 |
 | Warez_ZealotRural land of the rising sun
join:2006-04-19
japan | Re: Hope Virgin Media isn't blowing smoke yawn........ smells like BS to me........ | |
|
| | |
| | |  ShamayimI already have a Messiah.Premium
join:2002-09-23 |  Re: Hope Virgin Media isn't blowing smoke
| |
|
| | | | | I'd be upset if I were one of the people you were temporarily disconnecting to find him. Did they get some type of credit for the outage? | |
|
| | | |
approval from:
Chuckles 
| Re: Hope Virgin Media isn't blowing smoke said by hamburglar_:I'd be upset if I were one of the people you were temporarily disconnecting to find him. Did they get some type of credit for the outage? Are you serious? Walk up to the box, unscrew the connector, call, no change, screw it back in, done. What did that take...45-60 sec.?
OK, let's say you get your adjustment and you are paying $150 per month for everything you have - $150/30days=$5 per day/1440 the # of minutes in a day=.003 cents. OK, you can have a penny. Sheesh! | |
|
| | | | | Reviews:
 ·VOIPo
| Re: Hope Virgin Media isn't blowing smoke This must have been well coordinated with 20 techs all unplugging stuff at the same time. And yes, with my phone service now relying on cable, I would expect at least a knock on the door to let me know what was going on. Maybe not an adjustment, but some communication. | |
|
| | | | | | Reviews:
 ·WOW Internet and..
·Time Warner Cable
| Re: Hope Virgin Media isn't blowing smoke you can't knock on the door and say you're going to work on the cable if you're trying to find someone stealing cable/internet services.
if you need that much up time you need to move back to POTS. OH wait! they'd disconnect you too without telling you if they needed to. | |
|
| | | | | | fiberguyMy views are my own.Premium
join:2005-05-20
kudos:3 | Don't have to tell you a single thing. MANY areas have a provision that you can most certainly take the service down before prime time (usually 5pm) with NO notice and with out an emergency requiring the down time. Further, you're not entitled to an outage credit until you reach a certain amount of time, usually 4 hours.
I really doubt that 60 seconds qualifies the end of the world and a credit for you. Also, don't you think you're being a little dramatic here? Cell phone calls drop all the time. So if you dropped a land line call, in terms of credit amount, you'd be talking about $0.20 for your time. However, that's just an example of what you'd get from a cell phone provider, if any. If your phone service is 3rd party VoIP over your cable.. your SOL..
Expectations and reality are two different things,.. there's NO way in the world you'd get a knock on the door when they're trying to find someone stealing service which would be, so you know, AFFECTING YOUR SERVICE including your telephone service.
Besides, who's to say that you could be the one they're looking for.. still think they need to knock on the door?
Little less dramatics next time.  | |
|
| | | | | | |  jester121Premium
join:2003-08-09
Lake Zurich, IL
·voip.ms
| Re: Hope Virgin Media isn't blowing smoke said by fiberguy:Don't have to tell you a single thing. MANY areas have a provision that you can most certainly take the service down before prime time (usually 5pm) with NO notice and with out an emergency requiring the down time. Further, you're not entitled to an outage credit until you reach a certain amount of time, usually 4 hours. Speaking of dramatics, where did you get all this hooey? Sounds more like the SLA from a business circuit or something, kind of, sort of. | |
|
| | | | | | | | fiberguyMy views are my own.Premium
join:2005-05-20
kudos:3 | Re: Hope Virgin Media isn't blowing smoke said by jester121:said by fiberguy:Don't have to tell you a single thing. MANY areas have a provision that you can most certainly take the service down before prime time (usually 5pm) with NO notice and with out an emergency requiring the down time. Further, you're not entitled to an outage credit until you reach a certain amount of time, usually 4 hours. Speaking of dramatics, where did you get all this hooey? Sounds more like the SLA from a business circuit or something, kind of, sort of. Hooey? It's called experience and the law.. where do you get YOUR information?
Posting what you did only embarrass yourself becuase I'm 100% correct in what I said. Having worked in, and experience with, regulatory compliance in this matter, I think that qualifies me to know all of this "hooey" that you mock. | |
|
| | | | | | | | | jester121Premium
join:2003-08-09
Lake Zurich, IL Reviews:
·voip.ms
1 edit | Re: Hope Virgin Media isn't blowing smoke said by fiberguy:Hooey? It's called experience and the law.. where do you get YOUR information? Posting what you did only embarrass yourself becuase I'm 100% correct in what I said. Having worked in, and experience with, regulatory compliance in this matter, I think that qualifies me to know all of this "hooey" that you mock. Regulatory compliance for residential internet service? The same service that most providers still expressly limit to "for entertainment purposes" in their terms of service?
Please, do tell.
EDIT - pesky typo | |
|
| | | | | | | | | fiberguyMy views are my own.Premium
join:2005-05-20
kudos:3 | Re: Hope Virgin Media isn't blowing smoke Look, I'm not going to sit here and argue with someone that obviously has no experience in this matter especially after being told already.
But, you're obviously someone that only sees cable lines as "internet" based on your last post. However, the "line" itself, in which *I* was talking about in my post that you responded to IS regulated by franchise authorities. And, having worked in more franchises that you've probably subscribed, and working with the FA directly in compliance, I will be more than happy to, one last time, tell you that there is in fact rules on how you can and can not take down a customer's service based on emergency or non-emergency reasons.
Further, TV is "entertainment" and it, as I stated above, IS regulated and controlled to some degree by the franchise.
I am tempted to end this with an invite to explain how you can physically down down internet with out affecting the video or other services, but really, I have no time to argue with you or invite back further nonsense.
I've stated my credentials.. you're just shooting in the wind as far as I can see. But, you're more than welcome to think what EVER you want if it makes you happy. | |
|
| | | | | | | | | jester121Premium
join:2003-08-09
Lake Zurich, IL Reviews:
·voip.ms
| Re: Hope Virgin Media isn't blowing smoke I don't care to argue with you either (especially since your "qualifications" consist thus far of knowing what a franchise authority is and claiming to know they work, at least in theory). Nor am I interested in an over-simplified condescending lecture on ... well really, on anything you claim to be an expert on. Which apparently is pretty much everything.
I'm also up to speed on the differences between television and cable internet service, as well as how they interoperate, thanks very much (it isn't rocket science and no, you aren't really that mysterious or even special because you know too).
On that happy note, enjoy your weekend everyone! | |
|
| | | | | | | | | fiberguyMy views are my own.Premium
join:2005-05-20
kudos:3
1 edit | Re: Hope Virgin Media isn't blowing smoke While you sit here and try to tell someone that has over 15 years experience.. what qualifies you? Unless you care to divulge that, you're blowing hot air and trolling. If you don't know my qualifications, by now, then you're obvious blind and don't read much here... especially when it really is no one business but people work over time to make a point of it.. get it?!
Enough said. | |
|
| | | | | | | | | | | I'm with fiberguy on this one. The cable/DSL/FIBER companies cover their own ass first and foremost. They don't have to tell you sh!t. If they are a decent company they will, or at least let you know what the disconnect was for after the fact.
But they don't want legal troubles just because they fealt like disconnecting (or a act of God) (or an act of dumb man)
:P
peace,
out. | |
|
| | | | | | | | |  cho0b
join:2006-09-26
united state | You are a tool.
Just sayin'.  | |
|
| | | | | | | | | DonLibesPremium,ExMod 2001
join:2003-01-19 | said by jester121:said by fiberguy:Hooey? It's called experience and the law.. where do you get YOUR information? Posting what you did only embarrass yourself becuase I'm 100% correct in what I said. Having worked in, and experience with, regulatory compliance in this matter, I think that qualifies me to know all of this "hooey" that you mock. Regulatory compliance for residential internet service? The same service that most providers still expressly limit to "for entertainment purposes" in their terms of service? Please, do tell. As far as I know, my community (MCMD) has the strongest cable laws in the US in the area you're discussing. Planned interruptions of 5 minutes or longer may require notification depending upon reason and time of day. Planned interruptions less than 5 minutes never require notification.
See page 10 (numbered as page 8) section d. in the following document:
»www.montgomerycountymd.gov/conte···creg.pdf
I'd be interested if anyone knows of a community with even stricter regulations. | |
|
| | | | | | | | |  marigoldsGainfully employed, finallyPremium,MVM
join:2002-05-13
Saint Louis, MO
kudos:1 | Re: Hope Virgin Media isn't blowing smoke We had some of the strongest ordinances and franchise language in Iowa, and I used to use Montgomery County as an example of ways we could strengthen our ordinances. | |
|
| | | | | | | marigoldsGainfully employed, finallyPremium,MVM
join:2002-05-13
Saint Louis, MO
kudos:1 | I've worked as a commissioner overseeing a cable franchise (one that was considered one of the better regulated franchises in the area). This was about 5 years ago now.
I can absolutely back up what fiberguy is saying here (and I don't normally agree with him). Emergency disconnects are fine (and this would qualify, the window was defined on when the thief would be on), and credits are not required unless the outage exceeds a certain amount of time (normally 4 hours, bare minimum would be an hour, and this still would not qualify). And that is still based on the customer calling about an outage. Automatic credits are rare and generally require a much longer outage period (like 24 hours).
If I were sitting on a commission and informed of this operation, my only suggestion back to the franchisee would be to inform the entire franchise of the possibility of intermittent outages over the weekend not lasting more than 30 minutes for maintenance purposes. Considering the purpose, I would agree with a plan like this. Cable thieves caused way more service interruption than a fairly ingenious plan like this would.
--
ISCABBS - the oldest and largest BBS on the Internet
telnet://bbs.iscabbs.com
Professional Geographer
Geographic Information Science researcher | |
|
| | | | | | | | R U SERIOUS
a knock on the door. excuse me sir.maam We are going to disconnect your cable for a minute or so.
Now if i was that house hold and I had something illegal connected to the cable. I would disconnect it. | |
|
| | | | | | |  NerdtalkerWorking Hard, Or Hardly Working?Premium,MVM
join:2003-02-18
Tucson, AZ | Re: Hope Virgin Media isn't blowing smoke Exactly, I was waiting for this explanation, as it's the one that counts.
Good job digifalls, excellent story. This is always how I've envisioned it going down.
Now, if the user had hacked his modem to a tier of service that was closer to (or exactly the same speeds) as one of the provisioned tiers, it'd be significantly more difficult to notice him in the first place, wouldn't it?
--
"Some people never see the light till it shines thru bullet holes." -Bruce Cockburn
I'm testing Gmail's spam filters: Broadbandreports1@gmail.com
Spam: 12900+ messages currently using 406 MB. | |
|
| | | | | | | |  KrKHeavy Artillery For The Little GuyPremium
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK
 ·AT&T DSL Service
| Re: Hope Virgin Media isn't blowing smoke said by Nerdtalker:Now, if the user had hacked his modem to a tier of service that was closer to (or exactly the same speeds) as one of the provisioned tiers, it'd be significantly more difficult to notice him in the first place, wouldn't it? That's the thing: They always get greedy. If a fraudster or a thief would limit themselves to small steady amounts they'd escape unnoticed--- but no, they always assume they are smarter then everyone else and nobody can catch them and they go whole hog.
--
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the merger of state and corporate power." -- Benito Mussolini
| |
|
| | | | | | | | |  rawwhidePremium
join:2000-09-03
The Sticks | Re: Hope Virgin Media isn't blowing smoke said by KrK:they always assume they are smarter then everyone else and nobody can catch them and they go whole hog. That reminds me. 
»www.youtube.com/watch?v=5De7cjeguQk
--
To talk much and arrive nowhere is the same as climbing a tree to catch a fish. | |
|
| | | | | | | | | Knocking on the door just wastes time. Do you want your time to be wasted for a few minutes or for 30 seconds? Plus it's done to improve your service. | |
|
| | | | | | | | said by hamburglar_:This must have been well coordinated with 20 techs all unplugging stuff at the same time. And yes, with my phone service now relying on cable, I would expect at least a knock on the door to let me know what was going on. Maybe not an adjustment, but some communication. How the heck do you expect them to knock on the door? What if you were the one they were looking for?
And if they know enough to realize you're not the one and to knock on your door to let your know they're disconnecting your coax for 60 seconds, then they wouldn't need to disconnect it or knock on your door in the first place, now would they? | |
|
| | | | | | | cho0b
join:2006-09-26
united state | Re: Hope Virgin Media isn't blowing smoke How the heck do you expect them to knock on the door? What if you were the one they were looking for? Gee, then I guess they'd notice THEIR MODEM GOING OFFLINE AT THAT VERY MOMENT JUST LIKE THE TEST THEY WERE ABOUT TO RUN. Same end!
You guys are morons, really. Truly. | |
|
| | | | | | | | said by hamburglar_:This must have been well coordinated with 20 techs all unplugging stuff at the same time. And yes, with my phone service now relying on cable, I would expect at least a knock on the door to let me know what was going on. Maybe not an adjustment, but some communication. The point is to only disconnect one at a time. And a 1 minute downtime is way better than crappy service because of a rouge user. But I do think it's sad a 10mbit connection could screw up their network that bad. | |
|
| | | | |  81399672Premium
join:2006-05-17
Los Angeles, CA
kudos:2 | said by TraunaJ :said by hamburglar_:I'd be upset if I were one of the people you were temporarily disconnecting to find him. Did they get some type of credit for the outage? Are you serious? Walk up to the box, unscrew the connector, call, no change, screw it back in, done. What did that take...45-60 sec.? OK, let's say you get your adjustment and you are paying $150 per month for everything you have - $150/30days=$5 per day/1440 the # of minutes in a day=.003 cents. OK, you can have a penny. Sheesh! Trespassing on private property without permission. Instant lawsuit | |
|
| | | | | | ErikRP
join:2004-11-06
Winnipeg, MB Reviews:
·Shaw
| Re: Hope Virgin Media isn't blowing smoke said by 81399672:said by TraunaJ :said by hamburglar_:I'd be upset if I were one of the people you were temporarily disconnecting to find him. Did they get some type of credit for the outage? Are you serious? Walk up to the box, unscrew the connector, call, no change, screw it back in, done. What did that take...45-60 sec.? OK, let's say you get your adjustment and you are paying $150 per month for everything you have - $150/30days=$5 per day/1440 the # of minutes in a day=.003 cents. OK, you can have a penny. Sheesh! Trespassing on private property without permission. Instant lawsuit Huh? Who trespassed? They're disconnecting each subscriber's cable from the cable box on the road or wherever it's located, which is public property or otherwise legally accessible by the cable company. They're not going up to each house and disconnecting the cable. | |
|
| | | | | | | | Read the back of your receipt from the install it will talk about easement rights to go on your property to work on company owned equipment. | |
|
| | | | | | |
See 7 replies to this post |
|
| | | | | | Ulmo
join:2005-09-22
San Jose, CA | No, if you have a utility, they often have some rights to come maintain it -- not trespass, most likely (laws and regs and contracts differ according to area). | |
|
| | | | |
| | | | |  Vchat20Landing is the REAL challengePremium
join:2003-09-16
Columbus, OH | Re: Hope Virgin Media isn't blowing smoke Precisely! With what was apparently going on, I doubt you'd even notice your modem going offline for a mere 60 seconds with this guy's smart tactics practically hammering the whole node to death. | |
|
| | |  Frankis chillingPremium
join:2000-11-03
somewhere | that's a cool story,
but 10 megs was crippling a node? that's kinda weak,
lemme guess you worked for buckeye eh?
--
At first I thought everyone on the highway was drunk but then I realized I was driving in Florida | |
|
| | | |
See 19 replies to this post |
|
| | | |
| | | Reviews:
·Armstrong Zoom ..
| I designed an entire cable plant and system, and never did I see this happen. We did however did see a single modem inject noise into the system requiring we track it down. It may depend on the technology being used, but there are several ways to detect and "void" a non authorized modem. So if the cable operator did not implement security features then shame on them.
The modem HAS to download the proper file and certificate from the CMTS every single time it comes online. If a MAC comes online and there was not the security certificate exchange and file download then it is blocked. The file name changes constantly and the certificate is updated on occasion.
Second, there are plenty of hardware vendors that allow monitoring and blocking if a modem goes over its speed. Blocked if they exceed it.
Third, there are cloning detection methods. It is easy to do if you follow the pattern of how a mac is cloned.
There are a bunch of other methods that if implemented and watched, can eliminate this problem near 100%.
I just think that the cable provider you worked for used crappy hardware, bad security schemes, or just plain incompetence overall with how they operate. And I feel the same way about Virgin... in there upgrade "mode" I think they just let security go out the window.
You can also track a modem a lot easier without sending out techs. It really depends on the amps you use. It is really easy to track which node they are on. Then, track what AMP they are using. You can even sometimes just "ask" the modem some questions using SNMP and other methods (not usually, but "hackers" get sloppy). So you start sending messages and getting replies from the modem, go amp by amp (if you can talk to these amps, IE they are modern and configured to do so, you do not have to go anywhere), then once you get down to the amp you can look at power level to and from the modem then narrow it down to a specific TAP. Then, you may have to deal with maybe 8 customers depending on tap type. If your company uses high pass filters (this one did by design, I requested it on all non-internet customers) then you only have to worry about customers that have internet service. So then you are down to maybe 4 if that. Then disconnect them (or just "listen" to the line, but it is alot easier to just unhook them at this point).
All the above is done by sending 1 tech out for less than 10 minutes. However, it may take an hour or more to find them at from the data center/NOC/office... Properly designed cable systems function properly. Poor or lax design gets what you see with Virgin. | |
|
| | | |
See 8 replies to this post |
|
| | | | | There is no way in the world police would kick down the door of a cable internet thief. I doubt a department would even send a unit there.
said by Digifalls :
I used to work for an american cable operator. We had someone in one of our areas with one of those hacked SB4100 modems. He provisioned himself at 10 meg up/ down. (Docsis 2.0 still) and he was crushing he CMTS he was off of. THis caused a ripple effect that hurt like 1000 peoples connections when he fired his up.
He was trackable, he was a pain in the ass but you can track it down to a single node. Now on his node, there were like 250 people. So what we did was at his local office. On a weekend when he was always on his modem. We sent out 20 techs and they had to go to each and every house. They disconnected the cable and called back to the main office. If we seen the modem go down then we had the right house.
After 2 days we found the right house. We disco the cable and they had a warranty and police there (cable theft). The cops kicked the door in and we found two modems. A paid one and a hacked one.
It took weeks/months to track him down. Mainly becuase the original techs were not looking for a modem crashing the system. They thought it was hardware and other issues.
but
anything is trackable it all depends on how much time and effort you put into it.
| |
|
| | | | | | Re: Hope Virgin Media isn't blowing smoke Has, and does happen. | |
|
| | | |  pnh102Reptiles Are Cuddly And PrettyPremium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD | said by kenshell:There is no way in the world police would kick down the door of a cable internet thief. I doubt a department would even send a unit there. »Nailed to the Wall
--
Blagojevich / Madoff 2012! | |
|
| | | | | 81399672Premium
join:2006-05-17
Los Angeles, CA
kudos:2 | Re: Hope Virgin Media isn't blowing smoke said by pnh102:said by kenshell:There is no way in the world police would kick down the door of a cable internet thief. I doubt a department would even send a unit there. » Nailed to the Wall That happened in 2002, any update on the outcome? | |
|
| | | | | | pnh102Reptiles Are Cuddly And PrettyPremium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD | Re: Hope Virgin Media isn't blowing smoke said by 81399672:That happened in 2002, any update on the outcome? No idea... but I just wanted to show that yes indeed cable companies bring in the "big guns" with regard to law enforcement on these types of things.
--
Blagojevich / Madoff 2012! | |
|
| | |  neowulf
join:2000-10-20
Port Orange, FL | So the cable company has police kick in doors before they find out in your own words "They thought it was hardware and other issues."
I am not going to say it is right for him to be stealing service, but to assume one is guilty when they thought it could be a hardware or other issue, well I am sure you are not giving all the details, but just seems wrong by the information provided.
Now your example was one person, and I assume there was no tier in that service area that allowed for 10mbit upstream. Seems that is what made it easy to find.
Now you have over 1000 locations. They are also using a serviceable package, it might be a bit harder to trace using the method your cable operator used being the service will not overload the node.
Why Virgin Media is making it public they will go after people, and it is 100% traceable? I wouldn't have said anything if it was traceable, make them think they are safe so you can find them all. I think by saying they can trace people, they pretty much are really showing they can't. Seems more like a scare tactic to get people to stop before they are "traced". | |
|
| | |  cdruGo ColtsPremium,MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN
kudos:5
 ·Frontier FiOS
| said by Digifalls :
anything is trackable it all depends on how much time and effort you put into it. In your case, it seems like he was traceable because his 10/10 connection was causing the issues and when that 10/10 service was disconnected, you could detect that it was no longer transmitting. But if many of your customers had 10/10 service or faster, how would disconnecting them one at a time narrow down the actual customer?
The successful criminals aren't the greedy ones that go for the huge score all up front. The successful ones are the ones that only steal only enough not to be noticed and not be caught. It's the greed that gets you caught. | |
|
| | | | | said by Digifalls :
He was trackable, he was a pain in the ass but you can track it down to a single node. Now on his node, there were like 250 people. So what we did was at his local office. On a weekend when he was always on his modem. We sent out 20 techs and they had to go to each and every house. They disconnected the cable and called back to the main office. If we seen the modem go down then we had the right house. Hopefully one day soon, addressable taps will make it easier to do just that...
--
"This is a bus. You know how big a bus is?" | |
|
| | |  BloodRosesAeolus, your daughter flies.Premium
join:2003-03-17
Louisville, KY | said by Digifalls :
He provisioned himself at 10 meg up/ down. (Docsis 2.0 still) and he was crushing he CMTS he was off of. THis caused a ripple effect that hurt like 1000 peoples connections when he fired his up.
I have BS flags going up all over the place on this. In a DOCSIS 2.0 system the customers speed is provisioned at the CMTS, which is why most modems now do not report the SNMP string in the diagnostic pages. Second off, I sincerely hope your company did not pass 1000 customers on a 10 Megabit line. In fact, I know this to not be the case, and flat out impossible. a typical RoadRunner node in Central Ohio in 1997 would have, let's say 12 burstable ATM's, at 100 Megabits each. So one 10 Megabit customer would take out a 1200 Megabit node? I don't think so. No wonder @home went out of business, good grief.
--
Faerie Blessings,
Stephanie - www.GlitterFaerie.net | |
|
| | | | | | Re: Hope Virgin Media isn't blowing smoke Speed is not provisioned at the CMTS, it is sent down in a bin file to the modem. The CMTS has no control over individual modem speeds.
Unless you're loading the bin file directly from the CMTS to the modem, which is still the bin file controlling the speed of the modem.
Also, a node on a cable system is not the same as a node you just described. A node is an HFC device supplying a neighborhood, probably 150 - 200 customers, and not just Internet, the node also is where the TV signal comes over as well. This node connects to an upstream on a CMTS at 10mbit/sec. And can have its own 45mbit downstream, or share that downstream with 2 to 8 nodes depending on the CMTS configuration. | |
|
| | | | |  IgnitePremium,VIP
join:2004-03-18
UK | Re: Hope Virgin Media isn't blowing smoke said by nukscull :
Speed is not provisioned at the CMTS, it is sent down in a bin file to the modem. The CMTS has no control over individual modem speeds.
Unless you're loading the bin file directly from the CMTS to the modem, which is still the bin file controlling the speed of the modem.
Also, a node on a cable system is not the same as a node you just described. A node is an HFC device supplying a neighborhood, probably 150 - 200 customers, and not just Internet, the node also is where the TV signal comes over as well. This node connects to an upstream on a CMTS at 10mbit/sec. And can have its own 45mbit downstream, or share that downstream with 2 to 8 nodes depending on the CMTS configuration.
Hrm nope since DOCSIS 1.1 speeds are provisioned at the CMTS as service flows and indeed can be and are policed there. You can even police speeds over DOCSIS 1.0 - how do you think Powerboost and STM throttling works?
I could explain how the hack works around this system but I'd rather not, let's just say Cisco have some bug fixing to do... | |
|
| | |  r81984Fair and BalancedPremium
join:2001-11-14
Katy, TX | Why would they be using hubs?
If they has switches in the nodes they could easily trace anyone to their house.
--
For those of you playing a drinking game.... MY FRIENDS! | |
|
| | |  heat84Bit Torrent Apologist
join:2004-03-11
Fort Lauderdale, FL | said by Digifalls :
He provisioned himself at 10 meg up/ down. (Docsis 2.0 still)
So your speed tier is set at the modem not at the server like DSL? Why is that? Its obviously less secure. | |
|
| | | | | said by Digifalls :
I used to work for an american cable operator. We had someone in one of our areas with one of those hacked SB4100 modems. He provisioned himself at 10 meg up/ down. (Docsis 2.0 still) and he was crushing he CMTS he was off of. THis caused a ripple effect that hurt like 1000 peoples connections when he fired his up.
He was trackable, he was a pain in the ass but you can track it down to a single node. Now on his node, there were like 250 people. So what we did was at his local office. On a weekend when he was always on his modem. We sent out 20 techs and they had to go to each and every house. They disconnected the cable and called back to the main office. If we seen the modem go down then we had the right house.
After 2 days we found the right house. We disco the cable and they had a warranty and police there (cable theft). The cops kicked the door in and we found two modems. A paid one and a hacked one.
It took weeks/months to track him down. Mainly becuase the original techs were not looking for a modem crashing the system. They thought it was hardware and other issues.
but
anything is trackable it all depends on how much time and effort you put into it.
Dang man, you really did that the hard way.
#show cable qos profile
then narrow it down from there. Maybe you were running Arris CMTS's? With Cisco CMTS's you can find cable modem hackers in seconds. | |
|
| | | | IgnitePremium,VIP
join:2004-03-18
UK | Re: Hope Virgin Media isn't blowing smoke said by eightt :
Dang man, you really did that the hard way.
#show cable qos profile
then narrow it down from there. Maybe you were running Arris CMTS's? With Cisco CMTS's you can find cable modem hackers in seconds.
It'll give you the MAC address, that's not going to help you find the modem itself. They said on the post you quoted that they tracked him to a node, doable remotely, from there they would, of course, have had to hit the field as that node is a MAC domain.
I do wonder how a 10/10 modem could take out an entire CMTS, and 1,000 people only on a CMTS is a very light loading indeed. | |
|
| | | |
| axus
join:2001-06-18
Washington, DC Reviews:
·Verizon Online DSL
| I'm not sure how Comcast could use a bandwidth meter if it weren't trackable. Didn't @Home crack down on people unlocking their cable modems way back when (after they stopped being unlocked by default ;p)? I thought you had to have a registered MAC address for the internet to work, and they know which house is registered to which address. | |
|
| |  ThrowDemsOutIf you can't convince 'em, confuse 'emPremium
join:2002-03-03
Mullica Hill, NJ
kudos:4 |  Re: Hope Virgin Media isn't blowing smoke
said by axus:I'm not sure how Comcast could use a bandwidth meter if it weren't trackable. Didn't @Home crack down on people unlocking their cable modems way back when (after they stopped being unlocked by default ;p)? I thought you had to have a registered MAC address for the internet to work, and they know which house is registered to which address. You are right. It became much easier to track cable modem unlockers when the US cable industry all implemented systems that block a cable modem unless their mac addr is registered. Sure you can clone a mac address, but you can still shut it down. It may just inconvenience 1 legit customer who will call cust svc when their system locks up.
--
My BLOG .. .. Internet News .. .. My Web Page | |
|
| | | said by Shamayim:and the hackers are indeed traceable -- for the sake of DOCSIS 3.0 deployment everywhere. I think Cox is safe from Hackers. Hell, they should hire them. Except for the contract techs, most Cox techs have no idea what they are doing including the Field Supervisor who didn't know about the upgrade in 2008.  | |
|
| | | said by Shamayim:and the hackers are indeed traceable -- for the sake of DOCSIS 3.0 deployment everywhere. I see you are living up to your name
The hacking is NOT tracable and hasn't been for the last 6 years. If it was tracable they would be arresting people for it, but hey they are not (and never have been able to).
This is not a speculation it's a fact.
--
| |
|
 screavic4Premium
join:2006-08-11
Paron, AR
kudos:1 | Idiots... Apparently those hackers don't know how cable service truly works or they would know that this is absolutely traceable. | |
|
| | | Re: Idiots... said by screavic4:Apparently those hackers don't know how cable service truly works or they would know that this is absolutely traceable. Complete BS. They can't track them. If they could they would.
--
| |
|
| | screavic4Premium
join:2006-08-11
Paron, AR
kudos:1 | Re: Idiots... Ummm they are it just takes time... | |
|
| | Hide and seek LOLZ! You can't find me....whatever. This is what happens when 'hackers' buy modified equipment and try and figure out how to use it.
Ian | |
|
| | | Re: Hide and seek said by Thislilfishy:LOLZ! You can't find me....whatever. This is what happens when 'hackers' buy modified equipment and try and figure out how to use it. Ian But the fact is it's been happening in the UK on a large scale for over 6 years (that I know of) and I've never heard of anyone getting caught. They can track to the node but no further as macs are spoofed etc. The people are hardly "figuring it out" ....
--
| |
|
| | SWAT team? I seem to recall that people who uncapped cable modems in the US were greeted by a swat team and were hauled off to pound ass prison? | |
|
| | | Re: SWAT team? Try the FBI | |
|
| | Reviews:
·Armstrong Zoom ..
| Bull: SWAT team? Bull. Here it is a State Police, or local police, delivering a ticket for theft of service. Also, Sheriff is involved to get all the equipment out of the house (modem, etc).
If there is monetary damage, then the company can sue the person after that.
Pound-ass prison, doubtful. Not unless they were using there stolen cable "speed" to download kiddie porn faster. | |
|
| | | |
| | | | cdruGo ColtsPremium,MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN
kudos:5 Reviews:
·Frontier FiOS
| Re: Bull: SWAT team? Well if you are going to link to the start of the legal process, you might as well link to the outcome. From that news article:
quote:
...Runner was one of those charged with uncapping his cable modem, and didn't receive the same early exit from the legal gauntlet many of his fellow uncappers were 'lucky' to receive. Seven of the uncappers were indicted in September of 2002. One case was dismissed. Two offenders struck deals and went through a diversion program (Wirtz being one), and were not prosecuted. Two others were charged with reduced misdemeanor charges and placed on probation, while one other was convicted of a felony and placed on "community control".
The seventh, George Runner, only recently received his day in court. According to a report published yesterday, the case against Runner has been dismissed, because Runner apparently was not properly informed by Buckeye that he could not modify his modem. Wirtz confirmed for us that the company's acceptable use agreement failed to clearly disallow the modification of their modems.
So we have two dismissal, two settlements without prosecutions, two misdemeanor probations, and a "community control" conviction that doesn't exactly sound like pound-ass prison otherwise they would have said jail/prison.
Sensationalize much? | |
|
|
| beaups
join:2003-08-11
Hilliard, OH | Re: I don't approve of stealing service, BUT! Here we go again..."The quality of the service (song, movie, internet) is poor, so that justifies stealing it" argument...barf. If the service is poor, cancel it or don't buy it. Last I checked it wasn't illegal to offer bad service..that's why they don't go to jail for it. | |
|
| |  tschmidtPremium,MVM
join:2000-11-12
Milford, NH
kudos:4
·Fairpoint Commun..
 ·Hollis Hosting
| Re: I don't approve of stealing service, BUT! said by beaups:Here we go again..."The quality of the service (song, movie, internet) is poor, so that justifies stealing it" argument...barf. How did you manage to come to that conclusion? What MRMATT1 was complaining about is double standard. When an individual does something illegal harsh penalty is imposed. Yet when companies do illegal or unethical things everyone turns a blind eye.
/tom | |
|
| | | fiberguyMy views are my own.Premium
join:2005-05-20
kudos:3 | Re: I don't approve of stealing service, BUT! Really??? .....?
For one, how do you put a corporation in jail? Pick up the building and put it in prison?
With out a long explanation, businesses can operate in error. The most you can do is punish them civilly and it happens all the time. However, most people don't choose to do anything about it.. they'd rather go on the web, these days, to sites like this and bitch and fester about their problems rather than doing something that really works. Instead, they wait for OTHERS to be their soldiers.
Companies offer a service. A company provides a service and the consumer, in the name of quality, claims they are being "ripped off".. while it sounds good, they're not, usually. What a customer expects and what they are entitled to are usually two different things.
Illegal deeds from companies do often lead to punishment for those that engage in the practices... same as the consumer. In the end, it's not a business vs consumer issue, it's a people issue. PEOPLE commit crimes, not businesses. And, 'unethical' is not illegal. Breaking the law, however, is. A pay phone, that was used in the example above, not giving a phone call after depositing a coin, is not a crime. Back in their days, I had one eat 2 quarters from me.. I filled out a complaint (call) and I got my 50 cents back.
People don't turn blind eyes to businesses that do illegal things.. no one really cares to deal with it.
Strength of this country doesn't come from government.. it comes from the people.. who just happen to BE the government. The only people to blame for actions going un-noticed are the people. And finally.. a mistake or two (comparatively speaking) that some people experience with a company doesn't make a conspiracy that the company is illegal.
Now, for full fairness.. yes, there are businesses that go get away with murder.. such as U.S. Bank who sold customer information for $12 million and only got fined $1 million.. that, to me, was a crime... but, was it US Bank's fault they got away with it and kept ill gotten gains? No.. it was the fault of the person that was in charge of the oversight. And, as you can see what's going on around us today, this VERY day.. the day of reckoning is coming and people HAVE stood up and noticed. | |
|
| | |
| pnh102Reptiles Are Cuddly And PrettyPremium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD | said by Mr Matt:  Why is that Utilities gets to send subscribers to jail when subscribers cheat the utilities ... Since when is a thief a subscriber?
said by Mr Matt:... but utilities are allowed to defraud customers through poor service with no sanctions! If a service like this is indeed "screwing you over", cancel it and it won't be a problem anymore.
--
Blagojevich / Madoff 2012! | |
|
| | two mac addresses IF you clone a mac address wouldnt the mac address show up twice in the system? Wouldnt that show up as a problem right away?
Also dont cablemodems check their configs against whats at the head end? So how do these hackers keep the hacked config on their modems.
I dont see the hacked speeds lasting to long. | |
|
|
See 6 replies to this post |
|
| | its not hard its not hard i got 3 modded modems going on charter and know a guy with 4 on comcast | |
|
| | | Re: its not hard And you admit this in a public internet forum. Brilliant. | |
|
| | | | Re: its not hard said by fifty nine:And you admit this in a public internet forum. Brilliant. He doesn't really have them. He just wants them to waste time and money and end up looking like fools trying to bust him. | |
|
pnh102Reptiles Are Cuddly And PrettyPremium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD | Fools These are people in fixed locations. They are only fooling themselves if they believe that they won't be found out eventually.
--
Blagojevich / Madoff 2012! | |
|
|
See 12 replies to this post |
|
Chaldo
join:2008-03-18
West Bloomfield, MI
2 edits | Why they SWAT/POLICE WARRANT Well you all are saying "no way" for that? Well you must think for a second.....
There are a couple reasons this user needs to get taken down fast.
1. MAC ADDRESS CLONING: Well since he is using someones MAC address to get on the internet, what ever he is doing is going under the person who pays mac address, like bandwidth usage, but most importantly IF HE DECIDES TO HACK/DO SOMETHING ILLEGAL with that Connection the MAC will show up and they will look it up and probably bust the wrong person. So big crime is at stake here.
2. NODE/USAGE CLOG. If this Guy is cloging up his CMTS then he is affecting other peoples internet which could cost the company money (disconnects) Failure of businesses to operate on that node, a lot of things but one really important thing is VOIP. who ever is using voip will get degraded/or cut off and Phone is a very big priority its very important, what if a emergency happens and they need to call 911? There is another really big reason why they act fast.
You have to think really to these important things that have to be running because it screws up with a lot of emergency's/businesses/crime. | |
|
|
See 13 replies to this post |
|
| | using the neighbors LOL LOL
get bent all of the naysayers
its so funny its just too much | |
|
jester121Premium
join:2003-08-09
Lake Zurich, IL | ASCII symbols The ASCII for pound sterling symbol (£) is 0163.
On a Windows PC you can hold down the alt key and type 0163 on the numeric keyboard and it will appear in your text. | |
|
| | | Re: ASCII symbols Thanks, works on a mac too! | |
|
|
|
·
I don't approve of stealing service, BUT!