Cloudflare protects all websites hosted and managed by Jala Design by filtering malicious traffic before it reaches the website. Occasionally, legitimate visitors may also be blocked if their connection or activity appears suspicious.
If you or one of your website visitors receives a "Sorry, you have been blocked" message, don't panic. In most cases, the security system is working as intended and we can investigate whether the block is appropriate.
Why has someone been blocked?
Cloudflare continuously analyses incoming traffic and may block visitors for reasons such as:
- Using a VPN or proxy service.
- An IP address with a poor reputation or history of malicious activity.
- Connecting from a shared network where another user has generated suspicious traffic.
- Browser extensions or automated tools making requests that appear malicious.
- Excessive requests within a short period.
- Activity matching security rules designed to protect the website from attacks.
Being blocked does not necessarily mean the visitor has done anything wrong. It often indicates that Cloudflare has identified a potential security risk based on the visitor's connection or IP address.
What information do we need?
Whether you are the website owner or the blocked visitor, please provide:
- The website address.
- The approximate date and time the block occurred.
- A screenshot of the Cloudflare block page.
- The blocked visitor's public IP address.
How does a visitor find their IP address?
The easiest way is to search "What is my IP?" in Google. They should provide the IPv4 address displayed.
What will Jala Design do?
Once we receive the information, we will:
- Review the Cloudflare security logs.
- Check the IP address against trusted reputation services, including AbuseIPDB.
- Determine why the request was blocked.
- If the block is determined to be a false positive, we may whitelist the IP address or adjust the relevant security rule.
Will Jala Design always whitelist an IP address?
No. We only whitelist IP addresses where we are confident they do not present an ongoing security risk.
If an IP address has been reported for malicious activity or appears to be genuinely suspicious, we will generally leave the block in place to protect the website.
Before contacting Jala Design
The blocked visitor may also wish to try:
- Disconnecting from any VPN or proxy service.
- Attempting to view the website on a different internet connection, such as mobile data.
- Restarting their modem (some ISPs will assign a new IP address).
- Trying again later as some blocks are temporary.
If the issue continues, ask the visitor to send the information above to your organisation. You can then forward it to Jala Design and we'll investigate further.