Some people try to scrape your playlists, download your movies, guess line passwords or watch from a datacenter to restream your channels. The protection rules stop them at the door, and the unblock tools let you help a real client who was stopped by mistake.

Protection lives in a few places:

  • Settings → Security: the protection rules.
  • Servers → Block IP's and Block User Agents: block by hand.
  • Dashboard notifications, the client page and Servers → Logs → Protection tab: see who was blocked and unblock them.

Only administrators can change protection.

Step 1: Choose your rules

Open Settings → Security.

VPN Policy (Users) and VPN Policy (Restreamers)

Decide how VPN connections are handled, separately for normal users and for restreamers. Click Edit and pick a Policy:

  • Allow All: VPNs are allowed.
  • Block All: all VPNs are blocked.
  • Whitelist: only the VPN providers you select are allowed.
  • Blacklist: the VPN providers you select are blocked.

For Whitelist and Blacklist, pick the providers in VPN Providers (Select All and Deselect All help).

Block Unauthorized Restreamers

Blocks users who are not restreamers when they connect from datacenter IP ranges. Restreamers are never blocked for using a datacenter.

Block Bots (DMCA)

Blocks known DMCA bots and automated scanning tools.

VOD Download Protection

Stops movies and series from being scraped or downloaded. Click Edit:

  • Users can download VOD: off means your users can stream movies but not download them.
  • Restreamers can download VOD: lets restreamers download even when users cannot.

Block playlist downloads in browser for non-restreamers

Clients who are not restreamers cannot download their playlist directly in a browser. They can still use it in VLC or in apps, and API login in apps is not affected.

Missing Line Auto Blocking

Blocks IPs that keep asking for lines that do not exist, a sign of someone guessing usernames and passwords. Click Edit:

  • Enable automatic blocking: turn the rule on.
  • Ban type: Temporary ban (it expires on its own) or Permanent ban.
  • Temporary ban duration: 1 hour, 6 hours, 12 hours or 24 hours.
  • Attempts before blocking: how many failed requests an IP can make before it is blocked. A higher number avoids blocking real clients who mistype.

A change to the protection rules can take up to 5 minutes to reach your servers.

More options that limit how clients connect, such as Block Empty User-Agents and Block any second different IP in Non-Restreamers, are in Settings → Streaming (Channels & Vod) → Access & Restrictions. See General settings.

How a block works

When the VPN, datacenter, bot or VOD rules stop someone, the block applies to their IP for 5 minutes.

  • A movie or series download from a browser blocks movies and series in every app on that IP for 5 minutes. Live channels keep working.
  • Blocks show up as notifications on the Dashboard and in Servers → Logs → Protection tab, where you can search by IP, user, reason or rule.

Step 2: Unblock a client (engine 2.4.0 or newer)

If a real client is blocked, for example someone at an office or on a mobile network, you can let them through.

From the dashboard

The notification shows the IP, the rule and the app. Choose:

  • Lift block now: ends the current 5-minute block right away. It does not create an exception: if the rule is broken again, the client is blocked again.
  • Unblock…: creates an exception. Choose:
    • Who can get through: This client from that IP, This client from any IP (for a client who travels or changes networks), or Whole IP (every client on that IP, for offices or a restreamer with several lines). The recommended option is marked.
    • For how long: 1 hour, 24 hours, 7 days or Permanent.
    • Note (optional): why you unblock this client.

Whole IP and Permanent ask you to confirm with a check box.

From the client page

Open the client. The Protection block shows whether protection is blocking that client right now, and the exceptions that apply to it. From there you can Lift block now, Unblock…, Revoke an exception, or click Add exemption to let the client through from any IP. Resellers see this block in read-only mode.

Review active exceptions

Open Servers → Logs → Protection tab. Active unblocks lists every exception. Click Revoke to remove one; protection applies again right away.

An exception for a whole IP lets every line on that IP skip the protection rules, including lines of other resellers. Use the shortest time that solves the problem.

Block IPs and user-agents by hand

  • Servers → Block IP's: click Block IP, enter the IP (IPv4 or IPv6) and a Reason for blocking. Delete a row to unblock it, or click Clear all to remove every blocked IP.
  • Servers → Block User Agents: click Block User-Agent, enter the User-Agent, and choose Exact Match if only that exact text must be blocked.

Common problems

  • A client says movies stopped working but live channels work. Their IP was probably blocked for a VOD download from a browser. Check the Dashboard notification, then use Lift block now or Unblock….
  • I changed a rule and nothing changed. Rules can take up to 5 minutes to apply on your servers.
  • I do not see Unblock… or Active unblocks. Unblocking needs engine 2.4.0 or newer on your main server, and an administrator account. See Update the engine.
  • Lift block now did not help. The client broke the rule again. Use Unblock… to create an exception.