I can't reach my server: have I been blocked?

Your website, cPanel, webmail, FTP or email stops working for you, but a colleague or customer says it opens fine for them. In most cases the server itself is running and its security firewall has blocked your IP address after too many failed logins. This guide shows how to confirm it, how to get unblocked with Domain India, and how to stop it from happening again.

1. Blocked or down? The quick test

A two-minute test tells a block from an outage.

The timeout is the key sign: a blocked connection gets no reply, so your browser waits and gives up. A proper error page means the server is answering you, so the problem is in the website, not a block. For errors like 403, see Understanding and resolving HTTP error 403 Forbidden.

2. Why servers block IP addresses

Bots guess passwords for email, FTP, SSH and control panels all day. This is a brute-force attack. To stop it, shared hosting servers watch for failed logins and block an IP address that fails too often. On cPanel servers this includes cPanel's own brute-force protection, called cPHulk, alongside the server firewall. The protection cannot tell a bot from your own phone with an old password.

3. What usually triggers a block

An app with the wrong port or SSL setting can also fail on every try. The correct settings for your service are in What settings do I need to upload my website (FTP) and How to log into webmail.

4. Find your public IP address

Support needs the IP address the server sees, which is your public IP. The address in your computer's network settings, such as 192.168.x.x or 10.x.x.x, is a private address and cannot be unblocked on its own.

On a Linux or Mac terminal you can also run:

curl -4 ifconfig.me
curl -6 ifconfig.me

The second command returns nothing if your connection has no IPv6.

5. How to get unblocked on Domain India hosting

On Domain India shared hosting (cPanel, DirectAdmin and Webuzo), the block is on our server, so our support team removes it. The Domain India client area has no self-service unblock button.

How to reach us. A block on your hosting server does not normally stop you from opening domainindia.com, so you can usually open a ticket in the client area. If that does not open either, switch to mobile data and use any of these:

• the public ticket form, which works without logging in;
• live chat, available 24/7 from the chat button on every page of domainindia.com.

Tickets get a first response within 15 minutes. Removing the block itself can take longer, depending on the issue. Domain India does not offer phone support. You can follow a ticket at Track ticket.

6. Stop it from happening again

Most repeat blocks come from one forgotten device. Work through this list.

1. List every device that uses the account. Include office desktops, laptops, personal phones, tablets, and any device an ex-employee returned.
2. Update the saved password everywhere. In phone mail apps, remove the account and add it again if the app keeps the old password. In Outlook, update the password in the account settings, not only in the pop-up prompt.
3. Check the server name, port and SSL setting. Use the settings shown for your mailbox in your control panel. A mismatch between the port and the SSL/TLS option is a common cause of silent failed logins.
4. Remove old accounts from phones and apps, including devices former staff used.
5. Fix saved FTP logins in FileZilla's Site Manager, and keep simultaneous connections low.
6. Use SSH keys instead of passwords, and stop scripts from retrying in a loop.
7. Bring devices back gradually. After the unblock, start one device at a time and check each one connects before adding the next.

7. VPS customers: the firewall is your own

On a Domain India VPS you have full root access, and the firewall on the server is the one you or your administrator installed. Domain India does not manage it, so you remove the block yourself. Connect from a different network, such as mobile data, and run the command for the tool your server uses. Replace 203.0.113.25 with your blocked IP.

CSF (ConfigServer Security & Firewall)

csf -g 203.0.113.25      # check whether the IP is blocked
csf -dr 203.0.113.25     # remove a permanent block
csf -tr 203.0.113.25     # remove a temporary block
csf -a 203.0.113.25      # allow the IP (only if it is a fixed office IP)

Fail2ban

fail2ban-client status              # list active jails
fail2ban-client status sshd         # see banned IPs in a jail
fail2ban-client set sshd unbanip 203.0.113.25

UFW

ufw status numbered      # find the rule that blocks the IP
ufw delete 3             # delete that rule by its number

If your VPS runs a control panel, check its own protection too. In WHM, look under cPHulk Brute Force Protection. In DirectAdmin, clear the IP in the Brute Force Monitor as well, or the firewall may block it again.

Only allow-list a fixed IP that belongs to you; home and mobile IPs change and are often shared. If you have locked yourself out with no other way in, open a ticket from the client area and tell us which VPS it is.

8. When the server really is down

If the site fails on mobile data and for other people too, it is not a block on you.

• Check your other sites. If other websites on the same hosting account also fail, the problem is likely on the server or account. If only one site fails, look at that site, for example a recent plugin update or a full disk quota.
• Check the domain. An expired domain or changed nameservers make a site disappear for everyone.
• Ask us. Open a ticket or use live chat, say which domain is affected and since when, and we will check the server.

Ready to get back in? Send your public IP address through a new support ticket, or use the public ticket form if you cannot log in. For the correct mail settings, see How to log into webmail.