How to Block or Unblock a specific IP Address from cPanel?

To block an IP address from your website or server through cPanel, follow these steps procedures.

Blocking an IP Address

To block an IP address from accessing your website or server through cPanel, follow these steps:

1. Enter the cPanel login page.

2. In the "Security" section, crack open the icon called "IP Deny Manager."

3. In the "IP Deny Manager" interface, you'll see two sections: Two − "Denied IP Addresses" and "Allowed IP Addresses".

4. As indicated by an "Add Denied IP" button.

5. Just fill in the IP address you do not want to be able to access your websites with the text field.

6. Alternatively, you can fill in the "Reason" box if you wish to know the reason for the blockage of this IP address. The reason could be that somebody had been misusing a computer or if an activity of violation was reported by the user’s own system.

7. Click the text "Added" to confirm.
   
   

The IP address you've just entered will now get associated with the blacklisted "Denied IP Addresses". It will be blocked from your website or server.

Unblocking an IP Address

On the other hand, if you want to undo the block at one of the IP addresses that had been blocked in the past make use of these steps:

1. Log into your cpanel account.

2. Go to the “Security” part and click on the "IP Deny Manager” icon.

3. In the "IP Deny Manager" interface, look for the IP address you want to unblock in the IP addresses list and click on it to unblock it.

4. Select the "Delete" (represented by trash bin) option next to the IP you want to release or enable access to a website again.

5. Make sure you've understood the action, then click the button "Delete" that appears in the pop-up window.
   
   

Now the IP address is taken from the "Denied IP Addresses" list enabling this address to visit your website or server.

Advanced Options

What you can also do in cPanel is an "IP Deny Manager" which gives administrative level access to IP addresses banning and allowing. Adding this additional customization, you can have a streaming that is:

1. Allowed IP Addresses: Further, you can create a list of the IP addresses that are posted, wherein those that are not within the list will be blocked. When a network is configured this way, it becomes possible for only those IP addresses that appear on the 'Allowed IP Addresses' list to be able to access the website or server, whereas everything beyond that is blocked. Pressing the "Add Allowed IP button "in the "Allowed IP Addresses" section, fill in the blanks to follow the prompts as “How to add an allowed IP address".

2. IP Range Blocking/Unblocking: Besides that, another option is not to administrate individual IP addresses but rather a whole chain of IP addresses. To accomplish this, write down the IP addresses as the beginning and ending of IP in the proper text field. (e.g 192.168.1.1-192.168.1.255).

3. Import/Export Lists: If you have to conduct IP address blocking and unblocking as part of your Xpanel account admin or server management, you can either import or export your "Denied IP Address" and "Allowed IP Address" lists based on your need. Hit "Import/Export" and the henceoptic button you will find these options in the section below.

4. Automatic Blocking: cPanel enables you to provision IP Addresses that showcase some kinds of activities, e.g., too many failed attempts of logins or abnormally exceeded resource use. Navigate to the "Apache Profiles" icon under the "Security" section of cPanel to modify your server profile settings.

5. Whitelisting IP Addresses: In certain instances, you may use the IP address for the sake of giving an assurance that such addresses will never be blocked although, they can trigger automatic blocking rules. This can be done by adding these IP addresses to the "IP Addresses Lists" as 'Allowed IP Addresses' in the 'IP Deny Manager'.

Best Practices

To apply the proper procedure of blocking or unblocking IP addresses via cPanel, in order to avoid any adopted website or server security and stability issues, some rules should be followed:

1. Be cautious when blocking IP addresses: However, such activity might also cause some unwanted results, such as locking out some valid users or explaining accessibility problems. It is not advisable to only use this option if you have a good reason for doing so i.e. a security breach.

2. Keep records: Keep a record of IP addresses that you have blocked or removed from the block list, and indicate the reason and date for the action. This can be used to conduct a comparison or to see whether the process is working optimally.

3. Use IP range blocking judiciously: Prohibiting big blocks of IP ranges is an effective method, although it is worth using it sparingly because it may also prevent numerous legitimate users from accessing the resources as well as wide networks.

4. Review blocked IP addresses regularly: Periodically take a look at your I-block list and remove anything that is not necessary or relevant anymore.

5. Consider using additional security measures: IP address blocking can be effective when used with other security measures in place, for example, strong passwords, firewalls, and regular software updates, to implement a layered defense for guarding your computer.
   
   

By following those rules and with the use of features of cPanel's "IP Deny Manager", you can properly handle IP blocking and unblocking and as a result strengthen the security of your website or server, as well as users' convenience.