Plusnet - Usage statistics

I am confused with what's going on with the view my usage statistics.
The first day of my account being active I thought that the usage shown
looked a little high. But I could work out the first how the first 20
MBytes where used. On Saturday I started logging what I have been
downloading, I also downloaded a program called BWMeter. The number of
MBytes logged before running BWMeter (including its downloading) was
9.43Mbytes and BWMeter logged 15.3Mbytes which makes a total of
24.73MBytes. Now at first BWMeter was not setup to start as a service,
so there would have been a small amount of time when it was not logging
usage, but 24.73 MBytes out of 45.03MBytes is a large number to be
unidentified.

I am using Windows XP and the automatic updates icon has stayed at 0%, so
I don't think it is that. I am also running Kerio Firewall and I can't
see anything in the logs looking suspicious.

I have a Netgear 834G Router, and I have already disabled the Wireless
Access Point.

On getting to work Monday morning I had a quick look at the usage
statistics, and it said I had used 0.09Mbytes. I have not had the
computer on at all today, so this is simply impossible. It is now
showing 0.10Mbytes so usage is going up despite the fact that I am not at
home to use my ADSL account, and my home computer is not even on.

On Mon, 23 Aug 2004 10:13:54 -0000, Stone Free
<spam_KillKillKillstone_freeNoSpamPleaseWereBritis (E-Mail Removed)>
wrote:

>On getting to work Monday morning I had a quick look at the usage
>statistics, and it said I had used 0.09Mbytes. I have not had the
>computer on at all today, so this is simply impossible. It is now
>showing 0.10Mbytes so usage is going up despite the fact that I am not at
>home to use my ADSL account, and my home computer is not even on.

Your router is on? If so then it's probably just the usual "background
noise" of the internet - port probes. It looks about the right sort of
volume (mine runs at about 100kB per IP address per day.
--
John Naismith

"Stone Free"
<spam_KillKillKillstone_freeNoSpamPleaseWereBritis (E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
message news:Xns954E7240CAE90spamKillKillKillston@216.168. 3.50...
>I am confused with what's going on with the view my usage statistics.
> The first day of my account being active I thought that the usage shown
> looked a little high. But I could work out the first how the first 20
> MBytes where used. On Saturday I started logging what I have been
> downloading, I also downloaded a program called BWMeter. The number of
> MBytes logged before running BWMeter (including its downloading) was
> 9.43Mbytes and BWMeter logged 15.3Mbytes which makes a total of
> 24.73MBytes. Now at first BWMeter was not setup to start as a service,
> so there would have been a small amount of time when it was not logging
> usage, but 24.73 MBytes out of 45.03MBytes is a large number to be
> unidentified.
>
> I am using Windows XP and the automatic updates icon has stayed at 0%, so
> I don't think it is that. I am also running Kerio Firewall and I can't
> see anything in the logs looking suspicious.
>
> I have a Netgear 834G Router, and I have already disabled the Wireless
> Access Point.
>
> On getting to work Monday morning I had a quick look at the usage
> statistics, and it said I had used 0.09Mbytes. I have not had the
> computer on at all today, so this is simply impossible. It is now
> showing 0.10Mbytes so usage is going up despite the fact that I am not at
> home to use my ADSL account, and my home computer is not even on.

If you router has been connected then yes, its possible to have usage
while your pc wasnt on. It will either be your router receiving some
packets, (basically background noise) or stopping any random port
accesses.

Andrew

"Andrew" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>> On getting to work Monday morning I had a quick look at the usage
>> statistics, and it said I had used 0.09Mbytes. I have not had the
>> computer on at all today, so this is simply impossible. It is now
>> showing 0.10Mbytes so usage is going up despite the fact that I am not at
>> home to use my ADSL account, and my home computer is not even on.
>
>If you router has been connected then yes, its possible to have usage
>while your pc wasnt on. It will either be your router receiving some
>packets, (basically background noise) or stopping any random port
>accesses.

On Clara, I get a Blaster attack roughly every 30 seconds; more often
at night. This is about 120 bytes incoming.

Moreover, the NAT router (while not being breached) used to return
some sort of "ICMP unreachable" packet and this was keeping the ISDN
line open, causing me to go over the 120hr/month limit Clara have on
their flat rate account!! They threatened to cut me off a few times; I
responded that it is dead easy for them to block these very obvious
packets but they don't give a damn; they could so easily email all
their customers (who account for about half the incoming attacks) that
their PC is infected. All the time the ISPs pretend to not look at
traffic, they are in no position to enforce any quotas, IMHO.

With broadband this spurious traffic is moot, but it does show why you
get this problem:

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/040818/36/f0lch.html

Most of my non-expert computer owner friends have their PCs
compromised, often to the point (e.g. acting as full-time spam relays)
where the only way is to use the shop's restore CD...


Peter.
--
Return address is invalid to help stop junk mail.
E-mail replies to (E-Mail Removed) but remove the X and the Y.
Please do NOT copy usenet posts to email - it is NOT necessary.

"Stone Free"
<spam_KillKillKillstone_freeNoSpamPleaseWereBritis (E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
message news:Xns954E7240CAE90spamKillKillKillston@216.168. 3.50...
> I am confused with what's going on with the view my usage statistics.
> The first day of my account being active I thought that the usage shown
> looked a little high. But I could work out the first how the first 20
> MBytes where used. On Saturday I started logging what I have been
> downloading, I also downloaded a program called BWMeter. The number of
> MBytes logged before running BWMeter (including its downloading) was
> 9.43Mbytes and BWMeter logged 15.3Mbytes which makes a total of
> 24.73MBytes. Now at first BWMeter was not setup to start as a service,
> so there would have been a small amount of time when it was not logging
> usage, but 24.73 MBytes out of 45.03MBytes is a large number to be
> unidentified.
>
> I am using Windows XP and the automatic updates icon has stayed at 0%, so
> I don't think it is that. I am also running Kerio Firewall and I can't
> see anything in the logs looking suspicious.
>
> I have a Netgear 834G Router, and I have already disabled the Wireless
> Access Point.
>
> On getting to work Monday morning I had a quick look at the usage
> statistics, and it said I had used 0.09Mbytes. I have not had the
> computer on at all today, so this is simply impossible. It is now
> showing 0.10Mbytes so usage is going up despite the fact that I am not at
> home to use my ADSL account, and my home computer is not even on.

My usage on Plusnet was showing as 3GB 3 days after my billing date even
though I had only been using it to download email. I sent a message via the
Plusnet portal as C/S don't deal with the enquiries via the telephone??? (or
that's what I was told) and I got a message back saying it was an error on
Plusnet's part and they would investigate it.

They sent me an estimated date that the investigation would be finished
which was a month after I reported it. I cancelled my account as this was
one of many problems I had with them. Complete waste of time (my personal
opinion). Wish I would have kept my bloody NTL broadband now...perfect
service even with the dodgy c/s.

"Andrew" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
news:(E-Mail Removed):
> If you router has been connected then yes, its possible to have usage
> while your pc wasnt on. It will either be your router receiving some
> packets, (basically background noise) or stopping any random port
> accesses.
>
> Andrew
>> The number of MBytes logged before running BWMeter (including its
>> downloading) was 9.43Mbytes and BWMeter logged 15.3Mbytes which makes
>> a total of 24.73MBytes. Now at first BWMeter was not setup to start
>> as a service, so there would have been a small amount of time when it
>> was not logging usage, but 24.73 MBytes out of 45.03MBytes is a large
>> number to be unidentified.
My bigger worry is about the usuage when I am actually connected. I have
no idea where the other 20.3Mbytes went on Saturday. I want to know where
the extra 58 to 82 percent usage goes.