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    PfBlocker not updating after initial list download and only trying once a day

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved pfSense Packages
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    • A
      ashes00
      last edited by

      @MarkVLK:

      @ashes00:

      @MarkVLK:

      I'm actually seeing the same issue on 2.1.4

      In the system logs, it says none of the three lists that I have need updating but I've compared the rules of at least one of the lists to the actual list at the link I provided it and the IPs are not the same. I had it set to update every 24 hours but changed it to 12 hours though seems like nothing has changed and the IPs are still outdated.

      MarkVLK - I'm seeing the same thing on 2.1.3.  None of the lists are updating even thought their file date changes.  DI you ever find a solution to this?  Thanks
      Ash,

      Unfortunately I have not yet found a solution. The lists do appear to update occasionally, just not every time. Not sure what's causing this behavior.

      MarkVLK - Quick Question are you using an embedded version (NANO)?
      Ash,

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      • T
        tobi64
        last edited by

        I see this behaviour on the embedded version 2.1.5 (nanobsd) whenever the media read/write status is read-only.

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        • A
          ashes00
          last edited by

          @tobi64:

          I see this behaviour on the embedded version 2.1.5 (nanobsd) whenever the media read/write status is read-only.

          tobi64 - Thanks for the heads up.  I am starting to think this is a NANO platform related issue.  I have changed my NANO file system to RW, and tried the rc.updatealiastables command, and nothing changes.  I ordered a SSD, and will be installing the Full version, and testing against that in the coming weeks.

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          • T
            tobi64
            last edited by

            May be I'm wrong, but in my eyes the command 'rc.updatealiastables' has nothing to do with pfblocker. The periodically update uses the command 'php -q /usr/local/www/pfblocker.php cron'. I tried it on page 'Diagnostics / Command Prompt' without success. But it works over ssh using Putty.exe. But only if the media read/write status is read-write.

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            • A
              ashes00
              last edited by

              tobi64 - I found in the pf forums that pfblocker relies on pfsense to do the actual list update.  That command was the one that people were using to force update the URL alias lists.  I think its broke as it has never forked for me though.  Ill continue with my plan to swap out pfsense HDD with Full install HDD, and continue trouble shooting.

              On another note….. I have another PFsense (Full Install) that just had every list, other than Country lists, disappear in all location (Aliases>URLs, PFblocker widget, and /var/db/aliatables/*.  They are still referenced in Firewall>Pf blocker>lists though!?!  WTH  Getting tired of this PFblocker acting like a fool.  I think I'm just going to add/remove the package,and set it up from fresh.  Grrrr...

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              • BBcan177B
                BBcan177 Moderator
                last edited by

                Hi ashes00,

                @ashes00:

                tobi64 - I found in the pf forums that pfblocker relies on pfsense to do the actual list update.

                pfBlocker should update on its own. the rc.update_urltables will update once every 32 days only.

                What settings are you using for the "Action" in the Alias TAB?

                On another note….. I have another PFsense (Full Install) that just had every list, other than Country lists, disappear in all location (Aliases>URLs, PFblocker widget, and /var/db/aliatables/*.  They are still referenced in Firewall>Pf blocker>lists though!?!  WTH  Getting tired of this PFblocker acting like a fool.  I think I'm just going to add/remove the package,and set it up from fresh.  Grrrr...

                From the comment above, either pfBlocker was Disabled, or the Action is set as "Disabled" or the Update Frequency is set to "Never"

                If that is not the case, reply back…

                "Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it."

                Website: http://pfBlockerNG.com
                Twitter: @BBcan177  #pfBlockerNG
                Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/pfBlockerNG/new/

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                • A
                  ashes00
                  last edited by

                  BBcan177 - Thanks for responding! :)

                  What settings are you using for the "Action" in the Alias TAB?

                  General Settings TAB Inbound Action = Block, and Outbound action - reject. Lists TAB Deny_Both for all but 1 list.

                  From the comment above, either pfBlocker was Disabled, or the Action is set as "Disabled" or the Update Frequency is set to "Never"

                  If that is not the case, reply back… --> This is my 2nd pfsense,and the actions are the same as 1st pfsesne system.

                  My update frequency is always set to 4 Hours for both pfsense routers.

                  Hope this helps.

                  Also I have upgraded pfsesne unit 1 from NANO build v2.1.3 to Full Install v2.1.5 on Friday night.  I still have 2 lists that are not updating to what www.iblocklist.com says the CIDRs count should equal.  Lists not updating = spyware and hijacked (bluetrack version).

                  Ash

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                  • BBcan177B
                    BBcan177 Moderator
                    last edited by

                    Which lists are you having issues with? What are you expecting the count to be?

                    "Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it."

                    Website: http://pfBlockerNG.com
                    Twitter: @BBcan177  #pfBlockerNG
                    Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/pfBlockerNG/new/

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                    • A
                      ashes00
                      last edited by

                      @BBcan177:

                      Which lists are you having issues with? What are you expecting the count to be?

                      1. I am using the following iblocklist.com lists. (with a paid subscription)

                      hijacked - Bluetack (p2p, gz) [Number of ranges = 496, Last updated 11/11/14]
                      spyware - Bluetrack (p2p, gz) [Number of ranges = 3201, Last updated 11/11/14]

                      On 2 different PFsense systems report the following CIDR counts

                      PF01 (Full install v2.1.5)
                      hijacked = 536 CIDRs
                      spyware = 3565 CIDRs

                      PF02 (Full install v2.1.3)
                      hijacked = 536 CIDRs
                      spyware = 3565 CIDRs

                      I am expecting to see the following on both PFsense systems.
                      hijacked = 496 CIDRs
                      spyware = 3201 CIDRs

                      2. Side note, what is the best/proper iblocklist.com (paid subscription) File Format?  p2p, dat, cidr, or hosts?  I picked p2p after reading tons of PFsense PFblocker threads, but not 100% sure what the best choice is here.

                      3. Also thanks so much for all you do.  From what I read you seem to be leading the path for the rebirth/redesign of PFBLOCKER.  Keep up the great work, and THANK YOU!!!!!!  Is there anytime line on when the newer PFBLOCKER might come out in "Available Packages"?

                      Ash

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                      • BBcan177B
                        BBcan177 Moderator
                        last edited by

                        You would use p2p,gz format.

                        With my version of pfBlockerNG, I have the following counts for those Lists:

                        http://list.iblocklist.com/?list=usrcshglbiilevmyfhse&fileformat=p2p&archiveformat=gz
                        wc -l IBlock_BT_Hijack.orig
                          536 IBlock_BT_Hijack.orig

                        http://list.iblocklist.com/?list=llvtlsjyoyiczbkjsxpf&fileformat=p2p&archiveformat=gz
                        wc -l IBlock_BT_Spy.orig
                          3565 IBlock_BT_Spy.orig

                        If you want to help Beta Test, send me a PM. The Devs are busy with 2.2, so when they have time I hope they will review.

                        "Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it."

                        Website: http://pfBlockerNG.com
                        Twitter: @BBcan177  #pfBlockerNG
                        Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/pfBlockerNG/new/

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                        • A
                          ashes00
                          last edited by

                          @BBcan177:

                          You would use p2p,gz format.

                          With my version of pfBlockerNG, I have the following counts for those Lists:

                          http://list.iblocklist.com/?list=usrcshglbiilevmyfhse&fileformat=p2p&archiveformat=gz
                          wc -l IBlock_BT_Hijack.orig
                            536 IBlock_BT_Hijack.orig

                          http://list.iblocklist.com/?list=llvtlsjyoyiczbkjsxpf&fileformat=p2p&archiveformat=gz
                          wc -l IBlock_BT_Spy.orig
                            3565 IBlock_BT_Spy.orig

                          Hey BBcan177, Well that matches up with what I have when I do wc -l on both lists and both PFsense systems.  Great you and I are experiencing the same situation then (Great Base line).  When I go over to the iblocklist.com website the stated Number of ranges are different.

                          https://www.iblocklist.com/list.php?list=usrcshglbiilevmyfhse –> Number of ranges = 496, not 536
                          https://www.iblocklist.com/list.php?list=llvtlsjyoyiczbkjsxpf --> Number of ranges = 3201, not 3565

                          When I download the list manually to my Win7 PC, and do line count I get 496, & 3201 respectively.  I could understand if our lists were smaller if PFblocker was dedupping some ranges, but both our lists are larger than what we are being given.  This leads me to believe that PBflocker is not updating the list correctly.  Is my logic flawed?

                          Both my PFsense systems are production, so I can't Beta test at the moment.  If I can find some hardware to spare I'll PM you later.

                          Again thanks for all your help!
                          Ash,

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                          • W
                            wcrowder
                            last edited by

                            @ashes00:

                            @BBcan177:

                            You would use p2p,gz format.

                            With my version of pfBlockerNG, I have the following counts for those Lists:

                            http://list.iblocklist.com/?list=usrcshglbiilevmyfhse&fileformat=p2p&archiveformat=gz
                            wc -l IBlock_BT_Hijack.orig
                              536 IBlock_BT_Hijack.orig

                            http://list.iblocklist.com/?list=llvtlsjyoyiczbkjsxpf&fileformat=p2p&archiveformat=gz
                            wc -l IBlock_BT_Spy.orig
                              3565 IBlock_BT_Spy.orig

                            Hey BBcan177, Well that matches up with what I have when I do wc -l on both lists and both PFsense systems.  Great you and I are experiencing the same situation then (Great Base line).  When I go over to the iblocklist.com website the stated Number of ranges are different.

                            https://www.iblocklist.com/list.php?list=usrcshglbiilevmyfhse –> Number of ranges = 496, not 536
                            https://www.iblocklist.com/list.php?list=llvtlsjyoyiczbkjsxpf --> Number of ranges = 3201, not 3565

                            When I download the list manually to my Win7 PC, and do line count I get 496, & 3201 respectively.  I could understand if our lists were smaller if PFblocker was dedupping some ranges, but both our lists are larger than what we are being given.  This leads me to believe that PBflocker is not updating the list correctly.  Is my logic flawed?

                            Both my PFsense systems are production, so I can't Beta test at the moment.  If I can find some hardware to spare I'll PM you later.

                            Again thanks for all your help!
                            Ash,

                            http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classless_Inter-Domain_Routing

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                            • A
                              ashes00
                              last edited by

                              @wcrowder:

                              @ashes00:

                              @BBcan177:

                              You would use p2p,gz format.

                              With my version of pfBlockerNG, I have the following counts for those Lists:

                              http://list.iblocklist.com/?list=usrcshglbiilevmyfhse&fileformat=p2p&archiveformat=gz
                              wc -l IBlock_BT_Hijack.orig
                                536 IBlock_BT_Hijack.orig

                              http://list.iblocklist.com/?list=llvtlsjyoyiczbkjsxpf&fileformat=p2p&archiveformat=gz
                              wc -l IBlock_BT_Spy.orig
                                3565 IBlock_BT_Spy.orig

                              Hey BBcan177, Well that matches up with what I have when I do wc -l on both lists and both PFsense systems.  Great you and I are experiencing the same situation then (Great Base line).  When I go over to the iblocklist.com website the stated Number of ranges are different.

                              https://www.iblocklist.com/list.php?list=usrcshglbiilevmyfhse –> Number of ranges = 496, not 536
                              https://www.iblocklist.com/list.php?list=llvtlsjyoyiczbkjsxpf --> Number of ranges = 3201, not 3565

                              When I download the list manually to my Win7 PC, and do line count I get 496, & 3201 respectively.  I could understand if our lists were smaller if PFblocker was dedupping some ranges, but both our lists are larger than what we are being given.  This leads me to believe that PBflocker is not updating the list correctly.  Is my logic flawed?

                              Both my PFsense systems are production, so I can't Beta test at the moment.  If I can find some hardware to spare I'll PM you later.

                              Again thanks for all your help!
                              Ash,

                              http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classless_Inter-Domain_Routing

                              wcrowder - Maybe I have this backwards,  But, the use of CIDR would allow my PFsense list to be SMALLER than that of the Original list.  The fact that my PFsense list is larger does not make any sence if the PFsense is summarizing the IP ranges in order to reduce the amount of data to hold.  In addition the other lists I have are the same qty on pfsense and iblocklists.com.  Sorry I just do not see how this is applicable.  I see see my PFsense as not updating to the correct number of ranges provided by iblocklist.com.  Please understand I mean no disrespect, just don't see how CIDR is going to change only 2 lists.  If I am blindly missing something, please feel free to explain.  Thanks for your help.

                              BBcan177 - Do you think that my logic in my reply on "November 12, 2014, 12:18:45 pm"  makes since?  Thanks again for your help.

                              Ash,

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                              • BBcan177B
                                BBcan177 Moderator
                                last edited by

                                wcrowder was leading you in the right direction  :)

                                Take for example this Range from the IBlock BT Spyware List

                                Range Format
                                221.181.73.214-221.181.73.221:

                                Converts to the following in CIDR Notation
                                221.181.73.214/31
                                221.181.73.216/30
                                221.181.73.220/31

                                So comparing Line Count in Range to CIDR is not going to be exact depending on the Ranges in a particular list.

                                Hope this makes it clearer.

                                "Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it."

                                Website: http://pfBlockerNG.com
                                Twitter: @BBcan177  #pfBlockerNG
                                Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/pfBlockerNG/new/

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                                • A
                                  ashes00
                                  last edited by

                                  @BBcan177:

                                  wcrowder was leading you in the right direction  :)

                                  Take for example this Range from the IBlock BT Spyware List

                                  Range Format
                                  221.181.73.214-221.181.73.221:

                                  Converts to the following in CIDR Notation
                                  221.181.73.214/31
                                  221.181.73.216/30
                                  221.181.73.220/31

                                  So comparing Line Count in Range to CIDR is not going to be exact depending on the Ranges in a particular list.

                                  Hope this makes it clearer.

                                  BBcan177 - Thanks, and I guess that settles that. :)  So it looks like the only way I have to validate that lists are updating is just if they change from time to time.

                                  wcrowder - Sorry, & Thank you.  I guess I had that backwards.

                                  Ash,

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