happens, and the techniques to avoid it. In the wild world of the Web, proxies are your ultimate shield—keeping you safe from the dreaded blacklist! 🛡️


Searching for a reliable and fast proxy provider with a massive pool of IPs? Look no further than Bright Data! Join us in our mission to make the Internet a public domain accessible to all—even in the face of IP bans. 🌐


Until next time, keep exploring the online sphere with freedom and confidence!