GitHub blocks all China IP access for unknown reasons

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Monkey Hero

#Website Application Code Hosting Platform GitHub is suspected to block access from all Chinese IP addresses. Logged-in users can temporarily continue to access it, but the specific reason is still unclear and it should not be for anti-crawling purposes. Tests show that even the GitHub login page returns 403. If it were just for anti-crawling, it would be unlikely to block access to the login page as well. There are already posts in the GitHub official discussion group reporting this issue, but there has been no official response yet. Read the full text: https://ourl.co/108739

The code hosting platform GitHub, owned by Microsoft, has currently blocked all Chinese IP addresses for unknown reasons. Users who are already logged in can still access it, while those who have not logged in will be prompted that access to the site is restricted for their IP.

Access to this site has been restricted. If you believe this is an error, please contact Support.

From the status code, it can be seen that the return is HTTP 403, which means access is forbidden. Testing shows that any IP address belonging to mainland China is prohibited from access. The database source may be the GeoIP database, so some non-Chinese IP addresses, such as Singapore IPs, may also be blocked due to database display issues.

Some netizens speculate from the login status that GitHub may be blocking Chinese IP addresses to prevent crawlers, but this speculation may not align with the actual situation, because the GitHub login page also returns HTTP 403. If it were just to prevent crawling, it should allow access to the login interface; otherwise, wouldn't both normal users and crawlers be prohibited from access?

The reason for GitHub's current implementation of blocking is still unclear, but it may not be for anti-scraping purposes. Of course, whether or not to block Chinese IP addresses is not very meaningful in itself, as Chinese IP addresses cannot directly access GitHub. Originally, it was one-way inaccessible, and now it has become two-way inaccessible.

There has already been a discussion about this issue in the GitHub Community official community, with many developers reporting the same problem. However, there has not yet been a response from GitHub official staff, so it is currently impossible to determine whether it is a GitHub false ban or caused by other reasons.

Link
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/LGeDyf7YyGgde5vzvyDraw
Summary
GitHub, the code hosting platform owned by Microsoft, has reportedly blocked access from all IP addresses in China for unknown reasons. Users who are already logged in can still access the site, but those who are not logged in receive a 403 Forbidden error when attempting to visit. This situation has raised concerns among users, as the login page also returns a 403 error, suggesting that the block is not merely a measure against web scraping. Discussions in GitHub's official community indicate that many developers are experiencing the same issue, but there has been no official response from GitHub regarding the cause of the block. Some speculate that the block may be related to the GeoIP database, which could mistakenly categorize certain non-Chinese IPs as Chinese. The implications of this block are significant, as it effectively prevents users in China from accessing GitHub, which was already difficult due to previous restrictions. The exact reason for this action remains unclear, and it is uncertain whether it is a mistake or a deliberate decision by GitHub.