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Why, when IP addresses change frequently, do individuals still employ IP address bans (for example, to prevent a malevolent user from using an internet service)?
For instance, because we switch off our router every night, our IP address frequently changes in the morning. Additionally, frequently, just performing a power cycle is sufficient to alter the IP address. Bans on IP addresses are therefore not very effective.
However, blocking IP addresses can be pretty troublesome for innocent users who are using a bad user’s previous IP numbers. In other cases, blocking a whole range of IP addresses can block even more innocent users.
Regarding the captcha that was dumbass, your IP has been blocked.
IP address bans have drawbacks, as you point out, but I believe their main purpose is due to the lack of any truly superior options. Other distinguishing characteristics, such as the user agent of the browser, cookies, the browser fingerprint, etc., are even simpler to fake or get around. You may easily delete cookies and change your user agent or fingerprint using one of the many extensions available.
For instance, because we switch off our router every night, our IP address frequently changes in the morning. Additionally, frequently, just performing a power cycle is sufficient to alter the IP address. Bans on IP addresses are therefore not very effective.
The ISP has a big impact on how simple it is to change your IP address. For instance, much like you describe, when I had Verizon DSL, my IP address would change each time I turned the modem on and off. Nevertheless, since switching to Comcast, despite numerous power failures and modem resets, my IP address has remained the same for the entire two years I’ve been with them. Thus, not everyone will be able to use the “router reboot” fix.
Even if you’re one of those folks who can change their IP address with a reboot, you’re probably still getting an IP address from a rather small pool of numbers, which is something else to keep in mind. This is so because ISPs typically assign addresses to consumers in smaller areas (like neighborhoods) rather than randomly. Instead, they divide their service area into these smaller areas first. Hence, a site administrator may block the entire address range if a particularly persistent and troublesome user was present (though this could cause significant problems for other users, as you mention).
It’s important to note that there are further techniques to conceal your IP address that get around this issue, such as using Tor or a VPN service. To combat this, some websites, like Wikipedia, attempt to block all IP addresses of recognized public proxies. However, blocking IP addresses can be quite troublesome for innocent users who are using a bad user’s previous IP numbers. In other cases, blocking a whole range of IP addresses can block even more innocent users.
IP address bans are a crude technique
Yeah, IP address bans are a crude technique, and this is just one of their issues. This is particularly true when a single IP address is used by hundreds or thousands of users in the same structure, or even by a sizable portion of a whole country when carrier-grade NAT is used. Site managers are accountable for minimizing the impact of IP address bans on authorized users. There are several options available; for example, you could try to find shared IP addresses and ensure that they are only temporarily banned, or you could arrange it so that people with a particular minimum reputation can still log in from prohibited IP addresses and stay unaffected by them. When used properly, IP address restrictions can effectively prohibit unauthorized users while having little to no effect on authorized ones. Thus, why are IP address prohibitions still in use?
P.S. I’m explicitly speaking to lifetime bans. I fully get the benefits of short-term bans, such as blocking spam or DoS attacks or other cases where temporarily halting malicious traffic is advantageous.
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