How players get around a ban
A ban by nickname is beaten by a new account. A ban by IP is beaten by a new address. Players combine both:
- a VPN or a proxy gives a new address in seconds;
- a mobile connection gets a new address after turning flight mode on and off;
- on cracked servers a new nickname costs nothing at all.
So a good setup closes the cheap ways back and helps you spot the person behind a new account.
Close the VPN and proxy route
Most evaders return through a VPN or a proxy because it is the fastest way. With an AntiVPN check on the proxy, such a connection is refused before the player reaches your server, whatever the nickname. See how to block VPNs and proxies.
For mobile connections Kordon can close individual mobile carriers in a country. It is useful when evaders keep coming back from one carrier your regular players do not use.
Use the blacklist
Kordon's blacklist takes nicknames, single IPs and IP ranges. An entry can be permanent or last a set time, and a player on the list who is online is disconnected at once. You can add entries in the panel or from the game:
/kordon blacklist add 185.220.101.0/24 7d griefingA range or a whole network (AS) is handy when one person keeps switching addresses inside the same provider. Use it with care: a range of a home or mobile provider also contains innocent players.
Find the person behind a new account
On higher plans each player's card in the panel has an account links graph. It shows which other accounts on your server are likely the same person and why: the same addresses, the same subnet, the same skin, a similar nickname, one account leaving right before the other joins.
Links are shown with their strength. A strong link built from several kinds of evidence means a lot; a single shared address may be a family, a dorm or a mobile network. From the graph you can blacklist the whole group of nicknames in one go.
The graph only looks at your own server. Players' accounts on other servers protected by Kordon are never shown to you.
Good habits
- Ban by nickname and close the VPN route; this already stops most evaders.
- Look at the login log before banning an IP: you will see who else joins from it.
- Give temporary bans a time limit so the list does not fill up with stale entries.
- Keep regular players on the whitelist so a range ban never touches them.
A determined player with a second home connection and a clean account can still return. The goal is to make every return slow and noticeable, and that is usually enough.