diff --git a/app/handle-message.go b/app/handle-message.go
index 1cc937c..6244b1f 100644
--- a/app/handle-message.go
+++ b/app/handle-message.go
@@ -75,9 +75,9 @@ func (l *Listener) HandleMessage(msg []byte, remote string) {
 	// Validate message for invalid characters before processing
 	if err := validateJSONMessage(msg); err != nil {
 		log.E.F("%s message validation FAILED (len=%d): %v", remote, len(msg), err)
-		log.T.F("%s invalid message content: %q", remote, msgPreview)
-		// Send error notice to client
-		if noticeErr := noticeenvelope.NewFrom("invalid message format: " + err.Error()).Write(l); noticeErr != nil {
+		// Don't log the actual message content as it contains binary data
+		// Send generic error notice to client
+		if noticeErr := noticeenvelope.NewFrom("invalid message format: contains invalid characters").Write(l); noticeErr != nil {
 			log.E.F("%s failed to send validation error notice: %v", remote, noticeErr)
 		}
 		return
@@ -94,10 +94,10 @@ func (l *Listener) HandleMessage(msg []byte, remote string) {
 			"%s envelope identification FAILED (len=%d): %v", remote, len(msg),
 			err,
 		)
-		log.T.F("%s malformed message content: %q", remote, msgPreview)
+		// Don't log message preview as it may contain binary data
 		chk.E(err)
 		// Send error notice to client
-		if noticeErr := noticeenvelope.NewFrom("malformed message: " + err.Error()).Write(l); noticeErr != nil {
+		if noticeErr := noticeenvelope.NewFrom("malformed message").Write(l); noticeErr != nil {
 			log.E.F(
 				"%s failed to send malformed message notice: %v", remote,
 				noticeErr,
@@ -132,18 +132,18 @@ func (l *Listener) HandleMessage(msg []byte, remote string) {
 	default:
 		err = fmt.Errorf("unknown envelope type %s", t)
 		log.E.F(
-			"%s unknown envelope type: %s (payload: %q)", remote, t,
-			string(rem),
+			"%s unknown envelope type: %s (payload_len: %d)", remote, t,
+			len(rem),
 		)
 	}
 
 	// Handle any processing errors
 	if err != nil {
 		log.E.F("%s message processing FAILED (type=%s): %v", remote, t, err)
-		log.T.F("%s error context - original message: %q", remote, msgPreview)
+		// Don't log message preview as it may contain binary data
 
-		// Send error notice to client
-		noticeMsg := fmt.Sprintf("%s: %s", t, err.Error())
+		// Send error notice to client (use generic message to avoid control chars in errors)
+		noticeMsg := fmt.Sprintf("%s processing failed", t)
 		if noticeErr := noticeenvelope.NewFrom(noticeMsg).Write(l); noticeErr != nil {
 			log.E.F(
 				"%s failed to send error notice after %s processing failure: %v",
diff --git a/pkg/encoders/text/escape.go b/pkg/encoders/text/escape.go
index 804fe2d..2a18d1d 100644
--- a/pkg/encoders/text/escape.go
+++ b/pkg/encoders/text/escape.go
@@ -20,31 +20,50 @@ package text
 //	- A form feed, 0x0C, as \f
 //
 //	UTF-8 should be used for encoding.
+//
+// NOTE: We also escape all other control characters (0x00-0x1F excluding those above)
+// to ensure valid JSON, even though NIP-01 doesn't require it. This prevents
+// JSON parsing errors when events with binary data in content are sent to relays.
 func NostrEscape(dst, src []byte) []byte {
 	l := len(src)
 	for i := 0; i < l; i++ {
 		c := src[i]
-		switch {
-		case c == '"':
+		if c == '"' {
 			dst = append(dst, '\\', '"')
-		case c == '\\':
+		} else if c == '\\' {
 			// if i+1 < l && src[i+1] == 'u' || i+1 < l && src[i+1] == '/' {
 			if i+1 < l && src[i+1] == 'u' {
 				dst = append(dst, '\\')
 			} else {
 				dst = append(dst, '\\', '\\')
 			}
-		case c == '\b':
+		} else if c == '\b' {
 			dst = append(dst, '\\', 'b')
-		case c == '\t':
+		} else if c == '\t' {
 			dst = append(dst, '\\', 't')
-		case c == '\n':
+		} else if c == '\n' {
 			dst = append(dst, '\\', 'n')
-		case c == '\f':
+		} else if c == '\f' {
 			dst = append(dst, '\\', 'f')
-		case c == '\r':
+		} else if c == '\r' {
 			dst = append(dst, '\\', 'r')
-		default:
+		} else if c < 32 {
+			// Escape all other control characters (0x00-0x1F except those handled above) as \uXXXX
+			// This ensures valid JSON even when content contains binary data
+			dst = append(dst, '\\', 'u', '0', '0')
+			hexHigh := (c >> 4) & 0x0F
+			hexLow := c & 0x0F
+			if hexHigh < 10 {
+				dst = append(dst, byte('0'+hexHigh))
+			} else {
+				dst = append(dst, byte('a'+(hexHigh-10)))
+			}
+			if hexLow < 10 {
+				dst = append(dst, byte('0'+hexLow))
+			} else {
+				dst = append(dst, byte('a'+(hexLow-10)))
+			}
+		} else {
 			dst = append(dst, c)
 		}
 	}
@@ -91,14 +110,46 @@ func NostrUnescape(dst []byte) (b []byte) {
 				dst[w] = '\r'
 				w++
 
-				// special cases for non-nip-01 specified json escapes (must be
-				// preserved for ID generation).
-			case c == 'u':
-				dst[w] = '\\'
-				w++
-				dst[w] = 'u'
-				w++
-			case c == '/':
+			// special cases for non-nip-01 specified json escapes (must be
+			// preserved for ID generation).
+		case c == 'u':
+			// Check if this is a \u0000-\u001F sequence we generated
+			if r+4 < len(dst) && dst[r+1] == '0' && dst[r+2] == '0' {
+				// Extract hex digits
+				hexHigh := dst[r+3]
+				hexLow := dst[r+4]
+				
+				var val byte
+				if hexHigh >= '0' && hexHigh <= '9' {
+					val = (hexHigh - '0') << 4
+				} else if hexHigh >= 'a' && hexHigh <= 'f' {
+					val = (hexHigh - 'a' + 10) << 4
+				} else if hexHigh >= 'A' && hexHigh <= 'F' {
+					val = (hexHigh - 'A' + 10) << 4
+				}
+				
+				if hexLow >= '0' && hexLow <= '9' {
+					val |= hexLow - '0'
+				} else if hexLow >= 'a' && hexLow <= 'f' {
+					val |= hexLow - 'a' + 10
+				} else if hexLow >= 'A' && hexLow <= 'F' {
+					val |= hexLow - 'A' + 10
+				}
+				
+				// Only decode if it's a control character (0x00-0x1F)
+				if val < 32 {
+					dst[w] = val
+					w++
+					r += 4 // Skip the u00XX part
+					continue
+				}
+			}
+			// Not our generated \u0000-\u001F, preserve as-is
+			dst[w] = '\\'
+			w++
+			dst[w] = 'u'
+			w++
+		case c == '/':
 				dst[w] = '\\'
 				w++
 				dst[w] = '/'
diff --git a/pkg/policy/policy.go b/pkg/policy/policy.go
index 7bdfcd7..e6e081f 100644
--- a/pkg/policy/policy.go
+++ b/pkg/policy/policy.go
@@ -431,7 +431,12 @@ func (p *P) checkRulePolicy(access string, ev *event.E, rule Rule, loggedInPubke
 			pTags := ev.Tags.GetAll([]byte("p"))
 			found := false
 			for _, pTag := range pTags {
-				if bytes.Equal(pTag.Value(), loggedInPubkey) {
+				// pTag.Value() returns hex-encoded string; decode to bytes
+				pt, err := hex.Dec(string(pTag.Value()))
+				if err != nil {
+					continue
+				}
+				if bytes.Equal(pt, loggedInPubkey) {
 					found = true
 					break
 				}
diff --git a/pkg/policy/policy_test.go b/pkg/policy/policy_test.go
index e6162e9..52eab6d 100644
--- a/pkg/policy/policy_test.go
+++ b/pkg/policy/policy_test.go
@@ -176,7 +176,8 @@ func TestCheckKindsPolicy(t *testing.T) {
 func TestCheckRulePolicy(t *testing.T) {
 	// Create test event
 	testEvent := createTestEvent("test-event-id", "test-pubkey", "test content", 1)
-	addTag(testEvent, "p", "test-pubkey-2")
+	// Add p tag with hex-encoded pubkey
+	addTag(testEvent, "p", hex.Enc([]byte("test-pubkey-2")))
 	addTag(testEvent, "expiration", "1234567890")
 
 	tests := []struct {
diff --git a/pkg/spider/spider.go b/pkg/spider/spider.go
index ac33c13..05cd7ff 100644
--- a/pkg/spider/spider.go
+++ b/pkg/spider/spider.go
@@ -27,6 +27,8 @@ const (
 	ReconnectDelay = 5 * time.Second
 	// MaxReconnectDelay is the maximum delay between reconnection attempts
 	MaxReconnectDelay = 5 * time.Minute
+	// BlackoutPeriod is the duration to blacklist a relay after MaxReconnectDelay is reached
+	BlackoutPeriod = 24 * time.Hour
 )
 
 // Spider manages connections to admin relays and syncs events for followed pubkeys
@@ -64,8 +66,12 @@ type RelayConnection struct {
 	subscriptions map[string]*BatchSubscription
 
 	// Disconnection tracking
-	lastDisconnect time.Time
-	reconnectDelay time.Duration
+	lastDisconnect      time.Time
+	reconnectDelay      time.Duration
+	connectionStartTime time.Time
+
+	// Blackout tracking for IP filters
+	blackoutUntil time.Time
 }
 
 // BatchSubscription represents a subscription for a batch of pubkeys
@@ -261,6 +267,20 @@ func (rc *RelayConnection) manage(followList [][]byte) {
 		default:
 		}
 
+		// Check if relay is blacked out
+		if rc.isBlackedOut() {
+			log.D.F("spider: %s is blacked out until %v", rc.url, rc.blackoutUntil)
+			select {
+			case <-rc.ctx.Done():
+				return
+			case <-time.After(time.Until(rc.blackoutUntil)):
+				// Blackout expired, reset delay and try again
+				rc.reconnectDelay = ReconnectDelay
+				log.I.F("spider: blackout period ended for %s, retrying", rc.url)
+			}
+			continue
+		}
+
 		// Attempt to connect
 		if err := rc.connect(); chk.E(err) {
 			log.W.F("spider: failed to connect to %s: %v", rc.url, err)
@@ -269,7 +289,9 @@ func (rc *RelayConnection) manage(followList [][]byte) {
 		}
 
 		log.I.F("spider: connected to %s", rc.url)
+		rc.connectionStartTime = time.Now()
 		rc.reconnectDelay = ReconnectDelay // Reset delay on successful connection
+		rc.blackoutUntil = time.Time{}     // Clear blackout on successful connection
 
 		// Create subscriptions for follow list
 		rc.createSubscriptions(followList)
@@ -278,6 +300,19 @@ func (rc *RelayConnection) manage(followList [][]byte) {
 		<-rc.client.Context().Done()
 
 		log.W.F("spider: disconnected from %s: %v", rc.url, rc.client.ConnectionCause())
+		
+		// Check if disconnection happened very quickly (likely IP filter)
+		connectionDuration := time.Since(rc.connectionStartTime)
+		const quickDisconnectThreshold = 30 * time.Second
+		if connectionDuration < quickDisconnectThreshold {
+			log.W.F("spider: quick disconnection from %s after %v (likely IP filter)", rc.url, connectionDuration)
+			// Don't reset the delay, keep the backoff
+			rc.waitBeforeReconnect()
+		} else {
+			// Normal disconnection, reset backoff for future connections
+			rc.reconnectDelay = ReconnectDelay
+		}
+		
 		rc.handleDisconnection()
 
 		// Clean up
@@ -306,13 +341,21 @@ func (rc *RelayConnection) waitBeforeReconnect() {
 	case <-time.After(rc.reconnectDelay):
 	}
 
-	// Exponential backoff
+	// Exponential backoff - double every time
 	rc.reconnectDelay *= 2
-	if rc.reconnectDelay > MaxReconnectDelay {
-		rc.reconnectDelay = MaxReconnectDelay
+	
+	// If backoff exceeds 5 minutes, blackout for 24 hours
+	if rc.reconnectDelay >= MaxReconnectDelay {
+		rc.blackoutUntil = time.Now().Add(BlackoutPeriod)
+		log.W.F("spider: max backoff exceeded for %s (reached %v), blacking out for 24 hours", rc.url, rc.reconnectDelay)
 	}
 }
 
+// isBlackedOut returns true if the relay is currently blacked out
+func (rc *RelayConnection) isBlackedOut() bool {
+	return !rc.blackoutUntil.IsZero() && time.Now().Before(rc.blackoutUntil)
+}
+
 // handleDisconnection records disconnection time for catch-up logic
 func (rc *RelayConnection) handleDisconnection() {
 	now := time.Now()
diff --git a/pkg/version/version b/pkg/version/version
index ddbc131..3ec083c 100644
--- a/pkg/version/version
+++ b/pkg/version/version
@@ -1 +1 @@
-v0.19.7
\ No newline at end of file
+v0.19.8
\ No newline at end of file