AutoBanIP Lite for Windows

User Reviews

• Best there is that works on my system right now...

  ItlanApril 30, 2010

  Pros

  Simple installation. Bans using IIS. Relatively fast. Easy to hack the settings. Reads the right FTP log file even if you moved it from the standard location.

  Cons

  Does not run as a service (though you can force this). Does not break up the log file by date (log gets big). Program website is broken. Seems like program is not being developed anymore. Only works with the default FTP setup MSFTPSVC1.

  Summary

  I tried several other programs to ban hackers trying to break into my FTP server. All of them failed for one reason or another. Could be my fault but if the program is not easy to use, what use is it? AutoBan IP worked the first time. Still works and that's saying a lot. The normal operation of the program is to run while you are logged in. If you log off, the program stops and no longer filters the hackers. To get around this, use the SRVANY program from the Microsoft SDK (instructions can be found elsewhere). This installs any program you want as a service and enables it to run while you are not logged in- the normal operation of a server. Make sure the program is up and running properly before installing it as a service. One other thing you may want to change is the number of failed login attempts in a certain time period. It's a registry entry, so just search for AutoBanIP and you will find it. This should be a setting in the program, but it's not. One thing you may notice is even though you set it to ban after 10 login attempts, the hacker gets in 20 attempts or so. This is because the hacker is trying passwords using a script at a very fast rate. AutoBanIP has to parse the log file and execute ban commands which take time. If you look at the elapsed time, it's only a couple of seconds before the hacking stops. Microsoft really should have built this into Windows Server. Some people accomplish this task by using scripts and API events. But that's all very delicate. When you restart your server you have to set all that up again. This program with the service hack is automatic. It's a shame the author didn't put this on SourceForge. From the "Lite" part of the name, perhaps he was trying to develop a full version to make money. This version needs some polishing, but it gets the job done.

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• Doesn't work with Vista / IIS7

  defaultuser1July 5, 2008

  Pros

  Cons

  Doesn't work with Vista. Offers zero protection. Logfile: <p> <p>7/5/2008 3:55:00 PM Info begin of Execute::GetLastestIP() <p>7/5/2008 3:55:00 PM Warning in ExecuteBan::GetLastestIP() Log file FTP doesn't exist <p> <p>Note also the misspelling of "latest" as "lastest." Sloppy. Plus lousy documentation.

  Summary

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