Why am I “banned from using this forum”?

When i open the Forum homepage on my laptop I get the message “Sorry Guest, you are banned from using this forum! This ban is not set to expire.” If I try to log in I get the same message. I’ve cleared my cache, history etc etc but nothing changed. This situation has existed since October. I’m posting  this from my phone where I seem to have no such problem. I would like to be able to log on from my laptop as it isn’t very easy to read this forum on my phone.

That has happened to me on my Windows computer running Windows 8.1 until recently buying a new Windows 11.  This usually worked.

First try rebooting your computer.  If that did not resolve the problem for me, I ran (and still do) a program called CCleaner.  It cleans out all cookies, history, temp files, etc.

I have used CCleaner for well over 12 years at home and at work for maintaining my Windows PC.  I do NOT recommend using the pay-for version, only the FREE version.  I had bought the paid version, in-part to show my appreciation, inspired after Microsoft stopped supporting Windows 8, but it messed up my Windows Office programs.

I LOVE CCleaner.  It restores my computer to a good state if I accidentally download something bad that introduces hidden gremlins.  It removes the corruption nearly every time.

I exclusively use Google Chrome as my browser, and Gmail.  I cannot speak for any other browser and email service, but CCleaner works great for me being 100% Google.

The program has default settings so go through each one in each tab.  Selecting certain ones will clean your logins, your pre-filled credit card number, your pre-filled name, address, phone, email, etc. so methodically set yourself up the way you want one time and it will remain so, even after the regular updates.  The regular updates address new methods of bad people doing bad things.

Thanks Ron but your solutions did not work for me. I use a Chromebook and cannot run CCleaner. We already communicated about this issue on the iRV2 forum.

Any other ideas? Anyone?

 One thing that throws a wrench in the works is a VPN; I suspect some ad blockers and other spoofing  software would do the same.  I cannot connect while using a VPN. 

One thing that throws a wrench in the works is a VPN; I suspect some ad blockers and other spoofing  software would do the same.  I cannot connect while using a VPN.

Not using a VPN. Ad blocker is turned off. Still get the same message.

I never had an issue for over 5 years while using the same hardware and software. Then back in October I got the message i was “banned”.

Not being a Chromebook user this is a shot in the dark.  Some have recommended rebooting and clear cache.  Have you done a hard reset-boot:  removing the battery.  This has worked last resort on laptops.  I’m out of ideas, hope this works.

I get the same message when I'm not in the states or in an airplane. The provider that runs the forum has a restriction that all users must have a U. S. IP address.  As soon as I'm back in the states it works just fine.  The ban is on the ip address, not you the user.


With that said... Is it possible you are near the Canadian or Mexican border?  If on a phone or mobile hotspot or starlink, could you be close enough to a border that you are picking up a tower and "roaming"?


One solution I found to bypass the rules was to use a VPN and configure it to show that I was in Chicago or NYC, or some location clearly inside the states.  I. E. I was faking it out and it thought I was in the states.


I hope that helps you.
Larry

Not being a Chromebook user this is a shot in the dark.  Some have recommended rebooting and clear cache.  Have you done a hard reset-boot:  removing the battery.  This has worked last resort on laptops.  I’m out of ideas, hope this works.

I’ve rebooted and cleaned the cache etc. many times with no change in this problem. Not up for trying to remove the battery on this ultra-thin laptop.

BTW I have emailed the PC office several times asking for help with this issue and never received any response. The PC website seems wonky and like there have been no additions or changes in a very long time. Is the company still in business?

Guess I will just continue to use other forums instead of this one. Too bad.

I think the forum is quiet because of the season and less members camping in this cold weather... and possibly no one is having problems or needing advice.


So allow me to ask... How are you able to post the above replies if the forum tells you that "you are banned" ?   It's the problem resolved?


Larry

I think the forum is quiet because of the season and less members camping in this cold weather... and possibly no one is having problems or needing advice.


So allow me to ask... How are you able to post the above replies if the forum tells you that "you are banned" ?   It's the problem resolved?


Larry

Problem still exists on my laptop but I can log in and read and post from my phone. However, as I mentioned, imo the phone based interface for this forum is terrible; bad enough that i had not bothered to check the forum for months. I have no clue why i can access the forum on my phone but not on my laptop.

I get the same message when I'm not in the states or in an airplane. The provider that runs the forum has a restriction that all users must have a U. S. IP address.  As soon as I'm back in the states it works just fine.  The ban is on the ip address, not you the user.


With that said... Is it possible you are near the Canadian or Mexican border?  If on a phone or mobile hotspot or starlink, could you be close enough to a border that you are picking up a tower and "roaming"?


One solution I found to bypass the rules was to use a VPN and configure it to show that I was in Chicago or NYC, or some location clearly inside the states.  I. E. I was faking it out and it thought I was in the states.


I hope that helps you.
Larry

I first got the banned message in October while attempting to log in from my home in MA, the same place I’ve lived since I registered for this forum. Since 1/4/26 I’ve been in Las Cruces, New Mexico (close to Mexico but ~50 miles away) where I will be until April; i was here last year at the same time and the forum worked fine then. I am not a techie and i do not understand why i am having this issue.

BTW, in an attempt to work around my issue I thought I would just set up a new account by registering using a new user name etc.. However, this won’t work because as soon as I go to the forum home page I get the message “Sorry Guest, you are banned from using this forum!”, and I cannot proceed further. ugh.

Back in 2018 my wife and I travelled to Israel, Egypt, and Greece.  On a few quiet evenings, I decided to go on this PC forum with my phone.  Once I got back to my own house in the USA, this forum got squirrelly, and it was not the only forum.  I learned to never log into any forum when outside the USA.  The same goes for other internet venues.

I am uneasy checking my email when outside the USA for fear that I will mess up something with that critical service.

Hi Guys!
It's hard to know why this is happening as each individual user and login attempt provides a different scenario. The ban is "automatic" and I do not see a way to remove the ban on individual usernames. However the frequency certainly increased after we raised our security with GoDaddy this past fall as the site was and continues to get hit with a high volume of suspect and malicious traffic. We want to resolve the hyper sensitive banning while maintaining the security.

We appreciate your patience as we continue to review and try to improve the experience without removing necessary security protocols.

Thank you for the engagement that you provide on this forum and we will continue to try to remedy the issue.

safe travels!

 

Hi Guys!
It's hard to know why this is happening as each individual user and login attempt provides a different scenario. The ban is "automatic" and I do not see a way to remove the ban on individual usernames. However the frequency certainly increased after we raised our security with GoDaddy this past fall as the site was and continues to get hit with a high volume of suspect and malicious traffic. We want to resolve the hyper sensitive banning while maintaining the security.

We appreciate your patience as we continue to review and try to improve the experience without removing necessary security protocols.

Thank you for the engagement that you provide on this forum and we will continue to try to remedy the issue.

safe travels!

Well for some reason this morning I tried to access the forum on my laptop and could!! and was also able to log in. I have no idea why I couldn't do this for the past 3+ months or why I could now. Weird.