Reason as to why our site and countless others were down last night

DonH50

Member Sponsor & WBF Technical Expert
Jun 22, 2010
3,947
306
1,670
Monument, CO
A number of our overseas (far east) customers and support staff have been using VPNs for a while now. A year or three ago China and another country (can't recall which one) cracked down heavily on Internet access and a number of technical sites were (presumably inadvertently) blocked. VPNs provided access, though there have been a couple of cases where VPNs were claimed to be against the law in China -- not sure about that, memory of some calls/emails with FAEs over there.
 
  • Like
Reactions: howiebrou

LL21

Well-Known Member
Dec 26, 2010
14,411
2,509
1,448
Greetings from Hong Kong. I thought something was wrong! Having failed to get onto the site for a few days i thought i would try going through a VPN. Installed NordVPN and bingo it worked!

On behalf of whatever idiot did this, my apologies. I have let CK know as well in case he didn’t and apologies to those who wrote a message to me and didn’t get a timely reply.

As for saving money Tang, let me tell you that in the absence of someone telling me to act sanely, i went out and ordered an EMT JPA 66 Mk 2 phono amp so I blame you all. o_O

Howie

P.s. happy to use VPN to access if necessary. It’s a small price to pay for this community and no one should have to pay for the actions of a few silly buggers.
Welcome back! I have enjoyed your posts and fantastic experience.
 

howiebrou

Well-Known Member
Jun 29, 2012
2,789
3,635
1,470
A number of our overseas (far east) customers and support staff have been using VPNs for a while now. A year or three ago China and another country (can't recall which one) cracked down heavily on Internet access and a number of technical sites were (presumably inadvertently) blocked. VPNs provided access, though there have been a couple of cases where VPNs were claimed to be against the law in China -- not sure about that, memory of some calls/emails with FAEs over there.
VPNs are not legal in China but are in HK. The only pain is it seems to eat my phone batteries a bit.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DonH50

DonH50

Member Sponsor & WBF Technical Expert
Jun 22, 2010
3,947
306
1,670
Monument, CO
VPNs are not legal in China but are in HK. The only pain is it seems to eat my phone batteries a bit.

Ah, thank you, that explains it!

I wonder if there is alternative VPN software that does not eat batteries? I have to use VPN to work from home but know little about it (not a software guy). I have used Cisco AnyConnect and GlobalConnect but only on a PC, never on my phone. And not on personal devices as the company requires monitoring software be installed to connect to their network and it is extremely intrusive.

And yes, welcome back!
 
  • Like
Reactions: howiebrou

ddk

Well-Known Member
May 18, 2013
6,261
4,040
995
Utah
I just sent him a screen shot of this post to remind him. I certainly hope so.
I've been in touch with some others and they won't be coming back if they're locked out and no interest in using a VPN.
 

jeff1225

Well-Known Member
Jan 29, 2012
3,007
3,247
1,410
51
I've been in touch with some others and they won't be coming back if they're locked out and no interest in using a VPN.

The use of VPN's are very common in countries that monitor and disrupt free speech. I have used them when visiting China, I also know they are quite popular in Iran and Russia.
 

BlueFox

Member Sponsor
Nov 8, 2013
1,709
406
405
So a VPN can bypass government surveillance? If so then I would certainly expect China, and others, to be hard at work hacking that.
 

jeff1225

Well-Known Member
Jan 29, 2012
3,007
3,247
1,410
51
So a VPN can bypass government surveillance? If so then I would certainly expect China, and others, to be hard at work hacking that.

VPN's are illegal in China unless you are visiting on visa.
 

Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
SOME FOLLOWUP AND RESOLUTION TO THE RECENT SERVER ISSUES LAST WEEK

As you all know the sequence of events last week which resulted in our web host blocking China and Hong Kong. This has obviously impacted members from both countries gaining access to WBF

The issues of those members using a VPN was suggested as a solution. We have discovered that VPN is illegal in China but not Hong Kong. So far only Howie has been using a VPN and has still been able to access WBF. Our other members from Hong Hong have resisted all suggestions to using a VPN. Personally I cannot blame them as the VPN is not without issues one of the biggest being to slow dow it's network. For us to go from a shared server to a dedicated server (VPS) did not make sense and we were concerned that switching servers could; also disrupt the data transfer and WBF could suffer some self inflicted issues

DDK has posted that the HK members won't be back


I think I speak for all members reading this that we value the input of all of our members from Hong Kong. The amount of gear you guys see, or speakers you hear or advances in the industry, Hong Kong seems to always rise to the surface. I have been to the Hong Kong Audio Show and IMO it was one of the best audio shows I ever attended

Bottom line is we miss you guys fromHong Kong (and China). DDK texted me today to discuss what is going on and what solutions could be found

Well I spent half an hour on the phone with the head technician of our ISP. Many solutions were discussed and the implications of each. The attack last week was global in nature and not singular to WBF but because we are on a shared server we went down. Because we were not the target I asked him (implored would be a better way to describe it) if they would remove the block on Hong Kong. I asked for a release on both but he said China will not be unblocked

So after much fanfare I am here to proudly welcome back our Hong members. We missed you guys. Hong Kong is open BUT our site will be carefully moderated by our ISP. If it goes down again they will have to resume the block

To CKKeung especially. Keep those fabulous reviews, pictures and threads coming as they are always so informative

To DDK, thanks for getting on my back for this
 

Folsom

VIP/Donor
Oct 25, 2015
6,024
1,490
520
Eastern WA
Great news! It's sad that some bastards have to try to ruin everything for everyone... The attacks and spamming sign ups on forum are insane.
 

ddk

Well-Known Member
May 18, 2013
6,261
4,040
995
Utah
SOME FOLLOWUP AND RESOLUTION TO THE RECENT SERVER ISSUES LAST WEEK

As you all know the sequence of events last week which resulted in our web host blocking China and Hong Kong. This has obviously impacted members from both countries gaining access to WBF

The issues of those members using a VPN was suggested as a solution. We have discovered that VPN is illegal in China but not Hong Kong. So far only Howie has been using a VPN and has still been able to access WBF. Our other members from Hong Hong have resisted all suggestions to using a VPN. Personally I cannot blame them as the VPN is not without issues one of the biggest being to slow dow it's network. For us to go from a shared server to a dedicated server (VPS) did not make sense and we were concerned that switching servers could; also disrupt the data transfer and WBF could suffer some self inflicted issues

DDK has posted that the HK members won't be back


I think I speak for all members reading this that we value the input of all of our members from Hong Kong. The amount of gear you guys see, or speakers you hear or advances in the industry, Hong Kong seems to always rise to the surface. I have been to the Hong Kong Audio Show and IMO it was one of the best audio shows I ever attended

Bottom line is we miss you guys fromHong Kong (and China). DDK texted me today to discuss what is going on and what solutions could be found

Well I spent half an hour on the phone with the head technician of our ISP. Many solutions were discussed and the implications of each. The attack last week was global in nature and not singular to WBF but because we are on a shared server we went down. Because we were not the target I asked him (implored would be a better way to describe it) if they would remove the block on Hong Kong. I asked for a release on both but he said China will not be unblocked

So after much fanfare I am here to proudly welcome back our Hong members. We missed you guys. Hong Kong is open BUT our site will be carefully moderated by our ISP. If it goes down again they will have to resume the block

To CKKeung especially. Keep those fabulous reviews, pictures and threads coming as they are always so informative

To DDK, thanks for getting on my back for this
Great news, thank you Steve!
david
 
  • Like
Reactions: howiebrou

Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
What we have to remember is that over the past several months WBF has had on 3-4 separate occasions an immediate flood of page long posts all written in Chinese. Instant bans resulted in a temporary fix only to have them resurface under another IP address and once even using an IP address from the USA (I can't understand how that happens) but you can see my point....that simple attacks are usually easy to squash but when you multiply the assault by a thousand fold it becomes serious especially if the assault can use an IP address from a different country
 

howiebrou

Well-Known Member
Jun 29, 2012
2,789
3,635
1,470
Hi Steve,

Great news and thank you very much for taking the high road and allowing us over here to continue participation. What a warm and wonderful gesture.

Do you know when the ban for HK will be lifted? I just tried and it didn't work without a VPN.

Thanks

howie
 
  • Like
Reactions: CKKeung

CKKeung

Well-Known Member
Jun 17, 2011
3,053
3,172
1,410
Hong Kong
SOME FOLLOWUP AND RESOLUTION TO THE RECENT SERVER ISSUES LAST WEEK

As you all know the sequence of events last week which resulted in our web host blocking China and Hong Kong. This has obviously impacted members from both countries gaining access to WBF

The issues of those members using a VPN was suggested as a solution. We have discovered that VPN is illegal in China but not Hong Kong. So far only Howie has been using a VPN and has still been able to access WBF. Our other members from Hong Hong have resisted all suggestions to using a VPN. Personally I cannot blame them as the VPN is not without issues one of the biggest being to slow dow it's network. For us to go from a shared server to a dedicated server (VPS) did not make sense and we were concerned that switching servers could; also disrupt the data transfer and WBF could suffer some self inflicted issues

DDK has posted that the HK members won't be back


I think I speak for all members reading this that we value the input of all of our members from Hong Kong. The amount of gear you guys see, or speakers you hear or advances in the industry, Hong Kong seems to always rise to the surface. I have been to the Hong Kong Audio Show and IMO it was one of the best audio shows I ever attended

Bottom line is we miss you guys fromHong Kong (and China). DDK texted me today to discuss what is going on and what solutions could be found

Well I spent half an hour on the phone with the head technician of our ISP. Many solutions were discussed and the implications of each. The attack last week was global in nature and not singular to WBF but because we are on a shared server we went down. Because we were not the target I asked him (implored would be a better way to describe it) if they would remove the block on Hong Kong. I asked for a release on both but he said China will not be unblocked

So after much fanfare I am here to proudly welcome back our Hong members. We missed you guys. Hong Kong is open BUT our site will be carefully moderated by our ISP. If it goes down again they will have to resume the block

To CKKeung especially. Keep those fabulous reviews, pictures and threads coming as they are always so informative

To DDK, thanks for getting on my back for this
Dear Steve and all WBF brothers,

My heartfelt thanks to all of you, for your kind words and support!

And particularly to Steve : thanks so much for your very kind help!
Pls ping me when you visit HK. I own you a meal!
:D
 

djsina2

Well-Known Member
May 30, 2019
1,125
964
213
What we have to remember is that over the past several months WBF has had on 3-4 separate occasions an immediate flood of page long posts all written in Chinese. Instant bans resulted in a temporary fix only to have them resurface under another IP address and once even using an IP address from the USA (I can't understand how that happens) but you can see my point....that simple attacks are usually easy to squash but when you multiply the assault by a thousand fold it becomes serious especially if the assault can use an IP address from a different country

You can spoof your source address to be anything if you’re simply doing a DoS attack. Blocking entire countries won’t solve anything. So, what kind of attack was it exactly?
 
  • Like
Reactions: opus112

About us

  • What’s Best Forum is THE forum for high end audio, product reviews, advice and sharing experiences on the best of everything else. This is THE place where audiophiles and audio companies discuss vintage, contemporary and new audio products, music servers, music streamers, computer audio, digital-to-analog converters, turntables, phono stages, cartridges, reel-to-reel tape machines, speakers, headphones and tube and solid-state amplification. Founded in 2010 What’s Best Forum invites intelligent and courteous people of all interests and backgrounds to describe and discuss the best of everything. From beginners to life-long hobbyists to industry professionals, we enjoy learning about new things and meeting new people, and participating in spirited debates.

Quick Navigation

User Menu

Steve Williams
Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator
Ron Resnick
Site Co-Owner | Administrator
Julian (The Fixer)
Website Build | Marketing Managersing