Thread: Bandwidth theft?? How does it occur??

First of all my appreciation to this very creative website.
There has been a lot of talk about bandwidth theft .Can anyone explain the possible causes.I could find in numerous posts a strong advice to frequently check upon the usage which I do very sincerely.2 days ago I found an alarming Download usage in my account (Plan 250).Though the time of usage mentioned is correct I am doubly sure approx 100MB more has gone into the account which is unexplainable.I do have a monitoring software "WATCHWAN" which gives a fair indication on the bandwidth transfers real time with logs and have come to a conclusion that something may have gone wrong.

Amongst one of the posts here I find "WIRELESS" modem could be a possible culprit.YES ,on that particular day as I was just typing a post on a forum(that could result in no transfer activity) I happened to see the modem which was fiercely BLINKING.Nothing struck me then ,but now I could see some reason.

When I bought the modem I got the Wireless type thinking of the future when I could use a notebook!!!

What is the reach of the modem in distance and whether an AWARE person could take benefit of his neighbour's connection?

How to disable the wireless part in a modem?

Whether such pilferage can occur in the server side too??

Thanks!

change ur IP address to something un guessable and use a strong SSID

Are you meaning fixed IP address? And what does SSID mean? What do you think the actual technique is?

Originally Posted by Nagan

Are you meaning fixed IP address? And what does SSID mean? What do you think the actual technique is?

Hello Nagan, Please do a forum serach on my articles on Wireless Security - they are titled as Wireless Security Primer and Wireless Security Primer - II.

These primers will explain and clear some of your doubts regarding SSID, etc. Afterwards, you must implement Wireless Security in your Wireless Router so that no one except you can access the wireless.

Originally Posted by Nagan

First of all my appreciation to this very creative website.
There has been a lot of talk about bandwidth theft .Can anyone explain the possible causes.I could find in numerous posts a strong advice to frequently check upon the usage which I do very sincerely.2 days ago I found an alarming Download usage in my account (Plan 250).Though the time of usage mentioned is correct I am doubly sure approx 100MB more has gone into the account which is unexplainable.I do have a monitoring software "WATCHWAN" which gives a fair indication on the bandwidth transfers real time with logs and have come to a conclusion that something may have gone wrong.

Amongst one of the posts here I find "WIRELESS" modem could be a possible culprit.YES ,on that particular day as I was just typing a post on a forum(that could result in no transfer activity) I happened to see the modem which was fiercely BLINKING.Nothing struck me then ,but now I could see some reason.

When I bought the modem I got the Wireless type thinking of the future when I could use a notebook!!!

What is the reach of the modem in distance and whether an AWARE person could take benefit of his neighbour's connection?

How to disable the wireless part in a modem?

Whether such pilferage can occur in the server side too??

Thanks!

For this you have to change your default SSID and use encription key (wep or other) even you can use mac based access...Finally ... and dont forget to change your modem/router's default password

Thanks to all the posts and esp just4kix for the primers.There are yet some questions which could merit an answer.

What is the radius of a wireless router? Just to make sure,have anyone thought about minimising the radius or range (antenna control by way of reducing power etc) so that one can rest assured only he will be able to pick up the signals?

From what I gather SSID is a broadcast mechanism and how to stop that in Quidway?

Talking of Port Binding; Is there anyway to ensure that the connection is port-binded and secure??

Originally Posted by Nagan

Thanks to all the posts and esp just4kix for the primers.There are yet some questions which could merit an answer.

What is the radius of a wireless router? Just to make sure,have anyone thought about minimising the radius or range (antenna control by way of reducing power etc) so that one can rest assured only he will be able to pick up the signals?

From what I gather SSID is a broadcast mechanism and how to stop that in Quidway?

Reducing the radius of wireless transmitter is not recommended. Also why hide SSID? Implement Wireless Security - that is the panacea for all your issues.

Originally Posted by Nagan

Talking of Port Binding; Is there anyway to ensure that the connection is port-binded and secure??

If your router's real IP address is 117.x.x.x then your connection is port binded. If the IP address is 5x.x.x.x then it is not.

Originally Posted by just4kix

If your router's real IP address is 117.x.x.x then your connection is port binded. If the IP address is 5x.x.x.x then it is not.

Thanx just4kix.I logged on to the router page and found that the address indeed is beginning with 5x.xx.xx.xx.I also checked through auditmypc.com and found the IP to be the same. So BSNL has to bind others too it seems!! By the way how can different sets of IPs can be given to the same country or is there a range??

Now U have an obligation for an answer!

59.95.xxx.xxx is bsnl`s private ip addressing range. All the connections over india using bsnl dataone are assigned one of these addresses dynamically.
By the way there is no way u can determine that ur connection is port binded or not. It can be determined just by the bsnl guyz

Originally Posted by sharks_me

59.95.xxx.xxx is bsnl`s private ip addressing range. All the connections over india using bsnl dataone are assigned one of these addresses dynamically.
By the way there is no way u can determine that ur connection is port binded or not. It can be determined just by the bsnl guyz

59.95.xxx.xxx is bsnl`s private ip addressing range. pls. visit Welcome to APNIC and try whois : 59.95.XX.XX (replace it with your current ip)
yes ..no way to now about port binding.

I happened to run a query on Upnp and came up with various advices that it could be a security risk if the modem Upnp is enabled.The wireless primer from Just4kix I suppose does not deal with this aspect??By the way any wireless commn should be wep enabled which should ensure its security.How does enabling or disabling Upnp affect anyone?

Originally Posted by Nagan

The wireless primer from Just4kix I suppose does not deal with this aspect??

Thanks for the suggestion. I will cover it in Wireless Security Primer - III.

(to self) I am getting good at sequels.

Just4kix incase you are reading this...

Wireless security primer advises WEP and WPA for encrytion.But how does it prevent a neighbour to know the existence of a modem and use it at someone's expense?

Wireless security primer advises WEP and WPA for encrytion.But how does it prevent a neighbour to know the existence of a modem and use it at someone's expense?

neighbours can't connect to your wireless network unless they provide the password set by you even if they can see the network.

hehe you cant leave your wireless connection unsecured and call tht bandwidth theft!!thats like leaving your car unlocked with the keys in it and saying sum1 stole it!


i say till you get ur notebook or any wifi device in the future, turn off wlan from the router config page!

by the way you are solely responsible for all the data transfers tht occur from your modem and when excess billing occurs all tht they'll see in the logs are tht bandwidth was used by ur telephone number!

and to check for wifi range...it varies widely between different brands and 1 of the only ways to do it is by using your wifi devices and keep moving away from your router till you lose the connection!

Originally Posted by whitestar_999

neighbours can't connect to your wireless network unless they provide the password set by you even if they can see the network.

No I am sure that is not the case!The password is only to go into the settings.An ignorant user if he is not enabling MAC address option and also a better password ,anyone can just sniff and connect to the router.

Originally Posted by (-N-)

hehe you cant leave your wireless connection unsecured and call tht bandwidth theft!!thats like leaving your car unlocked with the keys in it and saying sum1 stole it!


i say till you get ur notebook or any wifi device in the future, turn off wlan from the router config page!

by the way you are solely responsible for all the data transfers tht occur from your modem and when excess billing occurs all tht they'll see in the logs are tht bandwidth was used by ur telephone number!

and to check for wifi range...it varies widely between different brands and 1 of the only ways to do it is by using your wifi devices and keep moving away from your router till you lose the connection!

To the point---- Ha Ha .Good one!But I think enabling MAC address could be helpful.

Originally Posted by Nagan

No I am sure that is not the case!The password is only to go into the settings.An ignorant user if he is not enabling MAC address option and also a better password ,anyone can just sniff and connect to the router.

A sniffer cannot break into a WPA/WPA2 encrypted wireless if you set a really long passphrase - mine is 43 characters long. A sniffer can find existing wireless network even if SSID broadcast is off.

Originally Posted by Nagan

To the point---- Ha Ha .Good one!But I think enabling MAC address could be helpful.

MAC address enabling is a good option but not totally safe.

Ultimately no security is safe. You must do the following to make it as safe as possible:

a) Turn SSID broadcast off
b) Have a very strong router administrator password.
c) Change it (router administrator password) frequently.
d) Enable WPA or WPA2 security with a very long passphrase (and change it periodically)

Points (b) and (c) are really the key.

last but not least it all comes down to how much someone is going to be benefitted from hacking your wifi.a really talented hacker will hack your wifi no matter how much security you use including long pass phrases,WPA encryption etc. but then he is not going to spend his time hacking your network which is worthless to him.he would be better off using his skills at an airport hotspot to get substantial financial gains(it has been already done in various parts of world especially developed countries).

"last but not least it all comes down to how much someone is going to be benefitted from hacking your wifi.a really talented hacker will hack your wifi no matter how much security you use including long pass phrases,WPA encryption etc. but then he is not going to spend his time hacking your network which is worthless to him"

Well that is what it is all about!The main concern is not what goes on as data (could be worthless) but using the modem surreptiously thereby depriving GBs and also sending a huge bill!

You should ensure that you have provided for adequete wireless security. Bandwidth can also be stolen if account is not port binded.

Also note that it is extremely unlikely that a determined hacker and whizkid is in your neighbourhood that will try to get into your network. With a 40+ character WPA-PSK passphrase and a very strong 'admin' password, it will take him days (if not months) to break in.

One more security feature is to switch off your modem/wireless when not in use.

All this discussion will keep going on till the cows come home. You should be careful and be on guard - but don't be paranoid.

Will you stop buying a bike/car just because it is liable to be stolen? No. You will ensure that it is secured.

Guys if ur using data one and if there is any band width theft it may be due to to ur telephone wire taping check ur telephone wire see for any joints in it this is only the the possible way.once the person taps ur line he can use is modem to connect to net .

Originally Posted by jz70

Guys if ur using data one and if there is any band width theft it may be due to to ur telephone wire taping check ur telephone wire see for any joints in it this is only the the possible way.once the person taps ur line he can use is modem to connect to net .

This is just not possible!!He would not know to configure his modem for that connection? Please make sure what you want say and not bring out your thoughts as facts.