Re: Bypassing an IP ban..any ideas?

[numufu]

I was wondering if anyone could help me out here. I know there is a way to get around an IP ban, but I'm not quite sure as to how. I'm playing a very poorly designed program (game) that I know for sure can be bypassed because lots of friends have done it, and I know I have before too, I just can't remember how. (I have been playing this since 1994).

This game allows player created maps, and if the owner bans you, it is based off of IP. I have tried renewing IP by power cycling my router but what's strange to me is how I'm able to access these player maps from other computers in the house, so it has to be something specific with my computer. I thought all computer under the same network came out as having the same external IP address?

Also, I've heard of MAC spoofing but I know for a fact that this game does not ban by MAC address, only IP number, because of a friend who plays at her dorm in school and mentions how their router is set up to renew IP addresses every hour so she is able to re-enter the same map that she keeps getting banned from over and over again.

Any clue as to what's going on here and/or how to bypass this?

I think how I was able to do it last time was when we had a power outage here and something in the router reset so my computer was able to obtain a new IP, but I'm not quite sure.


p.s. My uncle suggested UNC name, which I tried, but that also failed.

[wimiadmin]

You probably just need to clear your cookies in your browser. Try that and let us know.

[numufu]

Unfortunately, I have also tried this. I didn't think it would work though because the game has nothing to do with internet cookies and cache. I also cleared the game's specific cache and tried again, but still no luck. I was going to ask as to how to try MAC spoofing my router, but if it was the router, wouldn't that be blocking the other computers in the house as well?

[numufu]

Again sorry, I couldn't find the edit post button.

I tried to clear out the game's specific cache folder but that too didn't work.

[wimiadmin]

Your router is shared with all computers so MAC spoofing won't help you in this case....IMO.

When you went to the game on the other computers, did you login with your username? If so, and you were still allowed, then that's not the fix.

My other suggestion would be to uninstall the game...completely. It'll need to be removed from the registry, etc. My guess now is that there is a token tied to this machine and by uninstalling the game completely will remove the token therefore allowing you access again from this PC.

[numufu]

This game allows for multiple creations of accounts tied to e-mail addresses you can easily make up, so it's real easy to fake. When I tried on the other computers, I just made a new character. On the personally created maps, once you get banned, it's tied to that particular character name as well as IP (some also believe the e-mail addresses connected to the account with that character, but since the game doesn't even validate e-mails when you create characters, it wouldn't make sense). I will try to uninstall the game as well as remove the regkey and let you know if this works.

Thanks for the speedy replies.

[numufu]

That didn't work either. I'm at a loss. I'm just confused as to how my personal computer is blocked but others in the house are still able to connect. I just now tried one of the names on my laptop and I was able to get into the map I'm banned on from my desktop.

Would personal computer MAC address have anything to do with it?

[wimiadmin]

I'm 99% certain that the MAC has nothing to do with the ban.

On one of the computers where you can gain access, try to login as the character name that is currently banned.

If it's not the IP, not a cookie, not a token, then it's gotta be character name....as I think that's the only thing left that's specific to this scenario.

[numufu]

Ok, I just did that on my laptop. I tested it with a brand new player map, got banned on a new character I created, went to my laptop, brought another brand new character in there - I was able to enter. So then I recreated the same character from my desktop that I got banned on and I was denied access on my laptop. So you're right, it has something to do with characters.
But how am I denied access on ALL of the characters I create from my desktop computer?

[wimiadmin]

They probably take the approach that if character is banned, send token (token is placed somewhere outside the uninstall/regkey area). Then, all characters that connect from that computer are banned automatically because of the token that's already been placed on that computer.

I know you uninstalled, etc., but if you wanted to take the time and just to experiment, I'd bet that if you formatted that computer then installed the game, created a new character, you'd be able to get in just fine. Unless you really need to format, I wouldn't say it's worth it really.

What's next? Well, I guess that depends on what you did to get banned. If it's not too serious, perhaps you can contact someone at the site to unban your character. If your offense was serious, then I wouldn't bother contacting them, as I'm sure your request will either go unanswered, or get denied.

Good luck.

[numufu]

Thanks so much for your help and information.

[numufu]

Just to update, I was able to identify what I believe is the "token". With the help of my uncle, we downloaded a program that tracks install files and registry keys and were able to identify this as a prefetch file in the WINDOWS folder for the game. We debated it for a while but realized no other alternative and that it recreates the file even after deletion - it talks to the host server about my computer and where it is banned. The only problem now is WHAT form of ID it is using. We tried multiple public IP addresses, a brand new NIC card which would give the computer a new MAC address, as well as another UIC attempt. Still no go. Any ideas...?

[wimiadmin]

Cool that you found that file.

What type of file is it?

Are you able to read the file at all?

Can you manipulate the information within the file?

[numufu]

It's a prefetch file, .pf. You can't open those types of files.

[wimiadmin]

Hmmm. Seems like I've edited them before but can't remember what I used.

I wonder if you can copy the prefetch file from another machine that isn't banned and overwrite the prefetch file on the machine that is banned.

Might have to go in to safe mode or straight to DOS to make it happen, but that's an option.

[wimiadmin]

http://www.tothepc.com/archives/open...es-on-windows/

[numufu]

I don't think that would matter because the file is modified every time the game is launched. I'm just wondering what form of ID that the game is using since I've already tried IP, MAC address and UIC. It must be some form of unique ID that the game itself makes up, but I'm not sure.

I was wondering if there was some way to block that file being written or modified with any script or program, because I've tried deleting it while having the game running and the game still works, so it's not a necessary file or anything.