How to diagnose a region error?

Jericho46

I have a Model 2100 with 25.07.1-RELEASE (arm64). It has the default packages plus patches, pfBlockerNG, and Snort.

When trying to access specific websites, it causes this browser error;
"We're sorry, but our services are not currently available in your region."

If I disable pfBlockerNG, I still get the error. Multiple browsers all get the same error, and all clients (phone or desktop) network get same error.

But, If I launch a client based VPN, bypassing the settings in pfSense, the website(s) work ok. System > General has the correct time zone.

Any suggestions please?

patient0

@Jericho46 where are you connecting with the client VPN to (do a different country)? And can you show an example of a website?

I'd say usually the message means exactly that: the service you are trying to access is not available in you region/country.
The IP you get from your ISP and which the service is accessed from is assigned to the region your ISP is in (check e.g. https://www.maxmind.com/en/geoip-web-services-demo and enter you public IP).

With a VPN to another region you may be able to work around that issue on some services. And with other services (like Netflix) it mostly won't work. There is not more you can do, if the company that runs the website don't want to provide the service in you region.

stephenw10

Yup sounds like the VPN is allowing access to those geolocked sites. That's not something pfSense is doing.

Jericho46

@patient0 Thanks guys, but you're not helping. I know pfSense is 'blocking' these particular sites, which are domestic. My client-VPN bypasses, tunnels thru pfsense and returns the correct results. I'm asking how to figure out which setting is blocking.

If I deselect pfBlockerNG, the site is still blocked. So which OTHER settings would set it to block a US domestic site from a US domestic location? Please.

SteveITS

@Jericho46 if you’re connecting to the web server and receiving a message from it, then you’re connected.

IP addresses move around, have you checked yours on a lookup site?

stephenw10

Unless you're somehow tunneling traffic to somewhere else in pfSense then that message is nothing to do with pfSense. It's the server telling you the source IP you're using (the pfSense WAN address) is not allowed to access it. For some reason.

Now if you have a VPN setup in pfSense it could be tunnelling your traffic to some remote source IP that's in a completely different region.

But where is the VPN server your client VPN connects to that then allow the connection?