How to prevent 403 errors and protect your short links?

Milad Azami
Fri, 08 Nov 2024 03:57:41 +0000
Security

Understanding Linko’s new security system.

At Linko, we’ve implemented a robust security system to protect your short links, accounts, and overall user experience.

Powered by AWS WAF (Web Application Firewall), this system blocks malicious traffic, bots, and fraud clicks to ensure your link data remains accurate.

If you’re encountering issues such as 403 Forbbiden error, this guide will explain why it happens and how to avoid it.

Why the AWS WAF security system is essential?

The AWS WAF is critical in protecting the integrity of your short links and account data. It blocks suspicious traffic and prevents bots from skewing link statistics.

Here’s how it works:

Blocks malicious bots: Stops bots and automated crawlers from
interacting with your short links.

Protects statistics: Filters out fraud clicks, ensuring your data reflects only real user engagement.

Minimizes server load: Reduces unnecessary traffic and protects our resources from being overused.

Understanding the 403 Error and common causes.

If you encounter a 403 error on Linko, it means your IP address has triggered the WAF security system.

This usually happens when the server detects traffic from suspicious sources like VPNs, proxies, or uptime monitoring tools.

These sources often resemble automated traffic or bots, which the WAF blocks to maintain a secure environment.

Key AWS WAF protection rules.

We’ve implemented several protection rules to safeguard your short links:

1. Bot Control: Prevents bot traffic from interacting with your links.

2. Anonymous IP Block: Blocks traffic from suspicious or anonymous sources, like VPNs, data center IPs, and hosting provider (cloud provider) IPs.

3. Reputation List: Filters traffic from IPs with a known bad reputation.

4. Rate Limiting: Restricts the number of requests within a short period to avoid overload.

5. Common Attack Prevention: Blocks known malicious inputs and potential attack vectors.

These measures work together to prevent fraud, reduce server load, and ensure your link statistics are accurate.

How to prevent being blocked by AWS WAF?

Why I cannot access my own short link?

Repeatedly clicking on your own short links, particularly in incognito mode, can trigger the security system (AWS WAF) to block your IP.

This behavior can appear as suspicious or automated traffic, similar to what bots or malicious actors might do. So, it’s best to avoid excessive clicks on your own links. If you need to test them, onlu visit them once or twice.

Why am I receiving a 403 error when using a VPN?

The AWS WAF blocks traffic from VPNs and proxies as they are often used by bots. If you need to test your links from another location, ask someone with a regular ISP connection to check them for you.

Are my short link stats accurate now?

Yes, with the addition of AWS WAF, we can confidently say that 99% of fraud clicks and bots are blocked, ensuring that your stats are more reliable than before.

Can I use uptime monitoring services?

No. Uptime monitoring tools create unnecessary traffic that can skew your stats and overload our servers. We recommend avoiding these tools to keep your links safe.

How can I check if my IP is blocked?

Use services like IPQualityScore or IP2Location to check the reputation of your IP address. If it’s flagged, contact us for whitelisting.

What should I do if I’m blocked even though I’m not using a VPN?

If you’re blocked and aren’t using a VPN or proxy, check your IP reputation. Some ISPs assign IPs that may have been flagged for previous malicious activity.

After being blocked, avoid sending traffic or visiting your short links for 1 to 5 minutes.

If your IP is clean and you’re still blocked, contact us with your IP address for assistance and potential whitelisting.

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