Managing IP Blocking in DirectAdmin

<h3>Blocking and Unblocking IP Addresses</h3> <p>DirectAdmin provides tools to block specific IP addresses from accessing your hosting account. This is useful for preventing brute-force attacks, stopping spammers, or restricting unwanted traffic to your website.</p> <h3>Blocking an IP Address via .htaccess</h3> <p>The most common way to block IPs at the website level is through the <code>.htaccess</code> file in your <code>public_html</code> directory:</p> <pre><code># Block specific IPs order allow,deny deny from 192.168.1.100 deny from 10.0.0.0/24 allow from all</code></pre> <p>For Apache 2.4+ syntax:</p> <pre><code>&lt;RequireAll&gt; Require all granted Require not ip 192.168.1.100 Require not ip 10.0.0.0/24 &lt;/RequireAll&gt;</code></pre> <h3>Using DirectAdmin's IP Deny Manager</h3> <ol> <li>Log in to DirectAdmin and go to <strong>Advanced Features &rarr; IP Deny Manager</strong> (also listed under the domain settings area).</li> <li>Enter the IP address or CIDR range you want to block (e.g., <code>192.168.1.100</code> or <code>10.0.0.0/24</code>).</li> <li>Click <strong>Add</strong> to apply the block.</li> </ol> <h3>Unblocking an IP Address</h3> <ol> <li>Navigate to the same <strong>IP Deny Manager</strong> page.</li> <li>You will see a list of currently blocked IPs.</li> <li>Select the IP address you wish to unblock.</li> <li>Click <strong>Remove Selected</strong> or <strong>Delete</strong>.</li> </ol> <div class="alert alert-warning"><strong>Caution:</strong> Be careful not to block your own IP address. If you accidentally lock yourself out, contact your hosting provider to have the block removed from the server side.</div> <h3>Server-Level Blocking (Admin Only)</h3> <p>Server administrators can use the firewall (CSF/LFD or iptables) to block IPs at the network level, which is more effective than <code>.htaccess</code> blocks because the connection is refused before the web server processes the request. If you are experiencing a sustained attack, contact your hosting provider to apply server-level blocks.</p> <h3>Checking Your IP</h3> <p>Before blocking IP ranges, verify your own IP by visiting a service like <a href="https://whatismyip.com" target="_blank">whatismyip.com</a> to ensure you do not accidentally block yourself.</p>