Firewall IP Block

A firewall is a security system that allows the server to block dangerous and unauthorised access, it protects and allows legitimate communications to pass. Due to security reasons, we have installed a firewall on our servers with ConfigServer Security & Firewall or 'CSF', which is used for increased server security to block IPs based on suspicious behaviour, like trying to log in with a failing password too many times within a certain timeframe.

Sometimes you find out that your websites are inaccessible. More than that, you are not able to access Mail, Web, FTP or Control Panel services, while others may very well access these services.
The links to your cPanel(http://serverIP/cpanel and http://cpanel.domain.com) show an error message like server connection timed out, the site cannot be reached, the connection was reset, the site could be temporarily unavailable or too busy. You tried all of the URLs and still got one of these messages, most likely, your external IP address was blocked by our firewall and you need to contact support to unblock your IP.

First, you need to check if your server is up and running. Please visit our status page to see if there are any known technical issues. If the server is running normally, most likely, your external IP address was blocked by Firewall.

Some events, such as repeated login attempts with incorrect credentials from within the cPanel, webmail, email client, FTP/SSH and PortScan activity could be the reason for the blocks. Let's figure out how these could be avoided and resolved when the issue presents itself

The number of failed cPanel login attempts has been exceeded

When you were not able to log into cPanel for the first time, please do not try to log in as many times as possible. Continuous failed attempts can get your IP blocked. To avoid that, use auto-login options in the Verpex account or check your login details in the Welcome Email that was sent to the registered email account linked with the hosting package. Otherwise, feel free to reset your cPanel password

POP3/IMAP/SMTP or Webmail Connection Failed

In addition to securing access to cPanel, the firewall also prevents unauthorized access to the mail service

1. Blocked due to failed attempts to access webmail

If you are having difficulty accessing your webmail and therefore cPanel and webmail are no longer available, you have probably activated, most likely you have triggered a similar IP block for email access.

2. Block due to failed POP3/IMAP login attempts

If you start receiving errors of IMAP/POP3 failed authentication in your email client, then it is possible that login credentials for the email account are incorrect. In this case, the email client will not stop trying to access the mail server which may also result in a permanent IP block.

3. Blocked due to failed SMTP connection attempts

This kind of block occurs when SMTP authentication is invalid so you can’t send mail from the email client Make sure that SMTP login is your email address, and the correct password. Once your IP address has been unblocked, consider resetting your password if you are still unable to log in. You can do it in your cPanel account on the Email accounts page >> Manage option.

FTP/SSH Login Failed

The web owner has an FTP client set with a very high number of simultaneous connections. Incorrect configuration of email client and FTP client (for example FileZilla) leads the firewall to think it is a brute force attack. If there are many users in your network and they are accessing the Internet from an external IP address, make sure they are not reconnecting frequently using an FTP or email client . Connection requests from an IP address can trigger the firewall to block the IP address. You can change the maximum number of concurrent FileZilla connections for each site you connect to as follows:

1. Start the FileZilla FTP program and navigate to Edit -> Settings
2. In the left side menu on the Settings window, you should see the Transfers option. Click on it.
3. Under Concurrent transfers, you have the "Maximum simultaneous transfers:", followed by a text box with a numeric value. Make sure the number is 3 or less. It is recommended to keep this value at 1 if possible, as having multiple connections will slow down your uploads in the long run. If the value is greater than 3, you may get blocked.

4. Press the "OK" button and exit FileZilla. Then, restart it again for the changes to take effect.

Incorrect Email Client Settings

Mail client settings can also cause IP blocking, so if you're having trouble setting up an email client, it's best to remove the email account from the email client and try again.

Failed web page login
It occurs when there is an authentication form or a secure directory on the website. Please make sure you use the correct login information. Otherwise, there is a chance for your IP to get blocked.

WordPress Incorrect Password

Repeated attempts to login to your website admin area (e.g. WordPress backend) with the wrong username and password combination.

Unauthorized Country IP

For security reasons, the firewall blocks IP addresses from certain countries.

PortScanning

Attempts to scan server ports are detected as suspicious because they are often used by hackers to detect possible vulnerabilities. Port scanning is an attack that sends client requests to a range of server port addresses on a host with the goal of finding an active port and exploiting a known vulnerability in this service. To avoid this, make sure your clients are configured not to constantly attempt to scan a server's ports.

Quick Fix for cPanel IP blocking Issues

If your IP address has been blocked, you can ask our support to unblock it. All you have to do is to open a support ticket and provide us with your IP address using a tool like whatismyip.com.