I do have my own VPN running on one of my server machines at home, but when traveling it's not as reliable or fast as some of the larger VPN providers who have access points all around the world.

I get the downsides of using a VPN, but when traveling, there are at least a few reasons to always use a VPN:
1. From a reputable provider (like NordVPN), your connection will be more secure than the run of the mill hotel/airport WiFi. In fact, if you don't use a VPN, you're taking on added risk.
2. Some of your work (like stock trading, etc.), probably requires an IP address in your home country. This is not uniformly the case, but I do know of at least a couple of brokers I use that will not let me access my account from a foreign IP address.
3. If you're traveling in a country that's known to snoop internet traffic (and we all know at least a few of them), you should use a VPN. In fact, if you're traveling on business to some of these countries, your company SHOULD mandate the use of a VPN. The risk to IP loss/theft is real and several companies have suffered because of this.

It is annoying that FT is blocking me from accessing it using a US IP on NordVPN. I changed to a Canadian IP and can access it (as I'm doing now).

Just on this one point, my company requires a VPN with two-factor authentication for all travel anywhere, and also has a list of countries where the government actively engages in industrial espionage. For travel to those countries, it is prohibited to bring any company-provided equipment and strongly discouraged to bring any personal devices. (Including laptops, cell phones, etc.) The company provides special-use burner devices. For travel to countries on the list, we must leave our devices at home/office and get burner devices from IT. On return, the devices are wiped top to bottom. including firmware.

I opted out of all cookies when I logged in just now, and I run an ad blocker for 99% of websites, and to the right of this text input box are two boxes imploring me to think about the FlyerTalk team and how it's so easy for me to help them out by disabling my ad blocker.

Ironic, considering this is a website and forum dedicated to frequent travelers, a significant number of whom A: use VPNs when abroad for any number of which use VPNs when abroad and B: are unable to access anything on FlyerTalk while abroad using those legitimate VPNs. As this thread is now 7.5 years old (It'll be 8 this November) and this is STILL an ongoing problem that the "FlyerTalk Team" has no intention of fixing, No thank you, I will continue to deny you the ad revenue. Sorry, I'd be happy to help you out there, but you can't be bothered to even let me participate without using an insecure network connection. Such a sad, ironic shame.

As discussed above, it's not the use of a VPN per se that is blocked, it's the specific IP address your VPN uses for you. if that IP address has recently been used by attackers, it's blocked. There are ways around this. You can try disconnecting and reconnecting your VPN, as it might assign a different IP address that might not be associated with bad actors. You can try choosing a different VPN access point. You can try a different VPN provider.

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IF the ads and cookies (including those here on FT) didn’t also come with trackers, retargeting, “analytics” elements and other wholly unwanted and surreptitious tech then many of us would allow them in support of the sites we find value in visiting.

However, publishers and site operators, some unknowingly, display ads that act as a trojan horse to inject unwanted tracking code into the user’s browser, which follows them around long after they’ve left the website that injected the code. It sucks for everyone except maybe the retargeting companies and data brokers.

I value FT and would happily pay a reasonable fee annually for them to be able to provide the site without the invasive tracking technology. Unfortunately that’s not an option, and it’s not easy to convert an ad based site to a subscription one.

On the issue of VPN I also agree, it is sadly ironic and tone deaf to be trying to make savvy travelers of all demographics disable one of the few protective measures we have available to us. I did ask FT and they obliged me to whitelist a single VPN server. I appreciate being able to access the site again but it is a chore to switch to that server just for one website and admittedly my visits here have been a fraction of what they once were due to the extra hoop I now have to jump through.

I operate a small forum of my own and I realize it’s a balance between keeping the spam bots out yet keeping the site accessible and convenient for your users. Seems like it’s too heavy handed in the direction of the former concern, at least from where I sit.

Those are my two cents and FT Team and Mods, know that many of us very much appreciate this place and your work to keep it going. But please also consider the concerns expressed in this thread about the technology decisions that have been made. For every one of us being vocal about it there are likely many more who just stopped visiting and participating or don’t feel compelled enough to speak up.

edit: quoted wrong post.

Just on this note, I also visit the Australian Frequent Flyer forum, which offers access as free ad-supported and also paid without ads (subscription levels are $6/month, $50/year, $100/year).

My usage of Flyertalk has gone down by 80+% as a result of the VPN issue. Real shame. I tried to get my IP address whitelisted but it was to no avail as apparently it wasn't feasible. I'm no IT expert so can't speak to the details but I know that one of my go to websites is no longer that for me. Too bad, but oh well, life goes on.

Guys, I'm working with our network team to make some fairly comprehensive reforms on blocks. The hurdles to that are two-fold: Cloudflare is a service we use for security, but independent of us. The other problem is that I have zero knowledge or understanding of networks, so I need a lecture in every email explaining to me what our techs mean.

If it's not inappropriate, and you wouldn't be causing issues for IB by your dirty washing in public, there are some clueful techs on here that understand networks, I and maybe others can help with translation. :p

I’m sorry, but who are you? ;)

Someone with a degree in marketing and a background in human biological research and journalism. So... y'know, not exactly my forte haha

Start a Wiki?
 

Could someone start and maintain a wiki for this thread that consolidates the current understand of the VPN situation? Thanks.

I am not sure anyone has got a consolidated view, and the bulk of the useful information would be from IB's Cloudflare configuration which I suggest they would be unlikely to share as it's part of their security posture to help defend the platform from malicious attacks and includes rejecting connections from some source IPs of dubious reputation, which includes some of the IP addresses you get given by the public VPN providers. And the public VPN providers will be changing the IPs that they allocate out to users from time to time. so what not work in some situations today might work tomorrow and vice versa.

If you think you have a consolidated view - in a desktop browser go to the top of the thread, select Thread tools, create a Wikipost.

I'm also only having problems with FT, so wonder if you might be onto something.

For many (most?) people that won't be realistic, although it will help some and that's appreciated.

To repeat a point made above: There are lots of different reasons for using a VPN, many of them both legitimate and sensible.