Https://lame.buanzo.org/ffmpeg.php refuses connention from Japan

[Licsak]

I tried to connect to https://lame.buanzo.org/ffmpeg.php to get “FFmpeg_5.0.0_for_Audacity_on_Windows_x86_64.exe”, but I live in Japan and the site says "Not cool, Japan. Not cool.” and refuses connection to download.

I don’t know what happened. Where can I get FFmpeg for Audacity?

[DVDdoug]

I don’t know but it’s probably not because you’re in Japan. It’s probably some kind of “protection” on your computer.

…I tried to attach a copy of the file here but it wouldn’t accept an EXE file (not surprising) and it’s too big. I tried zipping it but it’s only a little smaller and ZIP files aren’t allowed either… and that’s about the limit of my “hacking skills”… And I don’t have any kind of online file-sharing account, and it would still probably get blocked at your end anyway.

[steve]

You could try using Tor Browser to connect to https://lame.buanzo.org/ffmpeg.php
I’ve just tried it, and other than having to complete a captcha for Cloudflare, it downloaded “FFmpeg_5.0.0_for_Audacity_on_Windows_x86_64.exe” without any problems.

Be careful about big download buttons on that site. There may be some deceptive adverts that try to trick you into downloading other stuff. If you see such adds, you can report them to buanzo so that he can remove them.

[Licsak]

Thanks DVDdoug and steve for your comments.
My PC can’t access to this site though any restriction disabled.

I was able to download the package by accessing that site from a non-Japanese IP address using a VPN anonymizing service that cloaks the source of the connection.

I think the site administrator was badly hurt by a Japanese user. However, I think this is a BAD situation. As long as Audacity help editors clearly indicate the download site in your help topics, I think you are responsible for providing the software package(s). If he will not provide software for some particular country, Audacity should remove this from the help topic.

I think, at the very least, that host manager should explain to the Audacity community the reasons for denying access from Japan, and explain that the site is set up to not accept connections from certain regions. I wish him ask why hate Japan.

[buanzo]

Hi. Buanzo here. A number of Japanese ISPs have been blocked off my site, temporarily, due to suspicious incoming traffic. Try another ISP, or Tor as suggested, to bypass this block. I will lift the ban sometime in the future. Thank you for your understanding. Big hug.

[Licsak]

Buanzo, thank you for your reply. I recognized that Buanzo was not at all responsible for this issue, and that it was an issue between Cloudflare and the Japanese ISP (NTT Communications).

Using a request header viewing tool and looking at your site’s response, I could understand that the message and reject header was created by Cloudflare, not your site. The response shows below.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
https://lame.buanzo.org/ffmpeg.php
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cf-ray: 8234fb261c358cef-KIX
content-length: 26
content-type: text/plain
date: Thu, 09 Nov 2023 09:20:39 GMT
nel: {"success_fraction":0,"report_to":"cf-nel","max_age":604800}
report-to: {"endpoints":[{"url":"https:\/\/a.nel.cloudflare.com\/report\/v3?s=NElYByK3B%2BTgtB8mllKi2O2Qh5YrtXBTDBSXHDetvaldNERA%2Fo5whXFLsejJoCE3%2F6RaqAZNrWQCX%2FXtc5P7rSDYKjzI5WE 6t4J1z54YlPKtqkb2UIlpz8V2h1bQvNKcsA%3D% 3D"}],"group":"cf-nel","max_age":604800}
server: cloudflare
vary: Accept-Encoding
x-firefox-spdy: h2

403
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

memo: My ISP is NTT Communications and my allocated IP block is 2400:4000::/22, 180.0.0.0/10. Due to the adoption of MAP-E, IPv4 addresses are virtually unchanged.

Even so, I thought Cloudflare should respond more useful responses rather than the message “Not cool, Japan. Not cool.”
It could recognize incorrectly reflect the thoughts of the site manager (a customer of Cloudflare), not Cloudflare itself.

[buanzo]

I have unblocked the AS number previously associated with the source of the problematic internet behavior. It was never my intention to cause inconvenience to a legitimate user, and I am happy to have been of service. My email is easily identifiable/searchable, I prefer email I can quickly act on. I seldom visit forums anymore, but I am focused. Thank you for worrying about the community.

I avoided naming the ISP specifically to prevent a distaful situation, and chose a bad alternative, which was unclear. I respectfully offer my apologies for any distress caused.