Pause and lockdown
The difference between pausing protection, which lets every action through, and lockdown, which refuses every action.
On this page
Two different switches #
| Pause | Lockdown | |
|---|---|---|
| Visitors | Proceed without doing any work | Every protected action is refused |
| Browser script | Returns an empty token at once | Rejects with refused, reason rule_blocked |
| siteverify | success: true, reason paused | success: false, reason rule_blocked |
| Billing | Not billed | Refusals are never billed |
| Use it when | You suspect BlockAlt is in the way and want your forms to work unchecked while you investigate | An action is under attack and you would rather turn it off completely |
Both are published as a new configuration version, so they take effect for new tokens within about five minutes, and immediately at siteverify. While a site is paused, the Node SDK sends every non-empty token to siteverify, so a lockdown applies to the next one; only the answer to an empty token (what browsers send while paused) is reused for up to 15 seconds per hostname and action.
Pause #
A paused site behaves like an unprotected one: forms submit, and your server's check passes with the reason paused. Your integration does not need to change, provided it forwards the token even when it is empty. Resume protection in the console when you are ready.
Lockdown #
Lockdown is the site rule that blocks all issuance: a separate, deliberate setting, never a side effect of pausing. It refuses everything on the site, including legitimate visitors. To stop a single action instead, block only that action in the site's rules; both answer rule_blocked.
Billing state #
A priced workspace without credit behaves like a paused site with the reason unpaid; see billing. Your refusal rules still hold meanwhile: a site in lockdown keeps refusing every action, and a blocked action keeps answering rule_blocked, since refusals are never billed. A paused site lets blocked actions through as well (reason paused).
Which state decides #
When several states apply at once, the first one in this order decides: suspended (BlockAlt support suspended the site or its workspace for abuse: everything is refused with suspended) > lockdown (everything refused with rule_blocked, even while paused) > paused (everything passes with paused) > unpaid (everything passes with unpaid, except blocked actions) > protected. Refused and unchecked answers are never billed. A suspension is not a setting you can change: the console shows support's note, and lifting it is up to support.
Something unclear or missing on this page? Write to support@blockalt.click.