User abuse via downloaders - Must limit conns per IP!! HELP

[Hendrickson]

I've just spent the last few hours fighting off users with bloody download accelerators, jetcar, flashget etc and the likes. Hate this programs. I google the net and see that one of the creates has added support for my site. And I guess then all XFS sites...

Checking my servers netlogs I have seen many free users are downloading files at crazy rates due to the same IP connection over 50 times...This overloads the server to no end. Both CPU and the network port maxed out.

How can we limit say free and registered users to say 1 ip connection. And then allow paid users say 10 ip connections?

Sharenator.net has this, which I think is PligramX's So how do we do this? Please share

[PowerChaos]

well, you can limit apache max conections ??
if i am not wrong , there is a setup in it that can limit max conections per ip and max total conections

but that will not change for normal and premium users then

not sure if the script can do that eather

Greets From PowerChaos

[Hendrickson]

[PowerChaos]

then dont allow direct links ??

because direct links are not protected by a script ?
so how you want it then to limit it ??

there is a reason why it is called direct link and not a download link

the value of a direct link is that you can DIRECT acces it with out any limitation

so its normal that you can make 100+ conections on it

so easy to solve , disable direct links and you dont have that problem anymore

only allow direct links from premium members

ps: a download locator like flashget only allows 10 conections per file

Greets From PowerChaos

[PilgrimX182]

Captcha will definately help

[PowerChaos]

a capcha doesnt resolve direct linkings : S

it is onyl a capcha to get the link but the link is linked to your ip

maybe if the script can be a bit modified for the direct links
but then it still need to use dl.cgi ofcourse

if i am not wrong , those links are rewritten to fit the right locaion and to give a name to them

so a direct link need to get past a script to get the right file (files are stored like tr90jfro0h0v
but in database it gets a name
and it rewrite the file on the fly to the right name )

but not sure if it is posseble then to limit max conections , or there need to be a counter on it like ftp have

but the site doesnt works with ftp (only http) so thats hard to
els it was posseble to use a ftp limit conection per ip based (still apply global)

so the only way to do it is in the script itself , but that going be hard to do if i am not wrong

putting a counter in it , if more then XX conections returinging a 404 error page

then to notice that you need to keep in mind with the keep alive conections (browsing a webpage doesnt give only 1 ip , sometimes you got more conections to it then only 1 )


so not sure if it is posseble :S

Greets From PowerChaos