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Kingsley Adsl FAQS
Unexplained traffic usage
An ADSL account may contain extraneous or unexplainable usage on the
stats page.
There are a number of causes of unwanted traffic:
Causes
Network chatter
Up to 10mb per day of random packets caused by portscans, dns, router
update checks, remote pings etc. This will occur even if your PC"s are
switched off if you have a router as opposed to a USB based ADSL modem.
Skype
New Skype client generates traffic even if not in use. This is because
skype can turn any PC into a 3rd party router for assisting in its P2P
telephony functioning.
Stolen username
Their are known exploits and hackers actively scanning insecure routers
to obtain usernames and passwords. These are then used to steal
bandwidth from the account.
Wireless hijacking
If your router is wireless enabled, hackers in the nearby vicinity may
be using your bandwidth for their own purposes, even if WEP or WPA is
enabled.
Spyware,malware,viruses,trojans, rootkits
Any of the PC"s connected may be infected with the above causing your
machine to become a zombie for sending spam or an instrument in sending
denial of service attacks. New evidence suggests rootkit technology is
now being employed to avoid detection by most Antivirus programs.
olutions
Network chatter
Turn of your router to avoid any traffic charges. Alternatively put the
router in "stealth mode" - this makes it appear to be offline to the
outside world and reduces the small amount of daily wastage.
Skype
Log out of Skype when not in use. Use a different client, eg MSN
Messenger or other SIP based voice services.
Stolen username
1) Change all passwords - adsl password, router password, client service
area password etc...
Wireless hijacking
Enable WPA-PSK encryption using a 12+ character random password. Do not
use known words, product names, labels or anything else. Do not use WEP
encryption as this can be cracked within minutes giving a false sense of
security.
Spyware,malware,viruses,trojans, rootkits
Run multiple virus and anti spyware scans on your system, there are
various tools available to do this via the web:
Trendmicro
Housecall
Panda
Active Scan
There are also various tools available to track traffic usage on
individual PC"s, the easiest to use is probably Netlimiter:
NetLimiter
NB:
Please also see these password guidelines to ensure the passwords you
have selected are adequately secure:
http://security.fnal.gov/UserGuide/password.htm
http://www.newsforge.com/software/03/02/26/1639212.shtml?tid=2
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Related entries:
- How to create a broadband connection?
- DSL Mecer Router Setup
- DSL Dlink Router setup
- How to perform a Traceroute Test?
- What is ADSL?
Last update: 2010-01-23 13:48
Author: tasniem
Revision: 1.0
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