IP address flagged by Prolific

[#1]

Hi all,

For some reason our ip address has been flagged by Prolific, my account is in good standing, but they (Prolific Support) have asked me to try having the ip changed by my provider.

We very recently upgraded to full fibre, that's probably irrelevant, but I thought I'd mention. 

As I understand it, we have a dynamic ip, won't that mean our ip will change every now and then? In which case asking Plusnet to change it seems the incorrect course of action.

I've tried restarting our new full fibre box and our old Plusnet Hub 2 router, however our ip hasn't changed. Is it necessary to switch off and leave the router off for at least a certain period of time?

Could anyone advise?

[#2]

@DenF22 Who are Prolific, and did they say why they had 'flagged' your IP? Would be good to know, so we can offer relevant support.

[#3]

Hi John,

Prolific are a Research group who host studies on many subjects for scientific research. They do not give specific reasons for flagging addresses, but I believe they use tools to help identify bots and other undesirable entities in order to protect data integrity. 

Regardless of the exact nature of their reasons, I still need my ip address changed.

It's possible the latest dynamic change, has put us on an ip that may have been previously flagged, or it could be for some other unknowable reason.

Is there any way to force a new ip, or do I indeed need to ring Plusnet Support?

[#4]

Fair enough, although not giving a reason for the flag could result in many wasted hours.

The only way I know of which should give you a 'new' IP is to turn the router off for at least 90 minutes, and you should get one, although this can depend on the size of your local 'pool' and if there are any free ones available.

[#5]

Is there any way to force a new ip, or do I indeed need to ring Plusnet Support

Neither will work I'm afraid. Dynamic addresses are allocated (directly by BT wholesale concentrator) from local pools, so are very 'sticky'. The chances are that unless you disconnect for longer than say 90 mins, you will almost certainly get the same IP. Even disconnecting for a long time you may still get the same IP.

If you really need a new IP then the only option would be to pay the £5 for a static IP. That will be different since statics are allocated from different pools. However it will then always be the same,  irrespective of how often or how long you disconnect for.

[#6]

Thanks John, I'll try that, I only powered off for a few minutes previously.

Prolific say they don't give exact reasons, in order to deny said undesirables with the methods used, or something to that effect.

They do say if the user account (not the ip) is ok, or not and mine is in good standing.

I'm afraid I don't know anything further, but hopefully updating the ip will fix the issue.

[#7]

Thank you for that MisterW, hopefully disconnecting will work. I'll turn off the router overnight and see if that sorts it out.

If not, I may need to look at the static option. Thanks for your help

[#8]

@DenF22 

I would second the suggestion for a static IP. It's only a one-off payment of £5.

I have had a static IP for over 20 years without it it ever being flagged. There is still a chance that with a new dynamic IP you could be re-allocated yet another 'bad' one after a longish power outage.

[#9]

The other thing to consider about dynamic addresses, is that websites will often block an entire range of an address pool.

Many times in the past on this forum, Plusnet customers have complained that their bank/shop/lottery website 'thinks' that their IP address is outside the UK - and are blocked from accessing the service.  This is believed to happen when Plusnet have purchased an additional IPv4 address pool from foreign ISPs, but subsequently the associated updated (now in the 'UK') geo-location information for that pool takes a while to reach the relevant database used by the various OK websites.

So while "Prolific" say that they are 'flagging' an IP address, that might not be a specific problem with that exact IP address, but rather that it is a member of an address range which doesn't meet their requirements (such as geo-location).

So no matter how many times you attempt to change your dynamic IP address, you are probably going to land on another address within the same range, so are quite likely to still have a problem.

Over many years, I don't recall ever seeing this issue with any Plusnet static address,  so I would agree that spending the one time £5 fee for a static IP address is a worthwhile solution.

[#10]

Thank you very much for your thoughts.

Yes, on looking into it further, I think they are suggesting it's a range of ips that includes mine. One of the comments was to try a new ip, but there was no guarantee the new ip won't also be flagged.

Prolific have mentioned a few times about geo-location, being high on the list of issues that can cause an automatic flag.

I didn't power off the system last night, being something of a nerd I wanted to watch the livestream of the IM1 lander setting down on the moon last night and forgot to do it afterward. I will however power off tonight and see what the morning brings.

I would try the static idea, but before I do, I'll see if a new dynamic has any effect. The problem (apparently) can clear on it's own, which might suggest your right that it's slow database geo updates, to previously foreign ip address. I take it if I buy a static address and it doesn't help I am then stuck with it?

In any case thanks again

[#11]

@DenF22 Static IPs are allocated from a pool which won't have geo-location issues - being ones which have always been geo-located in the UK, and I would be extremely surprised if they fell foul of having been used for nefarious purposes.

[#12]

Thanks for that.

I had a static ip for years, being a customer way before Plusnet in the old Madasafish days, I got a static ip without asking when my account moved to Plusnet. Unfortunately we amalgamated to the Plusnet account in my partners name about 15yrs ago and all my referrals and static went with it.

I think Prolific have extremely tight tolerances on what constitutes a flag,  which makes me a little reluctant to try a static ip as a first move. Geo-location is only a guess, but I'll wait it out a while if a changing dynamic doesn't help, in case it disappears on it's own as they update their systems.

Thanks for your help

[#13 · Accepted solution]

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@DenF22 wrote:

I take it if I buy a static address and it doesn't help I am then stuck with it?

No you're not stuck with it.

If you really wanted to go back to being dynamic, then you should be able to select that in your Plusnet "Member Centre", but I think you will have wasted £5, I'm pretty sure that you can't toggle from static to dynamic to static without getting charged again.

If you wanted a different static IP in future, I believe you would need to pay another £5 to have that re-enabled.

I had the same static IP with Plusnet for 24 years, and never had a problem with being 'flagged' or otherwise blocked by IP address.

It is probably worth having a static IPv4 address anyway if you intend to have a VoIP landline phone (when the UK analogue landline phone system gets switched off at the end of 2025),  as having a fixed IP address from which your VoIP provider limits charged calls to be made from, is a simple but effective security measure.

[#14]

PlanetX, thank you for that.

I turned the router off last night and this morning checked my ip address on 'What is My IP Address' and it has changed.

I've checked and my Prolific studies are being accepted once more, I'm very happy to report this. I also noted the on the 'What is my IP' site, the new ip is being described as "Likely Static" !?

Once again thank you and also to the others that replied here, I am very grateful for the help

[#15]

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@DenF22 wrote:

...this morning checked my ip address on 'What is My IP Address' and it has changed.

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Did you notice whether your new IP address is from the same or different IP pool compared to yesterday's ?

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@DenF22 wrote:

...on the 'What is my IP' site, the new ip is being described as "Likely Static" !?

If you go to  https://www.whatsmyip.org/  and look for  "Your Hostname:"

If that appears in the format  "<ip address>.dyn.plus,net"  then your IP address is dynamic

otherwise, typically Plusnet hostnames for static IP addresses appear as  "<accountname>.plus.com"

.