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Geo Blocking

ArtisanRadio · 2025-10-08T01:11:00Z

I've done some work in this area, and thought, given recent topics, that I would summarize some of it. It's actually pretty easy to block entire countries from accessing your website through the Internet, particularly if you have some money to spend. There are various software packages, generally available for a monthly fee, that will do just that. They rely on the fact that IP addresses are assigned on a per country basis, and the monthly fee is partially there to keep the lists up to date. It's a bit harder to do if you don't want to pay those fees, but it can be done. One of the easiest ways, if you have a single Windows server, is to use Advanced Firewall rules. You can either block everything, and then only allow certain IP addresses through, or you can allow everyone through and then block the IP addresses in the countries you don't want. The firewall works in mysterious ways (not really, but sometimes it seems like it does), so if you decide to go that route, you really have to do some homework on how it does work. Sometimes you don't get the results you thought you would. There are various internet security companies that allow you to download IP lists by country for virtually every country - a simple google search can find them. Some will even provide scripts to help you add the firewall rules, although you may have to modify them for your particular needs. Of course, if you don't buy their services, you will have to download the updated lists of IP's periodically for the countries you are interested in, and redo the firewall rules. A bit painful, but I found that these files don't change much and you can probably get away with every 3-6 months. The process can be automated as well. One word of caution when using this approach - you can generate many hundreds of firewall rules for a country such as the U.S., which has hundreds of IP ranges associated with it. The initial connection to a website can experience a delay with these large numbers (after that initial delay everything is fine). When I was testing geo blocks to the Artisan Radio website and stream, allowing only Canadian IP addresses through because of copyright rules, several hundred firewall rules was really no issue with little to no delay. Of course, a potential listener could still get through these firewall rules with a VPN, which makes it look like they are located in Canada. If you want to go a step further, you can always further subscribe to a VPN locator service, which basically knows the IP addresses of all major VPN and TOR servers. Some websites will just block VPN access; others will require you to pass some security check (such as proving you are human - those Cloud Flare captchas are very annoying). A few security paranoid administrators will use services that go way beyond just checking for VPN IP's. There are several, more intrusive (and expensive) methods to do this, all way outside the scope of this post, but they usually involve inspecting the data packets for signs of VPN use. You have to really wanna ban VPN's if you do that, and those methods are usually (but not always), used in countries which heavily restrict internet use. So why would you go through all this? I've seen some of these security companies use the example of hackers primarily being from certain countries, and blocking all IP's from those countries may help stop them. I'm not so sure about that, as I don't know why anyone would want to hack a tiny, micro powered radio station website. Or a Part 15 Forum for that matter. I see it more from a legal and copyright point of view, particularly if you are making public domain material (in your country) potentially available to countries in which it is copyrighted. I've never seen a definitive legal argument about whose responsibility it is to stop that scenario. Some websites such as Librivox warn users that the material they download may not be in the public domain in their country, but you can still download it. Other websites actually block these downloads. Still others do nothing. I took the approach that I would geo block, and when I get things up and running again normally, I still will, but I would ignore VPN's. In the absence of any other information, if someone really wants to access a small website in Canada and listen to public domain material that badly, then they're on their own.

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ArtisanRadio

(@artisan-radio)

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@richpowers I agree.

I also agree with Mark that the best bet moving forward is to ignore the guy.

I've done that as well with a lot of politicians recently.

Funnily enough, I don't miss them.

Posted : 20/10/2025 9:58 am

RichPowers

(@richpowers)

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Posted by: @mark

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. ...

But when we find it so important to see what is over there that we still try to get around the blocking of the website all it does is feeds his ego. Maybe the opposite is what to do so he won't feel so important.

Well that's just the thing.. and I say this with all sincerity.. there is nothing so important to see in his forums nor has there ever been, no exclusive content that's not easily found and commonly discussed elsewhere. Nothing! Absolutely nothing. Never was, isn't now.

It's the audacity of his conviction of excluding the part 15 community in large from his website. Members of Part15.org isn't the only ones to criticize his perspectives, methods and opinions, nor the only place from which members have been banned. The same has been brought up numerous times over the years at the radiodiscussions, antiqueradios, hfunderground, mbcf.boards, and Facebook forums.. Damn, catch a clue Bill, it's not You are right and everyone else is just wrong. Catch a clue, the problem is you.

Try being a part the Part 15 community for a change.. At least try to find out what the Part 15 community is.

I'm certainly not trying to feed his ego, I'm trying to knock it clean out of him, it's a detriment to the part15 community as a whole.. or rather his forum tactics are.

Posted : 20/10/2025 10:03 am

Mark

(@mark)

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@richpowers You asked.....Incidentally, I noticed earlier today our site was down, but ironically I was able to access HB again today.. is it working for everyone else again?

No, just checked and no access here.

Posted : 22/10/2025 1:50 pm

RichPowers

(@richpowers)

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@mark I just checked and it's not working for me anymore now either, but it was working for the better part of the day today, up to at least a couple hours ago. He probably saw my post and reacted by taking a closer look at his settings.

For me access comes and goes all the time, I don't know the reason for it.

Don't worry Bill, keep at it, you'll succeed, not that it serves any benefit to you or anyone else. In fact all it does is instigate more of the deserved ridicule you so much hate to receive. The real solution lies in fixing your own attitude, that's the real problem. We all reap what we sow, you can't control it, you have to accept what you instigate.

I'm actually more enthused at shining a spotlight on your ludicrous nonsense then I am at accessing your site.

This post was modified 7 months ago by RichPowers

Posted : 22/10/2025 2:47 pm

RichPowers

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Enthusiasm is the wrong word, it's not enthusiasm. It's simply my reaction to his methods and actions. I don't enjoy shining a spotlight on anyone's flaws.

Posted : 22/10/2025 3:58 pm

ArtisanRadio

(@artisan-radio)

Posts: 1869

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Topic starter

Bill? Who's Bill? Is that the guy who used to have a website about Part 15 broadcasting...

Posted : 22/10/2025 4:08 pm

RichPowers

(@richpowers)

Posts: 3358

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@artisan-radio lol, right.

You know.. It just occurred to me that it was around March 2020 when the HB forums went subscription based.. , small monthly fee, I suspect he doesn't even implement it but really have no idea, because you see everyone had to re-register before they could enter again but I was denied that option and was instead provided with a 403 for at least a year, but I got the message almost immediately, But that was fine because my last year there was a daily ritual of tip-toeing and holding my breath with every post I made, because he had by then become diligently finding something to edit, criticize, ridicule or his response would just come across as irritated by most every post I made though I was genuinely trying to cater to his nerocicies. I really did try, for several years actually - Eventually I just quit trying. Anyway, by that time I was neither surprised nor concerned over being booted from the realm.

But anyway, what I was going to say, it just occurred to me that my being booted from HB in the first months of 2020 coincide with somehow losing access to my original Google account which includes my part15 lab.blogspot.com (blogspot is Google). Now I'm not insinuating there's any connection - there's not, that's not where I'm going with this at all...

I lost access to both my Part 15 blog and HB at essentially the same time... Does that mean something? Such a strange coincidence.

This post was modified 7 months ago by RichPowers

Posted : 22/10/2025 8:52 pm

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