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IP Address blocking is a security measure that prevents a connection between a specific or group of IP addresses and a mail, web or Internet server. This is usually done to ban or block any undesirable sites and hosts from entering the server or node and causing harm to the network or individual computers. IP blocking is usually used by companies to prevent intrusion, allow remote access as well as limit the kinds of websites that can be accessed by employees in order to keep productivity high. Schools and other academic institutions also use IP address blocking for protection against unauthorized access of confidential records and data and for enforcing censorship.
Techopedia Explains IP Address Blocking
An IP address ban can effectively prevent an user from connecting to a certain web host. However, this is complicated when the user uses dynamic IP allocation since the IP cannot be pinpointed and a group or block of IP addresses has to be blocked, resulting in collateral damage as some ISPs share IP addresses for multiple users.
IP address banning also can limit syndication of specific content to a specific region since each country or region has specific IP addresses mapped to it. This has a devastating effect for an entire population since they can all be blocked from accessing most of the Internet. This has been done to Nigeria because of the perception that most businesses coming from the region are fraudulent, which adversely affected legitimate businesses as well.
