Question relating to HughesNet Fair Access Policy?

whirleybird

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Feb 27, 2006
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My HughesNet satellite system for internet has a download threshold, details of which can be read here The Fair Access Policy (FAP)

Download threshold for the plan I have is 500 Mb which is fair enough.

Recently, the download threshold has been exceeded on an increasingly regular basis, like every day, and even when restored is coming in at a lower and lower percentage each time, immediately beginning to drop so am back in ?threshold exceeded? very quickly. Internet speed of equivalent of 56k modem dial-up is a little more than frustrating!!

This whole scenario is occurring when no intentional downloads have taken place but just normal internet surfing. All automatic updates are switched off.

Computers have been checked and are virus free so cannot understand what may be causing the problems ? anyone any ideas please?
 

whirleybird

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Feb 27, 2006
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Crtl alt del
task manager and see what applications, process and services are running in the background

Okay, have done that but, excuse my lack of knowledge, not sure what I should be looking out for so can you give me some hints and tips please?
 

Chip

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Jul 25, 2007
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I assume the 500mb is a daily limit which should be ok for normal surfing unless you are viewing/listening or downloading videos, songs or a lot of pictures.

If it's not this I would expect that you have a wireless setup that someone has connected to either because it's not protected or it was hacked.
 

whirleybird

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Feb 27, 2006
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I assume the 500mb is a daily limit which should be ok for normal surfing unless you are viewing/listening or downloading videos, songs or a lot of pictures.

If it's not this I would expect that you have a wireless setup that someone has connected to either because it's not protected or it was hacked.

What you assume in your first paragraph is totally correct, Chip.

Yes, there is a wireless set up but no chance that anyone can connect to it here so, that leaves being hacked - how does that work and how would the hacker access my system please? How can I resolve it?
 

xtoclark

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Jul 9, 2008
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What you assume in your first paragraph is totally correct, Chip.

Yes, there is a wireless set up but no chance that anyone can connect to it here so, that leaves being hacked - how does that work and how would the hacker access my system please? How can I resolve it?

Hey Whirley what Chip means by hacked is that if you have your wireless setup with encryption (and password) that someone has managed to break the password. Which can be done quite easily but still I hope you have your network password protected!

What kind of wireless modem are you using?

If you're able, try to jump on the intranet, your local network. Depending on the router/bridge it's a different. For mine for example I type 10.0.0.1 into my adress bar in my browser.

From there you can manage your modem/router and see how many computers are connected and usually many more statistics such as total downloads/uploads since restart of modem.


500 mbs is not much... I would easily eat through that in a few hours. Is someone downloading in your house? Streaming music and/or movies?

How long do you leave your computer(s) on and connected per day? It is also possible you're computer(s) have been turned into zombies (someone is controlling your computer externally). Run a virus scan and malware/rootkit.
Make sure you have a decent virus scanner and that it has been updated recently.

Ad-Aware Free - Download Internet Security Software with Antivirus & Spyware Removal - Lavasoft
 

sangria

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May 16, 2006
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Have you checked the Hughesnet hourly tracker to see what time of day your usage is spiking?

Might help to know when its happening compared to what you are doing online at those times...

(my parents use this service because there is no alternative where they live and they only have a 200mb daily limit....they are always checking their usage which is a big pain!)
 
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beeza

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Nov 2, 2006
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Turn off your modem when you're not using your computer.

If you're still using up your daily allowance with your computer on you have something wrong with your computer. Maybe malware, virus, trojan or you may have a program like Vuze, bitorrent or limewire on your computer. They are called "peer to peer" programs that allow you to download large files like movies. They can run in the background without you knowing.

If you're using up your allowance with your computer off, then someone is connecting to your modem/router and stealing your bits when you're not looking.
 
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In the task manager ...........users tab will tell you who is logged in to your system

Process will show you the programs running and by who.

Networking will show how much your wireless is connected at and what is currently being used on the graph.

Applications will show that is connected right now all mine shows is this thread on internet explorer

Turning off your modem is also a good idea when not using.
 

cobraboy

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You sure no one else is on your connection and downloading movies?

One movie is over 700mb.
 

whirleybird

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Feb 27, 2006
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Thanks to all those who are contributing suggestions to solve my problems. The wireless router I am using is a Linksys and no, the wireless network is not password protected - can you give me a reason that it should be?

Hlywud, see what you say in the Task Manager but I don't have a tab named Users - oops! I do have a Users tab on my PC now but definitely didn't see one when I looked via my netbook earlier.

As mentioned in the OP, there is no-one connected to the network who is intentionally downloading anything of significant size and all computers have been checked and found to be free of viruses. I will check on the programmes you mention, beeza.

My personal computer is on almost continually during my waking hours unless I am away from the house for some time as it is my main contact with the outside world with little or no telephone service in this area.

I have no idea how to access the intranet nor do I know how to check the HughesNet hourly tracker but would be grateful if someone can give me guidelines on how to do these tasks.

I was unable to respond to posts last evening as was, yet again, in the 'orange mode', Exceeded Download Allowance Status and unable to access Web pages. This morning at 8 am the System Status was back in 'green mode' and showing 39% available - at this point in time, i.e. 9.15 am, that percentage has increased to 42% - what is this telling me?
 
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Chip

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Jul 25, 2007
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Thanks to all those who are contributing suggestions to solve my problems. The wireless router I am using is a Linksys and no, the wireless network is not password protected - can you give me a reason that it should be?

This is more than likely the cause of your problem. Even if you are in a remote area they now have wireless receivers that have a considerable range, according to AZB.

BTW, your downloading availability will increase with time if no one is using the system. Therefore, if you quit surfing the net say at 2 pm and you have 50% available when you return to surf at say 8 pm you should a good bit more downloading availibilty and if not or if you have even less than 50% this means someone has connected onto your wireless system.
 

cobraboy

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WB, for linksys you should be able to go to http://192.168.1.1, log in, and view log files of what's been downloaded. It even may log machine numbers to show who.

You can "Whois" the IP and see more.

I have Netgear wireless and can view log files.

Somebody is stealing your bandwidth.
 

whirleybird

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Feb 27, 2006
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Take the point that password protection is perhaps a route to go but I actually don't know how to go back into the Linksys wireless network to set up a password.... technically challenged or what!!?

I tried accessing http://192.168.1.1 but says I need a username and password grrrrrrrr!

Now, at 10.07 am, Allowance remaining has increased to 46%.
 
Feb 7, 2007
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If it hasn't been suggested yet, downlaod HijackThis
HijackThis - Trend Micro USA

It's an executable file, no installation necessary.

Reboot your computer clean.
Run Hijack This.
Save the log file.

I would gladly help you analyze the log but I am buried in tax reconciliation head to toe. PM or email ROCKY and he would surely help you analyze the log.

To check your Internet router:

go to Start -> Run -> and type "cmd" without "", hit Enter
type "ipconfig"
Look for what it says DEFAULT GATEWAY

That is your router access IP.

Open your webbrowser.
Type in the IP address that appeared previously in default gateway
When log in pop ups, if you have enabled username/password previously, type your access credentials.
If not, then use admin/admin admin/(nothing), (nothing)/admin combination as username/password. If that does not work, and you are sure you have NOT set up access credentials to log on to your router before, PM me your model number and brand and I will look up default access credentials.

Depending on the router model, the navigation will look differently, but you can look for similar options. This is for Linksys WRT54G router.

Go to Status -> Local network -> DHCP clients table.

In any case something similar to DHCP clients table is what you are looking for.
it may say Local DHCP access list, DHCP list, Client List, etc.

That will show you the list of all connected DEVICES to your router (any wi-fi enabled device can connect to a wifi router, such as a cellphone, blackberry, wi-fi enabled satellite receiver, etc.). This will give you a clue whether there is anybody else using your wireless network.
 
Feb 7, 2007
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Reading Shirley's response you should:
password protect your wireless network, WPA not WEB. WEP is VERY easily broken! (just google "break WEP encryption" to see for yourself how easy it is.
A Hacker only needs a wifi access card that can inject packets, and just needs to sit and get the card "inject" packets into your network to force your computer to communicate (even if you are doing absolutely nothing on the Internet), then read the packets and break the encryption.

So you need to
- encrypt your network
- make SSID hidden (MUST change SSID before you hide it) so the current hacker will not know what your new network SSID is --SSID is network name/identifier
- make access restrictions by enabling MAC ACCESS FILTER. MAC address is unique identifier of each wifi enabled device, so there are no two same in the world.

In your computer, in Start->Run-cmd after you type "ipconfig /all" (see now it has /all added) you will see what says PHYSICAL ADDRESS. That is your computer's MAC address. Add that into ALLOWED MAC filter.
 
Feb 7, 2007
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CAUTION!!!!
After you password protect your network, change/hide SSID, you WILL NEED to change your network settings/wireless network connection setting for YOUR particular connection in your computer.

That can be done in Win Vista:
Start-> Control panel -> Network and sharing center -> Manage wireless networks ->
a window will pop up with list of enabled wireless networks

IF YOU HAVE CHANGED AND HIDDEN SSID follow these steps:
1) Click on ADD
2) Manually create a network profile
3) Into "Network Name" enter the new SSID that you renamed your network into in the router configuration
4) In "Security Type" select your security type you enabled in your router configuration most likely WPA personal or WPA-2 personal
5) Select "Encryption Type" you selected in your router config, if you did not change WPA/WPA2 default settings in router, leave default settings Windows will offer you
6) enter the "Security Key" or passphrase you entered into router config a syour wifi network password
7) Make sure "Start this connection automatically" is enabled
8) Click on NEXT and finish

IF YOU HAVE NOT CHANGED AND HIDDEN SSID BUT did ENABLE WPA/WPA2-PERSONAL encryption, follow these steps:
1) Locate your wireless network connection in the window that opened up.
2) Double click it
3) Click on SECURITY tab
4) it used to say, most likely: "No authentication(Open)" with "Encryption type (NONE)".
5) so now select WPA-2 or WPA-Personal depending on what you activate din your router
6) select "Encryption Type" either AES or TKIP depending on what you selected in your router config (you may want tow rite everything down when you are changing your router config)
7) enter "Network security key/passphrase" you entered into router security config (not your router username, it's the wifi password you selected).
8) Finish
 
Feb 7, 2007
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To enable router security:

Make sure your computer is hardwired by ethernet cable into your router when setting up this. If you do not have ethernet cable, this can be done as well, but you will need to change your wireless network setup in your computer every time a partial change is made. If you hardwire, you will need to make only ONE single change.

CAT5 ethernet cable looks like phone cable but the jack is wider.

If you do not have ethernet cable I suggest you buy one, they are cheap (about 5 pesos per foot) in your local computer store. They will even make one for you fo any length you want.

So back to Linksys security:

PART I:
1) Log into your Linksys router
2) Go to WIRELESS tab
3) Then go to "Basic Wireless Settings" sub-tab --you will be there by default after you click Wireless Tab in the router
3) change the SSID (Wireless network name) into something you remember but not easy to guess (e.g. FARMWIFI2010, etc.)
4) "Wireless SSID Broadcast" ste on DISABLE
5) SAVE SETTINGS

This first process will CHANGE and HIDE your SSID/WIRELESS NETWORK so it will not be visible to outsiders.

Part II:
1) go again to "Wireless" tab
2) Click on "Wireless Security" sub-tab
3) Security mode: select WPA2-Personal
4) WPA algorithm: make sure AES is selected
5) WPA shared key: type your passphrase
6) SAVE settings

Write down these settings, you will need them to configure your Windows wireless settings later.

Now to enable MAC ADDRESS FILTER:
Part III:
1) go again to "Wireless" tab
2) Click on "Wireless MAC filter" sub-tab
3) Select "ENABLE"
4) Click on "PERMIT ONLY"
5) click on "Edit MAC filter"
6) A window will pop up.
7) Into "MAC01" enter your computer's MAC address
8) You can also click on "Wirless Client MAC list" in that window
9) Another window will pop up. Only YOUR computer should be listed.
You can just click the checkbos "Enable MAC filter" and then on "Update filter list" for your comp MAC address to be added to the MAC filter list without you copying or typing anything.
10) Click on SAVE SETTINGS in the MAC FILTER pop up window
11) Click on SAVE SETTINGS in Linksys router configuration window

REMEMBER TO CHANGE YOUR WINDOWS WIRELESS SETTINGS, otherwise you will not be able to connect to your won wireless network.

You may want to print these instructions (all of them) before you start anything, in case you get disconnected from the Internet. And get that CAT5 ethernet cable!!!
 
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whirleybird

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Feb 27, 2006
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Have now got as far as putting a password on wireless network and enabling Logs with the help of Windeguy. For now, will leave it at that and see what happens. Thanks rubio for all your time and trouble and I will inwardly digest all your recommendations in a while.
 

cobraboy

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You may want to print these instructions (all of them) before you start anything, in case you get disconnected from the Internet. And get that CAT5 ethernet cable!!!
A suggestion: use your router's serial number as the password. It's complex, almost unhackable. Then if you lose it you know where to find it. But tell NO ONE you don't want sucking down the bandwidth YOU'RE paying for...