Astraweb - from NL servers

[amazeballs 2]

Hi all,

Eddie always tries to put me onto NL servers.  A couple of days ago I noticed I was not able to connect to my Usenet provider (Astraweb) on my NZB client.

I thought this was odd and so waited a day in case they had site maintenance or something.  However I was not even able to access their homepage.

 

I tried visiting their home page sans VPN and presto!  Instant connection.  I then tried Blacklisting NL servers with Eddie and managed to get through to Astraweb after that.

 

So - perhaps Astraweb are blocking VPN servers from NL?

[sdjj7e3 0]

Yes, I'm seeing that as well. There are a few that work though, all starting with 109.xxx.xxx.xxx

 

https://airvpn.org/routes/?q=astraweb.com

 

Strange that the broken routes are not direct, mostly thru the US???

[cknipe 0]

Also experiencing the blocks.

[sdjj7e3 0]

Opened a AirVPN ticket linking to this topic. Nothing they can do about it, so need to contact Astraweb and everyone should join in.

 

Also, now all the NL servers seem to be blocked, 109.x.x.x as well as 213.x.x.x

 

 

Hello!

For some reason Astraweb blocks the whole datacenter in which we operate our servers in the Netherlands. Please contact them for information, if you wish so.

Kind regards
AirVPN Support Team

[mdtx 2]

I had experienced the problem that all the nodes I tested (about eight in different countries) were all not seeing Astraweb.   

Posted a service request at Astraweb, on Sunday 30th July, about AirVPN being blocked, and that Newsgroups and VPNs go together like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, or Calvin and Hobbes... 

Had a timely response from the front line support staff, with the messaging that they were escalating it up the technical support chain.

 

Checking it today, Monday, 31st, at least for Regulus (Canada) I am happy to report, Astraweb visibility has been restored.

[j7j3 7]

I have tested every country server and here are my results, ymmv....

 

Passed: Canada, Hong Kong, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, Ukraine, United States

Failed: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland

[amazeballs 2]

I have tested every country server and here are my results, ymmv....

 

Passed: Canada, Hong Kong, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, Ukraine, United States

Failed: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland

j7k3 - so you tested all of these for Astraweb connections?  I have only had issues with NL so far.  Interesting.

 

Has anyone had similar issues with other providers?  I can't afford Giganews so I was wondering if anyone was able to check them or other providers.

[amazeballs 2]

I had experienced the problem that all the nodes I tested (about eight in different countries) were all not seeing Astraweb.   

 

Posted a service request at Astraweb, on Sunday 30th July, about AirVPN being blocked, and that Newsgroups and VPNs go together like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, or Calvin and Hobbes... 

 

Had a timely response from the front line support staff, with the messaging that they were escalating it up the technical support chain.

 

Checking it today, Monday, 31st, at least for Regulus (Canada) I am happy to report, Astraweb visibility has been restored.

Nice analogy.  

 

Lets hope Astraweb pull their fingers out..

[j7j3 7]

 

I had experienced the problem that all the nodes I tested (about eight in different countries) were all not seeing Astraweb.   

 

Posted a service request at Astraweb, on Sunday 30th July, about AirVPN being blocked, and that Newsgroups and VPNs go together like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, or Calvin and Hobbes... 

 

Had a timely response from the front line support staff, with the messaging that they were escalating it up the technical support chain.

 

Checking it today, Monday, 31st, at least for Regulus (Canada) I am happy to report, Astraweb visibility has been restored.

Nice analogy.  

 

Lets hope Astraweb pull their fingers out..

 

They better for their own sake as I'll not be renewing my block account if they carry on with this sort of nonsense... 

[fzappa 0]

I have raised the issue at Astraweb and got the following answer yesterday:

 

"The error occurs as VPN changes your IP from time to time. Our server only recognizes 1 IP at a time to prevent account sharing which is why you will get errors of probable account sharing when using VPN. Thank you."

[mdtx 2]

AstraWeb is blocking AirVPN again  , I've logged a fault with the AstraWeb admins, but have not heard back from them.   

Possibly, this time too, it is related to shared IP addresses on the AirVPN exit nodes.

How does one escalate this recurring problem to the AirVPN administrators - the AirVPN admins need to have a serious technical chit-chat with the admins of AstraWeb, to permanently resolve this problem.

Newsgroups and VPNs go together like Bing and Bob, Fred and Ginger, Calvin and Hobbes... 

[IkkaMouse 1]

suggestion : Take pureusenet as Usenet provider.

• Unlimited Speed
• 12 Connections
• 2000 Days Retention

I use it for years now. No problems of spots being found.

 

Grtz.

[mdtx 2]

@ikkaMouse, thank you very much for your suggestion, I'll squirrel that away, for the next rainy day.

The AstraWeb admins have corrected the problem, again.

 

What I like about the AstraWeb system are the pre-paid, no-expiration, fixed quota accounts, since I am not a mad-keen downloader (anymore!).

[sdjj7e3 0]

Not working for me on any NL AirVPN IP

 

https://airvpn.org/routes/?q=astraweb.com

[mdtx 2]

Ah, solid gold! A route checker, thanks sdjj7e3. (Memo to self: Read the documentation, Padawan!)

https://airvpn.org/routes/

My Astraweb block account limps on.

[mdtx 2]

astraweb.com has zero visibility at the moment. (16th January 2018).

It would be good if the Administrators could get to the bottom of the problem, and implement a permanent solution.

Can anyone recommend a good Usenet block account, with no expiry of download quotas, that works reliably with AirVPN? - Thank you.

A visibility snap-shot: https://ibb.co/kxXGSR

[Staff 9972]

astraweb.com has zero visibility at the moment. (16th January 2018).

 

It would be good if the Administrators could get to the bottom of the problem, and implement a permanent solution.

 

 

Hello!

 

"Permanent" is not a proper adjective near "solution" in this context. Nothing is permanent.

 

We will try but can we ask you why you like to pay people to have a service which actively blocks our VPN servers, showing you utter disrespect as they consider your privacy, a fundamental human right, not even worth to be protected by a VPN?

 

Kind regards

[mdtx 2]

@Staff: Thank you for responding.

I have been happily using Astraweb block accounts for a long time before discovering the joys of AirVPN, however if Astraweb are deliberately blocking AirVPN (my troubles have been in recent times), or any VPN, then I will have to, sadly, let go, of Astraweb.

If anyone can recommend a Usenet provider that works reliably with AirVPN and that also has Block Accounts, I would be most obliged, thank you.

[zhang888 1066]

Try Eweka:

https://www.eweka.nl/en/free_trial/

 

Eweka (Dutch word for Eureka) is what many people say when they finally find a reliable usenet provider. In 2018.

This is neither a recommendation nor a promotion, their parent is Highwinds(!) who are known for 15+ years of making global multi TB/s CDNs.

Your experience may be different.

[mdtx 2]

@zhang8888: Thank you very much for the suggestion, if other lines of block account enquiry bear no fruit, I will certainly consider it!

 

However, I am, ideally, looking for a Usenet provider that is compatible with AirVPN, and also offers "Block" accounts.

 

I mainly upload to Usenet Binaries Newsgroups, and participate in a few Usenet discussion groups. Since uploads were not counted in my Astraweb Block account, it was near "Immortal", in regards to my customary usage patterns.

 

Edit: I have opened a query in the off-topic sub-forum: https://airvpn.org/topic/25144-iso-usenet-providers-compatible-with-airvpn-have-block-accounts/

Edited ... by mdtx