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Hello! If you're reading this, you're either a very curious person, or you can't connect to our servers. While we hope it's the former, this guide is to tell you what to do for the latter. This details how to deal with a specific type of connection issue, in which you are blocked upstream by NFOServers.
If you want to get back to rebelling on JB, wrecking the Innocents on TTT, and anything in between as soon as possible, here's a TL;DR:
If you want to get back to rebelling on JB, wrecking the Innocents on TTT, and anything in between as soon as possible, here's a TL;DR:
- Take a deep breath, we'll get you your CS fix ASAP
- Visit NFOServers' Website
- If you can't access it, this guide is for you. If not, I'm sorry to say that there's some other issue that's causing you to be unable to connect, please contact us for additional help.
- Check if it's only you experiencing the issue. Helpful tools may include our GameME page as well as Game Tracker
- Check the Steam Status page: It may be a problem with Steam/CS servers themselves
- Maybe it's our fault?: Sometimes issues may occur on our side. Check the forums (oh hey! you're already here) and our Discord for potential information regarding an outage.
- Firewall: Sometimes your firewall settings can interfere with your ability to connect to our servers, check your firewall logs and ensure that connections are not being blocked.
- Verify Your Cache: You may have some invalid CS files that are interfering with your ability to connect to servers.
- None of the above? Feel free to contact us for additional help.
- Why?: You got blocked by NFO as they believe you were involved in an attack against their servers.
- What do I do?: Email NFOServers' support at
[email protected]. Make sure that you tell them you believe you were blacklisted, include your public IP address, and follow their instructions.- Ensure that you do a proper sweep of your devices/network first. Malware can cause your network to participate in DDoS attacks. If you find malware, include information on it in your email. They likely will not unblock you if you actually were involved in an attack, although this may help your chances.
- They will ask you to check your network and/or to perform some network security tasks, just so you know ahead of time.
- This usually doesn't take long (no more than a couple of days)
- In the meantime, you can use a VPN to connect to our servers.
- Have any questions? Feel free to contact us.
Alright, if you're reading this far, I'll assume that you're curious and want to know more. So, more information I will give.
We use a server host called NFOServers to host our CS servers. NFOServers has protections in place to try to mitigate [D]DoS attacks. As a part of those protections, IP addresses that are seen in attacks get automatically blacklisted. When you are blacklisted by NFO, you are unable to access their website, and some or all of the servers they hosted. Unfortunately, this blacklisting system does have false-positives, and occasionally innocent players may get caught in the cross-fire if they happen to be playing during an attack (this is the most common cause, but not the only one).
First off, you need to determine whether this is in fact the cause of your connection troubles. As mentioned earlier, the easiest way to determine this will be to attempt to access their website. If you are unable to, it is heavily likely that this is your issue. In order to restore access to our (& other NFO) servers, you will need to email their support (
The process is not always the same, but generally they will ask you about your network, and/or to perform certain tasks. The reasoning for this is certain types of malware can turn your devices into a tool to perform [D]DoS attacks, all without your knowing. From NFOServers' side, they do not know if you are the attacker, someone who was infected by malware (and can hence target their systems again if unblocked), or just someone whose traffic was accidentally flagged. The questions they ask are to try to determine what case it is, and the tasks they ask you to complete are various preventative steps. Before making any changes to your devices/network, ensure that you have a good understanding of the procedure, and what you are being asked to do. While I doubt their support will have malicious intent, good operational security is always a good idea.
Unfortunately, there's nothing we (eGO) can do to unblock you or speed up the process, but we are always willing to help answer your questions (if possible) and to assist with the process. You may choose to use a VPN to connect to our servers if you so wish.
We use a server host called NFOServers to host our CS servers. NFOServers has protections in place to try to mitigate [D]DoS attacks. As a part of those protections, IP addresses that are seen in attacks get automatically blacklisted. When you are blacklisted by NFO, you are unable to access their website, and some or all of the servers they hosted. Unfortunately, this blacklisting system does have false-positives, and occasionally innocent players may get caught in the cross-fire if they happen to be playing during an attack (this is the most common cause, but not the only one).
First off, you need to determine whether this is in fact the cause of your connection troubles. As mentioned earlier, the easiest way to determine this will be to attempt to access their website. If you are unable to, it is heavily likely that this is your issue. In order to restore access to our (& other NFO) servers, you will need to email their support (
[email protected]) regarding the situation. Ensure that you mention that you believe you were blocked by NFO and provide your your public IP address.The process is not always the same, but generally they will ask you about your network, and/or to perform certain tasks. The reasoning for this is certain types of malware can turn your devices into a tool to perform [D]DoS attacks, all without your knowing. From NFOServers' side, they do not know if you are the attacker, someone who was infected by malware (and can hence target their systems again if unblocked), or just someone whose traffic was accidentally flagged. The questions they ask are to try to determine what case it is, and the tasks they ask you to complete are various preventative steps. Before making any changes to your devices/network, ensure that you have a good understanding of the procedure, and what you are being asked to do. While I doubt their support will have malicious intent, good operational security is always a good idea.
Unfortunately, there's nothing we (eGO) can do to unblock you or speed up the process, but we are always willing to help answer your questions (if possible) and to assist with the process. You may choose to use a VPN to connect to our servers if you so wish.
Still here? Alright, here's some of the more technical stuff for your viewing pleasure.
This was the first known case of this issue occurring. As a result, it does include some good information on diagnosing the issue, as well as some potential causes.
One beneficial tool when diagnosing network issues is
If your connection happens to cut off before you see a NFOServers address, it is likely you are being blocked by their servers. Here's an example:
If you're interested in this stuff, and have experience with Tech, might I suggest applying to join our Tech Team?
This was the first known case of this issue occurring. As a result, it does include some good information on diagnosing the issue, as well as some potential causes.
One beneficial tool when diagnosing network issues is
tracert (on Windows) and traceroute (on Linux). It allows you to trace the path of a network request, so that you can attempt to determine where the issue lies. Here is a screenshot of a normal tracert response to a NFOServers address (the first portion will vary depending on your ISP):
Code:
1 <1 ms <1 ms <1 ms [REDACTED] [192.168.1.1]
2 2 ms 1 ms 1 ms [REDACTED]
3 * * * Request timed out.
4 * * * Request timed out.
5 3 ms 3 ms 3 ms [REDACTED]
6 * 6 ms 5 ms [REDACTED]
7 4 ms 4 ms 5 ms [REDACTED]
8 8 ms 7 ms 5 ms [REDACTED]-link.ip.twelve99.net [REDACTED]
9 19 ms 19 ms 19 ms chi-b23-link.ip.twelve99.net [62.115.136.246]
10 17 ms 19 ms 15 ms telia-1.e7.router2.chicago.nfoservers.com [64.74.97.253]
11 17 ms 17 ms 17 ms c-74-91-113-113.premium-chicago.nfoservers.com [74.91.113.113]If your connection happens to cut off before you see a NFOServers address, it is likely you are being blocked by their servers. Here's an example:
Code:
9 60 ms 59 ms 58 ms [REDACTED]-link.ip.twelve99.net [REDACTED]
10 68 ms 70 ms 73 ms chi-b23-link.ip.twelve99.net [62.115.125.152]
11 * * * Request timed out.
12 * * * Request timed out.
[etc]If you're interested in this stuff, and have experience with Tech, might I suggest applying to join our Tech Team?
