Filter by country

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1.0.19 phpBB 3.3.2
Released:
Tue Apr 06, 2021 10:25 am
File size:
664.66 KiB
Validated for:
phpBB 3.3.2
MD5 checksum:
fbe263ee51e9215b2f3198b94aeb83fc
Install directory:
ext/phpbbservices/filterbycountry
Dependencies:
geoip2/geoip2
Description
This extension filters traffic by country. An administrator can either allow traffic from selected countries only, or not allow any traffic from selected countries. It helps reduce unwanted traffic to a board and makes the board’s content entirely inaccessible to blocked countries.

The extension uses the free MaxMind GeoLite2 country database. The database examines the IP address of the user and determines the country of origin.

You must acquire a license key to download the MaxMind database. I recommend you do this before installing the extension. You must register on the MaxMind site, but you don’t have to pay for a licensed version of this database. In fact, it works only with the free GeoLite2 country database. You will get a set of one-time credentials that you should retain somewhere safe. You will also need to enter the license key on the extension’s settings page. Without a valid license key, the database cannot be downloaded by the extension.

Some boards attract a lot of spam, often times malicious robots from countries like Ukraine, Russia or Belarus trying to create spam accounts and spam posts. This extension may be part of this solution. Other boards really don’t want traffic from outside the country because their focus is strictly national, or applies only to a set of given countries. This extension can prohibit the rest.

There are other ways to block traffic by country. For example, with a CloudFlare account you can create a rule to block by country. These solutions have the advantage of keeping this traffic from ever hitting your site, which reduces server resources used. This extension though might be preferable, as it has features that allow registered users to login even if their country is blocked, if this feature is enabled.
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