VPN and ar-15.com

[Doubleajaybrock]

When ever my Surfshark VPN is on, I cannot access this site.

I usually use my VPN when I?m using available WiFi networks that like to block firearms websites and I can still access them regardless to what they say, but not on here, why is that?

[cableguy11]

I always wonder why so many sites/companies block you from using a VPN. With all this talk of security and being safe on the internet its crazy that they do not allow you to protect yourself.

[def90]

I always wonder why so many sites/companies block you from using a VPN. With all this talk of security and being safe on the internet its crazy that they do not allow you to protect yourself.

Makes it harder for trolls/bots/bad actors to create and use multiple accounts among other things.

[thedave1164]

you do know VPN's are not secure, right?

just sayin

[Scanker19]

I’m not technically minded, but isn’t the point of the VPN lost if the website knows you’re using one?

[theGinsue]

Not sure whats causing the specific issue for the OP, but...

We're hit with new spam accounts every day. In an effort to keep the site secure and keep the spammers off of the site, we block IP's regularly (daily!). I won't go into the details, but we do make an effort to prevent, or at least limit the impact these blocks have on our existing and potential future legitimate members. I'll add, if you're using a VPN to access the site, you need to use IP's from within the CONUS as foreign IP's are blocked more readily and much more broadly than CONUS IP's.

For any potential new members signing up: Before signing up, turn off your VPN as we'll be checking where you claim to be coming from against where your IP says you're coming from. If these don't match, your account will be rejected/deleted.

you do know VPN's are not secure, right?

just sayin

BINGO! The way VPN's are sold off to folks is that they're somehow some magical security tool for traversing the web. Reality is that they're just a re-direction tool, masking where you're physically located. Law enforcement and intelligence entities have tools that can trace most traffic, even if using multiple VPN's, back to the original point of origin. VPN's are like magicians/illusionists who use misdirection - if you know how the trick is performed, you can see right through it.

I'm also always in awe of how many people (most everyone these days) are happy to give access to their data to 3rd parties by using "the cloud". People think "the cloud" is some magical fairyland place that their data is stored when reality is "the cloud" is simply someone else's server. When you allow your data to reside in "the cloud", you can access it from most anywhere you have internet access, but whoever's server it's sitting on can also access it and, technically, it's their data which they're free to do with as they please (all cloud providers sell heuristic information pulled from your "cloud" data for marketing, etc.).

[Scanker19]

Might be some friendly fire there too. I’ve been regularly getting a “your IP is blocked”message when I’m in 5G

[Jer]

I’m not technically minded, but isn’t the point of the VPN lost if the website knows you’re using one?

tldr; your request was likely blocked due to the particular VPN server you're using being on a filter list for potential threats for security reasons.


A VPN is an all encompassing acronym (Virtual Private Network) for a specific feature that's capable of many things to many people. I'd imagine that even people here who referred to it simply as "using a VPN" use them for different purposes.

Sure, you can use them to help protect your data to keep it safe when on public/open networks. Another very common way people use them is to mask their own IP address and make it seem like they're visiting a site from another IP address for various reasons. VPN servers can be anywhere in the country or even anywhere in the world. Often times your VPN may even allow you to specify which server you use. If you access sites that are region or country locked you can access different content using different VPN servers. This is a quite common use for people using online streaming services (especially those who travel frequently) as they offer different content for different countries.

This same philosophy can be used by bad actors who want to remain anonymous to make it more difficult to trace back to their actual IP address. Often times this can be servers in different countries (with different laws) provided by VPN providers all with differing security & privacy rules. Your traffic looks like a hackers traffic by design so the site has no idea who you are outside of relative location of the IP address. As such, an admin tasked with protecting their site/network may choose to block certain regions, countries, blocks of IP addresses or even specific IP addresses in some cases. To these security filters, your traffic may look just like the traffic of a hacker if they're coming from the same set of IP rules that are on a filter list. This is why I roll my eyes whenever I hear someone presenting "Russian Hackers" as a talking point to seem like they know about tech. You'd be surprised how few "Russian Hackers" are actually located geographically in Russia. Lots of American teenagers with VPN accounts sniffing around for vulnerabilities choosing Russia as their VPN server for their activities to due largely to different laws pertaining to such things.

VPNs can do lots of things though. Super handy for business so people working remotely can access your network securely same as if there were in the same physical office. I've got a pretty elaborate home network with my own private VPN established. This is great for having a super secure network w/o opened ports (potential threat vectors) but still being able to access my Home Assistant automation setup, files on my NAS or media severs like Plex or JellyFin while I'm out and about galivanting all over the globe. All while not having less secure firewall rules to allow for this type of remote access. I then set my mobile devices (phones, laptop, etc.) to ONLY use that VPN connection for all data, regardless of being on mobile data or WiFi. This allows me to do several things to include encrypting my data on-device before it leaves, routes through my home server and then continues out to the internet. This is how other VPNs work too, but I own & manage the VPN server in this case. That means that I don't have to trust a 3rd party VPN provider with all of my data. This entire pathway is encrypted so that nobody can "see" what I'm doing just like most people use a 3rd party VPN for but they also have to trust that provider.

I also have a DNS filter setup for my home network that handles ALL DNS queries which is how you access a website. I have filters that handle requests for DNS resolution and then routes them through DNS resolution servers that are also encrypted or simply drops the request, at my behest and instantly. This allows me to filter DNS attempts to keep info from going out w/o me knowing, mostly from IoT devices which I also have siloed so they couldn't even report anything useful about my network map anyway. All off this is managed locally but my mobile devices all get the benefits of being far more secure, blocking ads & all of the same benefits my home network enjoys since all of their traffic is routed through the same tables via VPN. I can also access any of my data at home securely while traveling as if I was at my home. Pretty neat stuff. Much of it over-simplified for conversation's sake.

[Jer]

Not sure whats causing the specific issue for the OP, but...

We're hit with new spam accounts every day. In an effort to keep the site secure and keep the spammers off of the site, we block IP's regularly (daily!). I won't go into the details, but we do make an effort to prevent, or at least limit the impact these blocks have on our existing and potential future legitimate members. I'll add, if you're using a VPN to access the site, you need to use IP's from within the CONUS as foreign IP's are blocked more readily and much more broadly than CONUS IP's.

For any potential new members signing up: Before signing up, turn off your VPN as we'll be checking where you claim to be coming from against where your IP says you're coming from. If these don't match, your account will be rejected/deleted.





BINGO! The way VPN's are sold off to folks is that they're somehow some magical security tool for traversing the web. Reality is that they're just a re-direction tool, masking where you're physically located. Law enforcement and intelligence entities have tools that can trace most traffic, even if using multiple VPN's, back to the original point of origin. VPN's are like magicians/illusionists who use misdirection - if you know how the trick is performed, you can see right through it.

I'm also always in awe of how many people (most everyone these days) are happy to give access to their data to 3rd parties by using "the cloud". People think "the cloud" is some magical fairyland place that their data is stored when reality is "the cloud" is simply someone else's server. When you allow your data to reside in "the cloud", you can access it from most anywhere you have internet access, but whoever's server it's sitting on can also access it and, technically, it's their data which they're free to do with as they please (all cloud providers sell heuristic information pulled from your "cloud" data for marketing, etc.).

Much more succinct than my post. lol

Don't even get me started on "The Cloud" I trust "the cloud" so little I made my own and take painful steps to use only my own "the cloud" and give as few 3rd parties access to my info as possible. I won't buy items that require 3rd party servers for functionality because even big names go under or sunset segments if they're not profitable.

I'm to the point where I don't even create accounts for things anymore. Fewer accounts means fewer entities with poor security practices easily bypassed or to go out of business and sell off my info at auction to the highest bidder.