Computer questions and solutions....thereof...

Message

CNF2002 · #61 Unread post by **CNF2002** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 9:06 am

jonnythan wrote: My first guess is that there is another computer using your connection and you may not realize it. If you have a router, which I hope you do, you could very well have a wireless router that comes "open" by default and a neighbor is "piggybacking" on your connection and using it to download things (movies, music, pirated software, etc).

All routers come set with an open network setting if I'm not mistaken. Mine certainly did. Someone sharing her bandwidth would probably only slow her connection every once and a while though.

jonnythan · Thu Feb 08, 2007 9:23 am

CNF2002 wrote:
jonnythan wrote: My first guess is that there is another computer using your connection and you may not realize it. If you have a router, which I hope you do, you could very well have a wireless router that comes "open" by default and a neighbor is "piggybacking" on your connection and using it to download things (movies, music, pirated software, etc).
All routers come set with an open network setting if I'm not mistaken. Mine certainly did. Someone sharing her bandwidth would probably only slow her connection every once and a while though.

I disagree on both counts. I once had a wireless D-Link router that came with wireless turned off by default.

Also, someone piggybacking on and running a bittorrent or newsgroup client 24/7 could easily suck up her bandwidth every hour of every day. Believe me, it's super easy to build up a backlog of dozens and dozens of DVD rips on bittorrent and leave the connection up 24/7 while it downloads them all.

Even if the person is not downloading, simply seeding a torrent will suck up the available upstream bandwidth. Guess what happens when the upstream bandwidth of an asymmetrical connection like DSL or cable is saturated: the downstream bandwidth drops to about 5-10% of its normal value.

#63 Unread post by **dr_bar** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 9:39 am

Well, the problem to me sounds more like the ISP is causing the issue. Blues' line is straight through the telephone lines. She's not wireless, so unless someone physically tapped her line, can they piggyback her connection???

jonnythan · Thu Feb 08, 2007 10:22 am

dr_bar wrote:Well, the problem to me sounds more like the ISP is causing the issue. Blues' line is straight through the telephone lines. She's not wireless, so unless someone physically tapped her line, can they piggyback her connection???

Most people don't hook their cable or DSL modem directly to their computer, nor should they.

If blues made the sensible choice to install a router in between her modem and her computer, chances are very high that said router is a router with wireless networking built in (it's virtually impossible to buy a router without wireless capabilities these days). These wireless routers have insecure wireless networks set up by default. It is trivial for a neighbor to connect a laptop or desktop with a wireless card to this network and then use its internet connection for... whatever.

This happens all the time. If I "open" my wireless network, I'll see other people using it within an hour.

#65 Unread post by **dr_bar** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 10:47 am

She does not have a wireless router...

jonnythan · Thu Feb 08, 2007 11:25 am

dr_bar wrote:She does not have a wireless router...

Oh, I'm sorry, I must have missed where she said that.

In that case, I'd also try another PC or a buddy's laptop or something like that on the connection first so that I could rule out your computer before complaining to Telus.

And she should go out immediately and buy a router.

#67 Unread post by **Sev** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 12:38 pm

jonnythan wrote:
dr_bar wrote:She does not have a wireless router...
Oh, I'm sorry, I must have missed where she said that.

In that case, I'd also try another PC or a buddy's laptop or something like that on the connection first so that I could rule out your computer before complaining to Telus.

And she should go out immediately and buy a router.

They do make non-wireless routers.

jonnythan · Thu Feb 08, 2007 12:47 pm

Sevulturus wrote:They do make non-wireless routers.

Oh, I know. I've owned a few, and I'm a Cisco certified network admin. I know all about routers

The vast, vast majority of routers sold today are wireless, though. If you walk into CompUSA and ask for a router, they'll hand you a wireless one.

I was just coming up with possibilities.

Thu Feb 08, 2007 3:33 pm

I just got off the phone with Telus. We were on the phone for close to an hour.
He walked me through a bunch of things and he could see nothing wrong with any of my settings.
However, he did admit that the speed test was far too slow. The transfer rate should be 95 or more kb per sec, but my speed test comes in between 47 and 61.

I have to call him back in a while. He is looking into things at his end.

sigh.....

Thu Feb 08, 2007 3:38 pm

I asked the Telus tech about the possibility of someone tapped into my line and using my bandwidth. He said no.

I went to a computer store today and asked about a router. He said if my computer is connected directly to the modem, I don't need a router.

I need to go eat. All this hassle is making me hungry.