Is someone stealing my internets?

[Chrisz]

Had a letter through from TalkTalk to say that we had exceeded our 40gb download limit a couple of times over the past few months! The wife doesn't download anything and I don't do a great deal so I am left to conclude that someone is stealing our internets!

I am not too sure what sort of wireless router we have but it used to be secured - then I changed computers and had to re-set it (or did so accidentally) and ended up with an unsecured router - can anybody provide me with an idiot's guide so I can set it back to a secured system please (I have 2 laptops and a printer running off it)??

Many thanks

 

[rusky]

Have a look at the label on the underside for the model number.

See if there's a setup guide online that may help.

Post make & model here so we can help in parallel

 

[ianrauk]

Have a read of this. Step by step instructions of how to secure your wireless network.

 

[ColinJ]

I'm sure somebody is nicking your bandwidth (and possibly all your passwords and emails too!) because I'm a fairly heavy internet user (50+ hours a week) with maybe a couple of hour of YouTube included in that and I only use about 10 GB a month.

It would probably help if you told us what make/model of router you have! (PS damn my slow typing! )

 

[swee'pea99]

It's not hard to secure and the advice above will enable you to do it. One bonus is that you'll probably find all your online activity speeds up loads.

 

[alecstilleyedye]

don't forget that streaming video (youtube, 4od, iplayer etc) counts towards the download limit.

don't ask me how i know this

 

[goo_mason]

As does using an Internet Radio (though luckily I'm on 'BE Unlimited' so don't need to worry about it)

 

[ColinJ]

don't forget that streaming video (youtube, 4od, iplayer etc) counts towards the download limit.

don't ask me how i know this

As does using an Internet Radio (though luckily I'm on 'BE Unlimited' so don't need to worry about it)

There was a programme on BBC1 this morning which featured a 75 year old who used his mobile phone to listen to web radio. Something had gone wrong and he had somehow used a GPRS connection rather than his home WIFI. He got a bill for nearly £3,000 for 9 days use! (I think they were charging him nearly £3 a MB because he was on an 8 year old tariff!

 

[Garz]

Holy sheet batman!

You'd have thought the vendor would have blocked his phone after £100 of use or to that effect..

 

[ColinJ]

Holy sheet batman!

You'd have thought the vendor would have blocked his phone after £100 of use or to that effect..

He had a £250 'credit limit' which the company completely ignored. The BBC guy pointed that out to them so they agreed to limit his charges to that, and then eventually waived the rest as a 'gesture of goodwill'. The poor old chap had only spent 8 months trying to sort the problem out during which time they were charging him interest on the bill!

The program makers got an interview with a woman from OFCOM who was saying that they would be looking in to possible voluntary codes which might make this kind of thing less likely. Ooh, a consumer watchdog with teeth! They should be laying down the law to the phone companies and telling them what to do!


The pensioner's monthly phone bills for 8 years were (e.g.) £31, £36, £42, £34, £35... then suddenly £2,973 ... and the phone company didn't even blink!

One strange transaction on your credit card and you get a phone call to check that it isn't fraud. Phone companies -nah!

The pensioner went out and found a new company who did him 'unlimited' internet, unlimited texts and a few hundred minutes of voice calls a month for £25!

 

[swee'pea99]

"The pensioner's monthly phone bills for 8 years were (e.g.) £31, £36, £42, £34, £35... then suddenly £2,973 ... and the phone company didn't even blink!

One strange transaction on your credit card and you get a phone call to check that it isn't fraud. Phone companies -nah!"

It is amazing this, isn't it? That the regulators allow these companies to get away with this kind of thing (when they could so easily prevent it). The same thing happens all the time when people mislay their mobiles or have them stolen...the next thing they know, their next bill features £2,795.85 worth of calls to Nigeria, and when they say 'I've been your customer for 8 years and I've never called Nigeria, or had a monthly bill of more than £22', the company just says 'Yeah well, shoot happens. Now pay up or we'll sell the debt to the knuckle-draggers and shaft your credit rating for a decade.' Before ending up settling for a grand 'as a goodwill gesture'. The scumbags.

But it's the regulators I blame - for letting them get away with it. Because they invariably do.

 

[ColinJ]

That's my point. The woman from OFCOM was talking about having a think about whether something might need to be done and then setting up a panel to look into it and if they thought something was required then they could ask the phone companies if it might just be technologically possible to put checks in place to monitor phone usage patterns.

What a load of crap! It's like the bloody Soviet bread shop that had 200 people queueing up outside for their one loaf of bread and 20 people in the shop to sell it. One to open the door, one to organise the queue, one to hand the loaf to the person selling it, one to wrap it in greaseproof paper, one to operate the till ...

It's simple.

OFCOM TO ALL PHONE COMPANIES: "Put checks in place which will detect and report any abnormal pattern of phone use. Send a text message to the phone in question asking the user to confirm that he/she is the authorised user and make them aware that they are about to incur heavy charges. If they do not use their personal password to agree to these charges, disable the phone until the account has been put back in credit. You have 3 calendar months to comply with this instruction or your licence to operate will be revoked."

PHONE COMPANIES: "We hear and obey!"

It gets done.

 

[Garz]

Must admit it is that straightforward.

Colin for president.. I mean err prime minister!

 

[swee'pea99]

Spot on.

 

[citybabe]

Talk Talk are being investigated for diddling customers.



maybe they have over-charged you too ?