Regarding Cloudflare security pages popping up on DU (UPDATE 7PM ET JULY 14)

[EarlG]

UPDATE: Since this OP was posted I've made some additional changes. First, if you are a DU member then you should not receive a security challenge after you have signed in. Second, the Rec button problem that some folks experienced earlier is hopefully resolved.

If you are still experiencing issues with the Rec button, please let me know.

Thanks


ORIGINAL MESSAGE:

As part of our effort to stop bot traffic/AI scrapers from flooding DU with requests which slow the site down and drive up server costs, we've been making some configuration changes over the past few days. Currently we think we are getting things nailed down, but there might be some hiccups as we move forward.

If you happen to see new Cloudflare security pages when browsing DU -- sometimes they may ask you to confirm that you are a human, particularly if you are using a VPN -- please know that those pages are completely legitimate, and part of our security set up. Since those pages are going to be new to most people, I just wanted to let you know that they are nothing to worry about.

Thanks for your patience while we continue to work through this. Back to it....



Edited to add: The next step to improve this system is to set it up so that if you are signed in to DU, you won't even get a challenge. We'll be working on that next, but in the meantime you'll likely see these pages for a little while at least. Just know that they are a good thing and not a bad thing, in terms of protecting DU from bots

Edited again to add: It's also possible that a side effect of this is that we've fixed the 403 problem that some people were having when trying to post on DU. If you are still getting 403s please let me know -- just bear in mind that anything that was happening with regards to 403s and pages not loading prior to today is no longer valid. Please just let me know if you experience further errors going forward. Thanks.

[ananda]

1. I was happy to see the page briefly verify me.

I figured it was a good thing.

[hlthe2b]

2. Thanks, EarlG. Will these "confirm you are human" pages continue to pop up each time?

[EarlG]

19. After you see the page once, Cloudflare serves you a cookie

so that next time it knows you're good to go, and you won't see the page. If you clear your cookies regularly, you will likely see the page again after you clear them.

[House of Roberts]

26. I clear every cookie that comes through my house.

Chocolate chip is good, but my favorite is Publix Heath Bar cookies. Please inform Cloudflare of my preferences for future servings.

[FemDemERA]

71. LOL... Thanks for that little chuckle!

[Raftergirl]

77. I don't clear cookies but I have gotten the verify I'm a human page two times in row this afternoon.

Not that I mind. It only takes a second.

[EarlG]

78. I've just changed some settings which will hopefully increase the amount of time it takes

between security challenges, for people who already went through the challenge once.

The next thing I want to to is get it set up so that if you are signed in to DU, you do not see the challenge at all (there's no need, since by signing in to your account you've confirmed that you're a real person). I'm still working on it.

[Raftergirl]

80. I never sign out. But every once in a while I have to sign in. Probably because I can go a long time without

posting.

[EarlG]

82. As a general security measure, everyone on DU

gets signed out after 30 days -- that's why you occasionally have to sign in again (unless you clear your browser cookies, which would also cause you to have to sign in).

[warmfeet]

89. I clear them through my GI Tract.

Yummy. When I go tubing.

[spanone]

3. K&R

[unblock]

4. Prove to me you are human "EarlG"

Go on, prove it!

Does this portion of a picture have enough of a bicycle to count?

Well does it??

[littlemissmartypants]

22. Snort. 🤭

[greatauntoftriplets]

5. Got one of those just before coming back online.

It got me through. Thanks, EarlG!

[Maru Kitteh]

6. Lol. It made me verify my humanity to respond to you. One thing

odd that I’ve noticed recently is the “rec” button not working reliably. Just an fyi.

Thanks for the security tweaks. We appreciate it.

[MolecularDust]

14. Yes - this just happened to me

I wanted to recommend something and it didn’t work

Thanks for all you do Earl G!

[rampartd]

17. the "rec" might just be slow, hitting it again is a "unrec"

happens to me too.

[AverageOldGuy]

7. thank you

[Wednesdays]

8. It's all good with me.

Anything to keep out bots and other nefarious entities.

[lastlib]

36. If only there was a programmatic way to block out MAGAts......!

...and other trolls....

[BidenRocks]

9. So far so good.

I also had to prove I'm a human.
Fooled them!

[BumRushDaShow]

10. I have been glad to see it.

Congress.gov has been using that for awhile and there is a variation where a site visitor is asked to check a box to confirm they are not a bot.

[Chicagogrl1]

11. Thank you for all that you do for us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[calimary]

88. I second that emotion!

MANY Thanks, EarlG, for everything you and your colleagues are doing to keep DU very much alive and kicking!

I appreciate it and rely on it every day!

[Solly Mack]

12. Sure. Happy my existential crisis is helping others.

[democrank]

13. Thank you for your efforts, EarlG.

Appreciate it.

[Spazito]

15. Thanks EarlG...

I just got that very message not long ago and was happy to verify I was human. Thanks for all you and Elad do to keep the bots out!

[orleans]

16. tried to rec this thread and one of the comments on it. i couldn't

so i was doing a reply, saw the cloudflare page, it didn't ask anything, and here i am. maybe i can rec now?

on edit: yep. just recommended.

thanks earlg!

[ultralite001]

18. Better a Cloudflare tick box...

Than a retinal scan or a blood draw...

Thanks for keeping us safe, EarlG...

[littlemissmartypants]

20. I hope it's ok that I let...

Princess Floof do the verification. She thinks she's human. 😉 🐶

Thanks, EG. ❤️

Ready for Spring! One year, four months old. She's still going through a bit of the "puppy uglies," but she's five pounds of sweetheart. My little darling. ♥️

— (@2diamondeyes.bsky.social) 2026-03-14T23:15:35.304Z

[SheltieLover]

23. Princess Floof is just gorgeous!

Ty for sharing her with us.

Love her outfit! Squeeeeeee!

[littlemissmartypants]

51. Thanks, SL. Sometimes I can't believe how lucky I got with her.

She's so sweet and such good company. I am in awe of how something so tiny can have such a big personality. I try and picture the size of her heart sometimes. It has to be really small. She's a miracle of nature.

I love her so much.

Love you too, SL.



❤️

[SheltieLover]

52. Floof's heart is large enough to hold you

You have bn richly rewarded by Mother Nature for your undying love & attention to your baby at the Rainbow Bridge.

[littlemissmartypants]

57. ❤️

[Keepthesoulalive]

90. Ugly

What ugly, I don’t see no ugly. She’s beautiful.

[SheltieLover]

21. Ty, EarlG

[riversedge]

24. Thanks for post--and yes I have been getting them today and asking if I am human.

[dweller]

25. Do we have to

Verify over and over ?
I just had my 4th verification

iPhone in NC


✌🏻

[EarlG]

27. You shouldn't, unless

you are blocking cookies, or if you are using a VPN that is regularly changing its connection location, in which case you will see the page multiple times.

The next step is to get this working so that if you are signed in to DU, you won't get the challenge page at all. So hopefully this won't be an issue for too long.

[dweller]

28. I am signed in

Not using a vpn ( to my knowledge) nor blocking cookies




✌🏻

[Raftergirl]

79. Same. Not clearing/blocking cookies and not using a VPN. I wonder if it has something to do with having

AD Block.

I don’t care if I need to verify. It just takes a second anyway, so no biggie.

[EarlG]

83. I think it's because the "time out" on the security challenege was set to too short a time period

I've significantly increased it, so once you pass the challenge once, you shouldn't see it again for a while (although, that may depend on your browser settings and location).

But if I can get things working the way I want them to work, then after signing in, you should never see a challenge. I'm still working on that.

[Fla Dem]

29. THANK YOU EARLG!

Thank you and your team for keeping DU the best and most legitimate political and general discussion forum for 25 years.

[dawn5651]

30. i thought it was my security having a brain fart at first.

[denvine]

31. Thank you!

[WheelWalker]

32. I bend with the Wind.

[highplainsdem]

33. Thanks for explaining, EarlG! Hope the changes will slow down the AI scrapers hurting so many

websites. I clear the browser cache at least once a day so I'll keep seeing the Cloudflare pages, but I'm fine with that if it makes things harder for the AI companies (which would all be bankrupt if they had to pay for the additional costs they've created for websites, not to mention the IP they stole).

[PatSeg]

34. Thank you!

[CousinIT]

35. Thank you EarlG!

DAMN BOTS!

[Ford_Prefect]

37. Thanks for taking such good care of us.

[Justice matters.]

38. 2 laptops here, the older one goes into a infinite loop on VPN

when I check the box. I have to disconnect my VPN to pass through the CloudFlare prompt when I check it on that old Chromebook laptop. When I check the box, next page says Successful but the damn CloudFlare prompt returns immediately, I have to disconnect my VPN to access DU on the first check and then reconnect to my VPN and it works then when I'm logged in.

IDK if it's possible to fix that without me having to ditch that old machine, which still works.

The other laptop is a Windows 11 1-y-o Toshiba and it works fine on the first check.

[EarlG]

41. Are you blocking cookies by any chance?

If so, that could be causing the issue… FWIW one of the things we plan to do soon is fix this up so the check doesn’t even trigger if you’re already signed in to DU. There are going to be some edge case issues like yours but hopefully we can work through them all soon.

[Justice matters.]

47. Thanks for the all work you do, EarlG :)

I'm not at home where my old Chromebook sits right now so I will verify it again when I'll be back tonite (now the N S A spies know my sleeping location if they dare to look lol, but since I live abroad, I hope I can sleep full nights in peace but who knows).

[Uncle Joe]

39. That's a relief. I thought for an instant that I would need to log in with a manual override.

Thanks for the thread EarlG

[oasis]

40. So far so good! Thanks EarlG

[Botany]

42. Thank you

[LudwigPastorius]

43. "...they are a good thing...in terms of protecting DU from bots"

Gotta keep an eye on those clankers.

Some of them are predators.

[littlemissmartypants]

58. I couldn't Rec button this so I'm making my own button...

Rec ✅️

[ffr]

44. Nothing new for me. Many Web sites I transit have been using Cloudflare's security for years.

Glad to see DU getting onboard too. It lends credibility to what just about everyone else is doing to protect their sites in the same way.

Thank you.

[Marcuse]

45. .!

[Martin68]

46. I appreciate the unobtrusive added layer of security. Thanks.

[QueerDuck]

48. Are these malicious, targeted, DOS bots? Are they trying to find vulnerabilities?

Or is it like random horde of roving zombies on The Walking Dead?

[EarlG]

50. The latter

They are mostly AI crawlers. This problem has been plaguing most independent websites for the last couple of years.

FWIW we have had Cloudflare running in the background for some time, but I’ve been working on making it more aggressive over the past few days because the previous settings were letting too many bots through. That’s why folks are now seeing the security challenge pages. Hopefully I will be able to eliminate the challenge pages for people signed in to DU soon.

[FakeNoose]

49. Thank you EarlG - I'm always patient because I know that you're on top of things

You'll never hear a complaint from me. I appreciate your efforts to keep us humming, and your vigilance in blocking out the bots and trolls. Thanks for all you do!

I've gotten the Cloudfare screen a few times, but it's not a problem.

[George McGovern]

53. Thank You EarlG! And thank you too from our dog Shadow, who loves DU!

"George McGovern"

[NBachers]

54. We are all on the same team here and I'm glad to do whatever little part will keep us stable

Also, with election season coming up, you know the chaos and invasions that happen then.

Thanks for looking out for us!

[H2O Man]

55. Thank you.

[mahina]

56. Thank you for all EarlG

[mgardener]

59. Thanks for letting us know

[ZDU]

60. 🌈 ☮️

Thank you!

[cate94]

61. Thanks for all your efforts

I assume this is why I am unable to recommend posts right now. Maybe a byproduct of safety measures? As always, I appreciate all you do.

[MysteriousStranger]

62. Thank you

You are appreciated.

[Skittles]

63. outstanding

I see the page, I'm like, what is that, then instantly I see a link to an explanation.

Thanks Earl!

[hibbing]

64. Appreciate you!

[mdbl]

65. Thanks for the heads-up.

I am glad to find out it wasn't my browser just being arbitrary.

[appleannie1]

66. TY for letting us know.

[CaptainTruth]

67. Thank you EarlG!

Verifications will not stop me from accessing DU!

[electric_blue68]

68. TY for them heads up, and efforts.

[winstars]

69. Thanks Earl for all you do for us!!!!

[GreenWave]

70. I prefer to be a cosmic citizen than called a human.

[Susan Calvin]

72. If anybody is having trouble recommending a post,

Which I did with this and others, try doing something that causes you to get verified by cloudflare. In my case, reloading multiple times did not help, but clicking on the info button above the rec caused the verification screen to pop up, and after that I was able to recommend.

[FemDemERA]

73. Thank you EarlG and Elad for everything you do to

keep DU such a great place to hang out!

[nuxvomica]

74. This happens repeatedly in Firefox

If I wait long enough and click on a tab, the screen comes up again and I have to check the box. This may be a general Firefox issue because there are other sites like my doctor's patient portal where I check the box to "remember this device" but even though I always do it, it's unchecked the next time I log in so I always have to answer a security question. Just noting for the record because it's really not a big problem for me.

[EarlG]

75. I've experienced the check firing quite a lot, and it's a bit annoying that it's showing repeatedly for some people

Basically, now I've got the "bot banhammer" in place, it's a matter of tweaking it so it's not bothering people all the time. That's the next thing I'm working on.

[dweller]

76. YAY

I’m up to at least a dozen verifications now …
Not using VPN.
Not blocking cookies , but am using Firefox

Have logged out and in again , still being asked to verify human status

😑


Good luck fixin it


✌🏻

[EarlG]

84. I know you received a lot of challenges earlier

Can you tell me, are you still getting them right now? If so, roughly how often?

[dweller]

86. Got one 10-15 minutes ago

Roughly every 1/2 to 1 hour ?
The first 2 we’re about 10 mins apart

I stayed logged in , and if I walk away for 1/2 hour or less even , I usually get verification within 5-10 mins of resuming .
If im here for an hour + i may get 1, or 2

Also am not on wifi , just Verizon unlimited , and firefox


Thanks for your hard work … im whining like a human 🫤




✌🏻

[EarlG]

87. I discovered that the challenge was set to fire once every 30 minutes

I've increased the time that it should take in between firing, so you shouldn't see one again for a while. But if you do, feel free to let me know. I am definitely still doing work on this, so this is useful data, thanks.

[dweller]

92. Saw your update

And it’s been ~ 1 1/2 hour and I have been verifying free !!

I think you’ve nailed it



✌🏻

[V850i]

81. Cloudflare is a good company

Nice, good improvement with a good company!

[LAS14]

85. THANK YOU!!!! Thank you for taking the time to communicate so clearly!! nt

[ms liberty]

91. Ah, got this earlier today and qondered what it was. Kewl. I like more security!

[BigmanPigman]

93. I thought it was just me and my poor tech skills.

I was about to throw my tablet out the window or into the dumpster I was so frustrated.