For email, we recommend always using the SSL version of the mail server. Port 587 becomes 465, port 110 becomes 995, and port 143 becomes 993. Please note that you must also change the security method in your email program from None or TLS to SSL.

To restore FTP functionality, you can use the KPN guide below. We've outlined the steps here:

• Log in to your Experia Box modem.
• Go to the Security section.
• Change the firewall security level from the default setting Medium to Custom.
• Set the main switch next to Block Everything to Allow Everything.
• Change the TCP 20–21 FTP slider from On to Off (move it to the left).
• You will now have the same settings as the Medium firewall security level, with the only difference being that the outgoing FTP block has been removed.

Full guide:
https://community.kpn.com/kennisbank-modem-instellingen-171/modems-met-kpn-software-firewall-instellingen-614868

If you have any further questions or need additional assistance, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Traditionally, bots (like search engine crawlers) operate quietly in the background. They work step-by-step, limit their requests to a few per second, and back off if your server gets too busy. Today, the landscape has changed. With countless AI bots active simultaneously, some scrapers have become extremely invasive. They flood your server with multiple concurrent requests without any regard for your server's capacity or response time. When dozens of different AI companies do this at once, the impact multiplies. This sudden surge in traffic spikes your data usage, strains your infrastructure, and can cause your website to slow down or even crash.

Fortunately, you don’t have to let bots ruin your website's performance. IceHosting offers two powerful ways to regain control. The first is robots.txt, a file that gives instructions to visiting bots. However, rogue AI bots frequently ignore these guidelines. The second, more robust solution is .htaccess, which completely blocks bots based on their unique user-agent identification. With .htaccess, you can even set custom rules to restrict access to specific actions or pages. Want to secure your server? Reach out to our support team today for expert guidance!

Here is a practical example of how to block aggressive AI bots using your .htaccess file:

# BLOCK AI BOTS 
 
RewriteEngine On 
RewriteBase / 
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^.*(GPTBot|ChatGPT-User|ClaudeBot|Claude-Web|anthropic-ai|CCBot|Google-Extended|PerplexityBot|Bytespider|Diffbot|FacebookBot|Meta-ExternalAgent|Amazonbot|cohere-ai|YouBot|Omgilibot|ImagesiftBot|Applebot-Extended|SemrushBot).*$ [NC] 
RewriteRule .* - [F,L] 

Keep in mind: The AI Trade-off

Blocking AI bots protects your resources, but it comes with a strategic catch. If you block all bots, your business won't be included in future AI datasets. This hurts your Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), meaning AI tools like ChatGPT won't find information about your brand, making them less likely to mention or recommend you to users. That is why we recommend implementing these blocks only if your server is actively struggling with bot traffic.