snippy
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| posted on 4/10/07 at 09:59 AM |
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Has someone hijacked me?
Calling any computer technicians or engineers out there!
My broadband service has been with talktalk for almost 12 months and I have had no problems whatsoever, very happy. However, for the last 9 days I
have been unable to get onto the internet during the evenings only. Why? I appear to not be able to get a connection roughly from 6.30pm onwards. I
can get on line with no problems during the daytime (such as now while I`m typing this!).
I`ve spoken to a talktalk engineer who believes the problem is their end but it`s such a strange fault. He believes one of their servers is basically
not recognising my security log on info. However, whilst on the phone to them on Tuesday evening he managed to log on using my details/security info
his end and he got on the net with no poblems. The worrying thing is, he told me specific times I logged on to the net the previous evening (Monday).
Problem is I couldn`t log on and know I wasn`t even on my computer. I`m now wondering if it`s possible someone has hacked into my account. Is it
possible for someone else to be using the net pretending to be me and this is why I can`t log on in the evenings?
Any help advice much appreciated. Talktalk are investigating and promise a reply within 5 days.
I can only update this message during daytime hours as a consequence.
Nick
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Paul TigerB6
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| posted on 4/10/07 at 10:11 AM |
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I'm in no way a computer expert but can you not change your password now while you are on??
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sucksqueezebangblow
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| posted on 4/10/07 at 10:36 AM |
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Are you using wireless networking? If so individuals can intentionally or accidentally hook up to your wireless network and access the net via your
service provider. It happened to me when one of our neighbours hooked up accidentally to my wireless network.
If it is someone like my gaming son with his xBox he will use all your bandwidth which would cause the symptoms you are encountering.
Try leaving your PC switched off and watching the internet and data activity lights on your router after 6:30. If the lights are going crazy someone
is hooked up to your network (thats how i spotted it). The simple solution is to set up encryption on your network by following the instructions with
your router. You could also leave the router switched off for a while. The person who accidentally hooked up will then investigate the
'fault' and hopefully hook up correctly to their own router instead.
Good luck, Clive.
Better to Burnout than to Fade Away JET METAL ~ AndySparrow © 
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r1_pete
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| posted on 4/10/07 at 10:44 AM |
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The safest way to limit connection to your wireless router is via mac address filtering. All PC or similar devices able to connect wired or wirelessly
have a MAC address, this will be printed on the device. Alternatively on your pc Start - Run - Command, then from the dos prompt IPCONFIG/ALL will
tell you the MAC address of all networking devices on your PC.
Your Router will have the facility to allow only MAC addresses you set up on it to access it, which means no one can connect and try and hack your WAP
/ WEP keys. You'll need to read the manual and explore the setup functions in your router to do this, and remember to save the new
configuration.
Rgds.
Pete.
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chockymonster
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| posted on 4/10/07 at 11:01 AM |
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I'm guessing that your exchange is approaching capacity. Each exchange has a link to the backbone, Talktalk use their own network which may not
have as much bandwidth available.
My parents had the same problem with the utility warehouse, daytimes were fine but as soon as the kids got home from school they couldn't get on
and when they did it was painful.
I bet that if you leave it connected all day you'll be able to surf in the evening. Unfortunately Talktalk's technical guys are useless.
PLEASE NOTE - Responses on Forum Threads may contain Sarcasm and may not be suitable for the hard of Thinking.
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ChrisS
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| posted on 4/10/07 at 11:18 AM |
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Snippy
Im pretty certain that most BB dial up services, are limited to connection from the phone number of the registered user.
Therefore it is unlikely that someone is dialing in as you with your detail. It is also unlikely that someone has hijacked your wireless connection,
as this would be impossible unless you were actually connected to the internet for someone to be able tohijack you bandwidth, in which case your
connection would seem slowe to you.
The most likely issue is with what is known as contention ratios. Basically you share you connection to the exchange with normally (depending on
provider and the price of service) 20 to1 or 50 to 1. this means you share with 20 or 50 others.
So If you cant dial up, its most likely the line is jammed with others trying to dial up.
The best solution would be to get a BB Router Modem, as these stay connected 24/7. You give the router your username and password and the internet is
there when you need, either via wired, wireless or usb connection.
You wont get one of these from talk talk, but go buy one from PC World or the liek for approx £50.
Best of Luck, youll need it whilst using Talk Talk!
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BenB
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| posted on 4/10/07 at 11:21 AM |
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Certainly if you've got a wireless router it's important to activate WEP (at the very least) even if you're not going to use it. MAC
filtering is better  . It's amazing how many people don't bother. In most residential areas if you switch on a laptop with a wifi card
you'll get a number of unsecured connections.
Of course connecting to any of them would be silly (and illegal). For one thing all the information (like e-mail passwords) would go via this other
persons computer who could nick 'em. Hence the "evil twin" phenomenon @ Starbucks etc.
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snippy
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| posted on 4/10/07 at 11:31 AM |
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Guys, thanks for the replies so far however I am not on a wireless router. I am using a traditional dial up modem (Voyager 105) so none of my
neighbours etc can accidentally be going through my connection. When i was on the phone to talktalk the other night they asked me to check
`ipconfig_all` and this showed that I had no IP address displayed! Very bizarre. I don`t think it`s a case of the network being busy and me sharing
with 20 to 50 others as the techno guy at talktalk logged on his end pretending to be me with no problems. They even upped my broadband speed
temporarily but that didn`t help either. I`ve run a virus check too on my system which is all clear. They also suggested I try another modem just to
make sure it`s not my modem. I`ve done this last night and again couldn`t connect up to the net. It`s frustrating because I use the net more in the
evenings re work commitments etc.
Nick
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SeaBass
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| posted on 4/10/07 at 11:51 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by BenB
For one thing all the information (like e-mail passwords) would go via this other persons computer who could nick 'em.
You normally speak a lot of sense Ben, but that is utter twaddle! Sorry mate.
The packets are sent and received by the wireless gateway/router/firewall. Usually only in a large corporate wireless network that traffic goes
through a server.
It's plenty easy enough to simply sniff packets out of the air anyway and ascertain the WEP key.
Cheers
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BenB
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| posted on 4/10/07 at 12:01 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by SeaBass
quote:
Originally posted by BenB
For one thing all the information (like e-mail passwords) would go via this other persons computer who could nick 'em.
You normally speak a lot of sense Ben, but that is utter twaddle! Sorry mate.
The packets are sent and received by the wireless gateway/router/firewall. Usually only in a large corporate wireless network that traffic goes
through a server.
It's plenty easy enough to simply sniff packets out of the air anyway and ascertain the WEP key.
Cheers
Hang on- there are two issues here. Having an unsecured router and whether it is a good idea to access unsecured wifi networks.
I never said WEP was the best, just that it was better than nothing!! Most WEP cracks still crack transmitted secure data. If you're not using
the wifi ability of the router then cracking will take a long time as in there will not be any data flow!!!! The more modern WEP cracks just reduced
the amount of packets needed.
In regard to someone knicking your e-mail passwords if you log into their wifi network it depends how they're setup. On my desktop I've
got a plain modem and a USB wifi dongle in the back of the box (admittidly not a great option long term as all info going to the laptop has to go via
XP). XP acts as a server and puts everything to the modem. If I unsecured my Wifi network and someone access it, I'd have access to everything
they sent including passwords. Cos I'm a l33t hacker Seriously though, that's how an evil twin hack works. It's true if you
connected direct to someone's modem router you're mostly okay but how to you know they've not running a setup like mine and
intercepting the packets.....
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gingerprince
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| posted on 4/10/07 at 12:04 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by r1_pete
The safest way to limit connection to your wireless router is via mac address filtering.
quote:
Originally posted by BenB
MAC filtering is better 
Kinda off topic since the OP isn't on wireless, but DO NOT be lulled into a false sense of security with MAC address filtering. Yes, it will
stop someone from casually connecting to your network, but for anyone trying to connect it's a chocolate fireguard, even less useful than
WEP.
A wireless packet sniffer will show the source and destination of every packet, encrypted or otherwise. All someone has to do is capture a couple of
packets, find a valid mac address, then spoof that MAC onto their card.
Cracking WEP is easy, but is still more involved than circumventing MAC address filtering.
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PhilCross66
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| posted on 4/10/07 at 12:21 PM |
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Surely if you have a router you are always connected so they wouldn't be able to say you logged on at such a time. My router says I've
been online for around 60 days, it only disconnects when I get a power cut.
The other thing is even if you had wireless I doubt anyone would be able to grab 100% of your bandwidth, I have 2 pc's on my wired router and no
matter what the 1st is doing, huge download etc, I can always get online with the 2nd.
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Ian D
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| posted on 4/10/07 at 06:10 PM |
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You said you were on dial up. Does your modem synch up? Im wondering if Talk Talk RAS set up does not have enough ports to accommodate the number of
modem users. When you next try listen to the modem chatter.
The other thing to watch is that contention ratios mean nothing. What you need is the Grade of Service which is the true measure. Good old queueing
theory and Earlangs.
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britishtrident
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| posted on 5/10/07 at 07:15 AM |
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This thread gone off at a tangent.
It is fairly obvious as another poster as already stated this is a capacity issue at the exchange end.
The broadband modem can't get a connection because the exchange has no available capacity.
No IP addres is showing because the broadband modem can't login to get a connection to the DHCP server which issues IP addresses.
Pay peanuts get poor service.
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snippy
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| posted on 5/10/07 at 10:07 PM |
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Just a quick update for you guys. I was back up and running again last night and as you will see from the time I am typing this, I am ok again
tonight. Not had a call back from talktalk yet so don`t know if they`ve tweaked anything or if it was just too busy on the server to let me in. I find
the latter doubtful as I`ve had no problems over the last 11 months or so. So, if they`ve fixed it, payment by peanuts is fine by me! Thanks to those
who replied anyway. Lets hope I`m back up and running.
Nick
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