# How to block countries on a Minecraft server A server made for players from a couple of neighbouring countries gets bot attacks from places where it never had a single real player. A country filter closes those directions with one setting, but there are a few catches. Updated: 2026-10-27 ## In short - The country is worked out from the IP address, so the filter only works together with VPN blocking. - There are two modes: let in only the selected countries, or everyone except the selected ones. - The whitelist beats the filter, so one of your own players in a closed country still gets in. - In Kordon the country filter is available from the Basic plan, and blocking individual mobile carriers from the Pro plan. ## When you need it Most servers have players from a handful of countries where people speak the server's language. If all other traffic brings only bots and rule breakers, there is no reason to keep the server open to the whole world. For an international server, or one with many players living abroad, it works the other way round. A wide block would hit your own players, so it makes more sense to close the one or two countries the attacks come from. ## Why the filter fails without VPN blocking A player's country is taken from the address they connect from. With a VPN anyone can pick any country in a couple of clicks, and the filter then sees the country chosen in the VPN instead of the real one. So a country filter only makes sense with the VPN and proxy check turned on, for example on the "Balanced" protection level. ## Two modes The filter is set per server in the panel, on the "Countries" tab of the "Protection" section. The list can hold up to 300 countries. ### Only from the selected ones The server is open only to the listed countries. This is the strictest option and suits local servers. Keep in mind that even your own player cannot join while on holiday abroad until you add them to the whitelist. ### Except the selected ones The server is open to everyone except the listed countries. This option is softer and handy for closing specific countries that attacks come from. A player from a closed country sees the "Country" message. You can change its text in the panel, and the `{COUNTRY}` placeholder puts the country name into it. ## First see who the filter would hit In observe mode the country filter kicks nobody and only marks those players in the login log. That way you can see who it would hit before you turn protection on. During a bot attack the server is protected for real even in observe mode, and the filter works too. Before you set it up, open the login map (from the Basic plan) and look at where your players actually come from. ## Close a mobile carrier instead of a country Sometimes closing a whole country is too blunt, and rule breakers keep coming back through the mobile internet of one carrier. On Pro and higher you can close a specific mobile carrier. Only its mobile internet is blocked, phone hotspots included, while home internet from the same carrier keeps working. The player sees the "Mobile internet" message, and the whitelist still wins. ## Try it on your server Start in observe mode: Kordon shows who it would keep out, and you turn protection on when you are ready. [Create an account](https://panel.kordonlabs.com/register) ## More guides - [How to block VPNs and proxies on a Minecraft server](https://kordonlabs.com/guides/block-vpn-minecraft-server): Why players join through VPNs and proxies, which ways to block them exist, and how to set up the Kordon AntiVPN plugin on BungeeCord or Velocity step by step. - [Why IP bans do not work and what to use instead](https://kordonlabs.com/guides/why-ip-bans-fail-minecraft): Why a Minecraft IP ban often misses the rule breaker or hits innocent players: dynamic IPs, CGNAT, mobile data, IPv6 and VPNs. And what to do instead. - [How to protect a Minecraft server from bot attacks](https://kordonlabs.com/guides/minecraft-bot-attack-protection): What a bot attack on a Minecraft server looks like, why it comes through proxies, and how Kordon's attack mode closes the networks bots come from while real players keep joining.