when is a VPN not a VPN?

[Jerry®]

i got banned from a site because I was using a VPN - how did they know that and when is a VPN "noticeable!?!?!"

[Mr645]

I am getting ready to switch from Avast VPN to Express VP because too many sites have blocked Avast. The sites get too many inquiries from certain IP addresses so they block them. The site does not know that your on a VPN, just that their security features get triggered by too many users from a specific IP

[RAMd®d]

The site does may not know that you're on a VPN


Fixed that for you.

Since IPs aren't infinite, many of the ranges of IPs used by different VPNs are known by those who don't want traffic from them.

Reacting to a "known suspicious" IP is one, common way of assuming someone is on a VPN, but there are more sophisticated software bits that can know that you're using a VPN.

Some sites will know, depending on their ability to assess a perceived 'threat' level, that you're using a VPN.

This may be more common with the advent of ransomeware attacks.

[hal]

why would a site care if you access via VPN?

[RAMd®d]

why would a site care if you access via VPN?


Obviously, not all sites do.

One reason is some believe that only ne'er do wells hide their location or traffic.

Others restrict access based on location, ie being a US resident to access the US Netflix site.

Or a US resident could access an iTV site.

There are probably other reasons as well.

[C(-)ris]

Only a finite number of public IP addresses. There are lists of the endpoint addresses for VPNs that you can subscribe to. Then you just block all traffic from those endpoints.

[davemchine]

I use a VPN and recently google stopped letting me do searches saying I’ve been blocked. No idea why.

[Sarcany]

davemchine wrote:
I use a VPN and recently google stopped letting me do searches saying I’ve been blocked. No idea why.

They make money from tracking you across the net and selling that info. When you hide your IP via VPN or using a hotspot, you make it a tiny bit harder to harvest all of your personal info and uniquely associate it with you, so they discourage that.

[fauch]

They flag the IP addresses of common VPNs. They don't detect that YOU are using a VPN but they know that your IP address is from a VPN and put two and two together.

There are also other methods to "discover" that you are not from the IP address you appear to be, but I doubt any sites are going to that extent...

[comphernation]

.