topic Re: Cloudfare verification in Community Site Feedback

Cloudfare verification

7up — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 21:49:32 GMT

Do we need this on an ISP forum? - Seriously?

If Plusnet cannot rig this forum to recognise that a forum visitor is on a plusnet IP address then we have real problems.

Cloudfare takes ages to verify and pretty much screws up the browsing experience just like cookie alerts on every website. It's tedious and frankly ruining the internet. Cloudfare goes down and the web vanishes - as happened a few months back.

Please can this be scrapped?

Re: Cloudfare verification

ExForce9 — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 22:01:33 GMT

When I logged in here earlier, I must have correctly completed about FORTY of the CAPTCHA puzzles in a row before the site let me in !

Having identified dozens of motorbikes and fire hydrants, the sequence started again and repeated many of the images that I'd already done. I did wonder whether it was EVER going to end !

Having said that @7up mentioned Cloudflare, I thought Cloudflare had abandoned CAPTCHA puzzles, so maybe there is more than one issue ?

Re: Cloudfare verification

pvmb — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 22:43:45 GMT

"When I logged in here earlier, I must have correctly completed about FORTY of the CAPTCHA puzzles in a row before the site let me in !

Having identified dozens of motorbikes and fire hydrants, the sequence started again and repeated many of the images that I'd already done. I did wonder whether it was EVER going to end ! "

Never yet seen CAPTCHA with the Plusnet site. Cross fingers...

I hate CAPTCHA. It was OK when it was new, but nowadays? I've had the same experience as above - however many CAPTCHAs you complete they give you another one until you just give up and go away. Which is what I pretty well decide to do immediately nowadays if a site starts to use CAPTCHA - just go elsewhere.

I used to log on to Patient Access for medical matters. Not any more! I've switched to the NHS site despite their UI not being quite as convenient as the PA one. That's CAPTCHA aversion for you.

I'm OK with the Cloudflare security verification.

Re: Cloudfare verification

RadioFox — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 23:01:51 GMT

@pvmb wrote:

...I used to log on to Patient Access for medical matters. Not any more! I've switched to the NHS site despite their UI not being quite as convenient as the PA one. That's CAPTCHA aversion for you...

I don't remember ever having to complete captcha's on Patient Access, but for the past year or so, I've had to use an Authenticator app.

Re: Cloudfare verification

RadioFox — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 23:07:47 GMT

@ExForce9 wrote:

When I logged in here earlier, I must have correctly completed about FORTY of the CAPTCHA puzzles in a row before the site let me in !...

Did you try using different browsers?

A year or so ago, I found that Firefox suddenly threw up capcha's for certain websites. When I changed to Edge, the capcha's disappeared. Don't know why that should be.

Re: Cloudfare verification

ExForce9 — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 23:30:24 GMT

@RadioFox wrote:

Did you try using different browsers?

A year or so ago, I found that Firefox suddenly threw up capcha's for certain websites. When I changed to Edge, the capcha's disappeared. Don't know why that should be.

I was using Firefox 152.0.4

If it does it again, then I'll try Chromium or Brave

Re: Cloudfare verification

PhilipHeyes — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 08:28:35 GMT

Using Firefox and Edge I've not faced verification screens when joining this forum.

Is there more to this such as the Public IP presented is the exit point of a Generic VPN or of Apple Relay or some other web proxy like Norton AV, these are all things that makes you not look like a regular ISP / mobile connection.

Re: Cloudfare verification

RadioFox — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 10:06:59 GMT

@PhilipHeyes Ah. Come to think of it, I think I was using ExpressVPN and a private window when I had captcha problems with Firefox. But doing the same with Edge didn't throw up any captcha's.

Re: Cloudfare verification

mystreet1 — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 10:16:42 GMT

Just to note, not all forum members are customers of PN anymore.

Re: Cloudfare verification

7up — Wed, 08 Jul 2026 00:24:24 GMT

and in that case, the verification would be fair.

But when the http request if coming from a plusnet IP address, it's stupid.

Moderator's note by Mike (Mav): Full quote of preceding post removed as per Forum rules.

Re: Cloudfare verification

Townman — Mon, 06 Jul 2026 08:31:03 GMT

There must be more to this that is being presented. I have never seen any third party interference in accessing this website using MS Edge or Safari or Silk browsers on or off the Plusnet net work.

Are those encountering the issues certain there’s no third party interference such as VPN or other masking service?

Goigling the issue …

”Encountering an unexpected Cloudflare "verify you are human" check usually happens because your IP address, browser signature, or network traffic looks suspicious to their security system. It can also be caused by overly strict privacy extensions.”

“

Use Incognito/Private Mode: Open an incognito window and try loading the site again. If it works, the issue is tied to your normal browser. [1, 2]
Turn off your VPN/Proxy: Shared IP addresses from popular VPNs are the #1 reason for false-positive blocks. Pause your VPN and reload the page. [1, 2, 3]
Disable ad blockers or privacy extensions: Tools like uBlock Origin, Privacy Badger, or heavy script-blockers can block the verification script from running. Turn them off and refresh.
Check your device time: Incorrect system time or timezones can invalidate security tokens. Ensure your computer's clock is set to automatically sync.
Use a different browser: Sometimes an update to Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge can cause an incompatibility. Trying Firefox or Brave can immediately resolve the issue.

Moderators Note: Typo corrected.

Re: Cloudfare verification

jab1 — Mon, 06 Jul 2026 06:26:33 GMT

I agree with your opening statement, @Townman . I use Firefox exclusively, locked down as far as possible, and have uBlock running.

I have never seen any captcha on this site, while on my home network, other home networks, public networks or mobile connections.

Re: Cloudfare verification

7up — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 22:03:38 GMT

@Townman

No vpn or unusual setup here. No incognito, ad blockers or anything else.

Just chrome as it was installed.

This change has just happened recently on both of my PCs.

Re: Cloudfare verification

Townman — Wed, 08 Jul 2026 18:34:25 GMT

Clutching at straws I would check the geolocation data for your IP address - with multiple providers.

Re: Cloudfare verification

Dan_the_Van — Wed, 08 Jul 2026 18:37:57 GMT

@Townman

I'm wondering if it's a no longer supported very old operating system like Windows 7

Re: Cloudfare verification

PhilipHeyes — Thu, 09 Jul 2026 06:06:18 GMT

Today a single tick Cloudflare verification and the session resumed.
I'm using the same Firefox on the same PC & with the same VM Public IP.

Re: Cloudfare verification

Townman — Thu, 09 Jul 2026 07:28:37 GMT

So an off PN network connection, which for some unclear reason profiles as potential bot activity.

This is a good baseline marker from which to start profiling the issues.

”Same as before” should not be taken as suggesting all was well before - this has hints of being new measures to deter undesirable activity.

@James_B has there been any change in the service’s defensive measures which might explain the reported behaviours? It’s no great intrusion, but it has stimulated interest around what’s happening and why.

Re: Cloudfare verification

pvmb — Thu, 09 Jul 2026 07:55:45 GMT

@7up wrote:

Do we need this on an ISP forum? - Seriously?

If Plusnet cannot rig this forum to recognise that a forum visitor is on a plusnet IP address then we have real problems.

Cloudfare takes ages to verify and pretty much screws up the browsing experience just like cookie alerts on every website. It's tedious and frankly ruining the internet. Cloudfare goes down and the web vanishes - as happened a few months back.

Please can this be scrapped?

Trouble is...

I don't know why you are having to verify via Cloudflare - so far I haven't encountered this on the forum - however, possibly you should be careful what you wish for.

You say: "Cloudflare goes down and the web vanishes". However, in my direct experience, the reason Cloudflare is brought in is to prevent a website vanishing, due to overloading by AI Bots. In the last couple of years I saw this actually happen to a website - they could only continue operating after getting Cloudflare in.

(Is there a lack of awareness of what is going on these days?)

Re: Cloudfare verification

James_B — Thu, 09 Jul 2026 10:36:16 GMT

There haven't been any recent changes that I'm aware of, @Townman

Last platform version change was on 28 May.

I'll check in with the vendor.

James

Edit: We're checking the Cloudflare-side handling to determine whether any adjustment is needed. If anyone affected can send me a PM with the Cloudflare Ray ID and approximate time it will be much appreciated.

Re: Cloudfare verification

Townman — Thu, 09 Jul 2026 15:34:53 GMT

Do those impacted by this issue have any recollection of when this started?