What happened?

A security incident was reported to us by our security system. The incident recorded your computer identification and geographical location, and we used this information to prevent further abuse of the site.

Security incidents include attempts to damage the site, gain access to information in an abusive manner, or to subvert the intended use of the site.

Sometimes we only restrict an individual computer from gaining further access to the site but, where we see a pattern of behaviour from a number of computers, we may also block access to geographical groups including the abuser.

This is the simplest of a number of steps we take to protect the site from abuse. Once we detect a pattern of behaviour within the UK, this information is passed on to the police for further action.

Why?

We spend enough time developing our site for legitimate users. It is not a playground for budding hackers and junk email senders. We frown upon this sort of thing and we'd like these people to stop or at least go somewhere else.

What can I do now?

You may have been blocked because someone using your computer identity has previously abused our systems. Alternatively, you may have unintentionally triggered a security incident. In these cases, please contact us with details of what you were doing at the time. We will lift the restriction for any legitimate user.