How to Remove a Whitelisted IP Address

When a server is decommissioned, an employee leaves, or you no longer need remote access from a specific location, you should remove that IP from your whitelist. Keeping unused IPs whitelisted is a security risk — the fewer open entries, the smaller your attack surface.

Step-by-Step: Removing an IP

1. Log in at mysql.nobregas.org.
2. Click Databases in the top navigation bar.
3. Scroll down to the Remote MySQL — Allowed IPs section at the bottom of the page.
4. Find the IP address you want to remove in the whitelist.
5. Click the X button next to that IP.

The IP is removed instantly. Any active connections from that IP are blocked on the next connection attempt.

When to Remove an IP

• Server decommissioned — You shut down or replaced a server that had remote access.
• Employee departure — A team member's office or home IP should be removed when they leave.
• IP address changed — Your server or ISP assigned a new IP. Remove the old one and add the new one.
• Security incident — If an IP may be compromised, remove it immediately.
• Cleanup — You have stale entries from old projects or tests.

What Happens After Removal

• New connections from that IP are immediately rejected by the MySQL server.
• Existing active connections from that IP are terminated on the next query attempt or when the connection times out.
• Your databases, users, and data are not affected — only the network access rule is removed.

Can You Re-Add a Removed IP?

Yes. Removing an IP is fully reversible. If you need to restore access later, go to the Databases page, scroll to the Remote MySQL — Allowed IPs section, and add the IP again. There is no penalty or cooldown for re-adding.

Best Practices for Whitelist Maintenance

• Audit monthly — Review your whitelist once a month and remove any IPs that are no longer active.
• Document your IPs — Keep a note of which IP belongs to which server or person (e.g., "203.0.113.50 — Production API server").
• Remove before decommissioning — When shutting down a server, remove its IP from the whitelist as part of the shutdown checklist.
• Minimize entries — Only whitelist the minimum number of IPs needed. Every whitelisted IP is a potential entry point.

Removing All IPs

If you want to disable remote access entirely, remove all IP addresses from the whitelist. With an empty whitelist, only localhost connections are accepted — your databases are only accessible from the same server.