Seeing captcha when visiting from China

I assume China IP range get a bad rep these days but since our ISP (China Telecom) assign random external IP to users, I can't really control which IP I am on, and recently I have been seeing the forced captcha protection page a lot (redirects to /user/vpn-day-pass/).

This is not a big deal when I am in a browser. But it does seem to prevent me from downloading podcasts on iOS, using default podcast app (for example The Giant Beastcast ep.19, direct download link works just fine in my browser).

I can't say I completely understand your problem but would using a VPN help?

@burt: Using a VPN would work, assuming GB hasn't blocked my personal VPN server. CNET sites have similar infrastructure in place to block requests from VPN/Large cloud services (for instance, I am blocked from viewing GameSpot videos while using my VPN).

I understand why GB/CNET would put a captcha protection on traffic from China, or cloud services, but that's not my main point anyway.

My problem is with captcha protection blocking access to podcast download, I am guessing the captcha protection works by setting a cookie in browser to grant me access to GB. But iOS podcast app/OS X iTunes don't support that, so their attempts to refresh podcast list & download new episode failed.

That's my guess.

@df: Hey there. So it's kind of complicated, in that we have to use a different captcha solution for China, since google re-captcha in China doesn't work. We are aware, and it is being worked on - sorry for the issues. @edgework is working on it, so he might be able to provide you an update.

@jSlack got it, and thanks, supporting China traffic is not getting any easier, I know.

@df: Ya it blows. When I lived in China I relied on using Vyper & Express VPN a lot, seemed to be the most stable for me, but I know a lot of them are now being filtered as well.

@jslack: just wondering, will moving podcasts to v.giantbomb.com work? I can certainly download (with curl or aria2c) videos without getting captcha protection. Considering podcasts are static assets, might as well serve them with Akamai? Hopefully it's what @edgework is working on :)

@df: They are already there, but still go through a redirect from www.giantbomb.com.

@df Yeah..China traffic now a days is much worse than it was 5 years ago. Sites, login systems, and other necessary things just don't work like they used to. Even though the internet isn't my life, these changes are sort of affecting whether or not I want to continue living here for much longer....

@szlifier: Yep, but it would be much better for me if they linked directly to v.giantbomb.com in podcast feed, because as long as the link is www.giantbomb.com, it show captcha (with 403), which means iTunes or iOS podcast app will just fail.

Most of the China blocks have expired. As long as the hackers in China say quiet you'll be ok. Sorry.

@edgework: either I am somehow on the same block as the hacker (but really, random ip assignment happens on the province level, so an IP could be used in any city), or the system think I am.

Either way, from my current IP (113.97.94.xx), I am still somehow blocked (by captcha).

Speaking of DDoS though, since China is known to hijack DNS query and point them to incorrect IP, causing DDoS in the meantime, you may have a better time checking Host name.

But I don't know what you are facing, so it's just my guess.

I'm having this problem also, except I'm in Alaska. I wouldn't be surprised of the local cable company was using China's internet.

@jslack@edgework hi guys, this has got to a point where I must use VPN to download new podcast. jslack mentioned recaptcha doesn't work in china, true, but I will argue that I have to use VPN anyway (even those coffeeshops I go to regularly ALL seem to be blocked; and as discussed above, podcast app/itunes simply can't handle captcha), so despite the custom solution, they are doing me no good :(

@df: Wait, I live in Shanghai and has never had this problem (also Telecom). Can't download anything from GB because speeds have been terrible since four years ago, but I've grown used to it and just download at work (using Unicom). Ever since Google got completely blocked last October, GB has been pretty wonky but still usable for the most part.

Where in China you at, OP?

@zomgfruitbunnies:Shenzhen, but many IP databases seem to match my IP to Guangzhou.

PS: currently in a Costa Coffee, and my IP is 183.39.172.187, which is very different from my home IP (113.97.94.xx), but I still see the captcha. I have tried a few other places in the past month, none get me through the block.

@df: You might be stuck using a VPN for now. The Internet situation in China is always weird and prone to change. I mean, if you can afford it, maybe try a different ISP, but as I understand it Telecom dominates the south so I'm not sure what other options you have. Shanghai is unique in that it sits sort of in the middle so we get the best and worst of both worlds, but at least there are options.

You really have no choice in China, you will have to use a VPN. I tried everything I could when I lived there, and CDNs are not even close to reliable, if being served to a Chinese IP.

Sorry for the necro, but I got hit with this last night at home. Entering the captcha just gives me a "invalid request" error. Telecom has been all kinds of weird lately, access and connection speed to non-domestic locations have gone all the way into the shitter. Posting on office Unicom internet right now which seems unaffected.

Maybe it's time to renew that VPN...