Question Suspicious Internet behavior problems[help]

SirLyn

Prominent
May 12, 2019
11
0
510
Recently my family and I have been having internet connectivity issues and very slow speeds, we all point towards my younger brother since he seems to be the issue. Whenever he turns on his computer/connects to the internet on it everyone's speed significantly drops and most of our devices can't even connect. My brother's phone doesn't even lose speed or has issues. I even started a download that was a steady 30 kbps, then turned off his pc and the connection for everything stopped for a few seconds then the download speed skyrocketed. I tried looking around in our router's (SmartRG SR505N) settings but I don't know were to look, and I haven't been able to check his computer to see if something on there is making this happen. If anyone has info about what is going on that would be much appreciated.
 
Turn on his computer and install Malwarebytes and check for malware
Also make sure he has an upto date Anti Virus program like Comodo (free)
Also for great network monitoring - Glasswire is fantastic for seeing what connections are going in and out - in an easy to see window.
 

SirLyn

Prominent
May 12, 2019
11
0
510
You can try turning on the pc and going into task manager and then resource monitor and checking if something has high network usage
He does nothing But watches youtube and play online games, and I know for certain that nothing he does uses significant bandwidth
 

SirLyn

Prominent
May 12, 2019
11
0
510
Turn on his computer and install Malwarebytes and check for malware
Also make sure he has an upto date Anti Virus program like Comodo (free)
Also for great network monitoring - Glasswire is fantastic for seeing what connections are going in and out - in an easy to see window.
He does very little on his computer like watch youtube and plays games, and the only thing I see him getting a virus or something is from downloading music. We share the same room so I am pretty much monitoring him all day. I installed malwarebytes and did a scan but nothing showed and also updated some random windows drivers. I'll look into glasswire soon. Thanks for the response
 

SirLyn

Prominent
May 12, 2019
11
0
510
@Alabalcho - thanks. Not sure why that did not register...

Anyway - User Manual:

https://www.lmi.net/wp-content/uploads/Gateway_User_Manual_v3_5.pdf

Check the router's configuration settings with respect to filtering and parental controls starting on Page 55 (Security) and going through the 60's.

You will need admin rights to the router in order to do so.
I checked the router's settings and everything seemed untouched but I restored all the settings a few days ago but it didn't help
 
I checked the router's settings and everything seemed untouched but I restored all the settings a few days ago but it didn't help
I checked the router's settings and everything seemed untouched but I restored all the settings a few days ago but it didn't help

Does he ever install mod packages from non official sources? (Non company website or steam)

It only takes 5 seconds to get infected. So are you sure ypur little brother has never searched for something questionable in the past?
 

Ralston18

Titan
Moderator
Seconding @digitalgriffin.

Going back per @RabbitSK. Turn on all computers/devices except your brother's computer.

Use Task Manager and Resource Monitor on each computer to observe what is happening: Keep an eye on "Networking".

After awhile turn on your brother's computer. Do the same - watch Task Manager and Resource Monitor.

Look for some application or utility being launched on his computer during startup that is grabbing network bandwidth.
 

SirLyn

Prominent
May 12, 2019
11
0
510
Seconding @digitalgriffin.

Going back per @RabbitSK. Turn on all computers/devices except your brother's computer.

Use Task Manager and Resource Monitor on each computer to observe what is happening: Keep an eye on "Networking".

After awhile turn on your brother's computer. Do the same - watch Task Manager and Resource Monitor.

Look for some application or utility being launched on his computer during startup that is grabbing network bandwidth.
Yes I've checked a few times and nothing was going over 0.1 Mbps on his system
 

Ralston18

Titan
Moderator
Check the wireless network adapter configurations on everyone else's computers.

Then compare those settings to the same settings on your brother's computer.

Change nothing on the other computers. Then work on your brother's computer to change various settings but only one setting at a time. Keep notes of what is changed, where you changed it, and both the original and new values.

Make sure, for example, that his computer does not have both wired and wireless adapters enabled.

Check the assigned IP addresses. Ensure that there are no duplicate IP addresses within the network.

Look at the Auto settings: If Auto, try manual. And vice versa as necessary.
 
There is the possibility that, when his computer is turned on, his network adapter is beaconing.

This is far more common on wired networks, I have to say, however, an adapter that has failed into a beaconing mode can completely choke a network with spurious traffic...pretty much bringing things to a grinding halt.

Since I don't use wireless networking, I really can't say how probable this type of failure is with wireless adapters, but it is something to keep in mind, and look for.

You may want to get FING and WiFi Radar installed on a mobile device (tablet or phone) so you can see what you're dealing with.
 

SirLyn

Prominent
May 12, 2019
11
0
510
There is the possibility that, when his computer is turned on, his network adapter is beaconing.

This is far more common on wired networks, I have to say, however, an adapter that has failed into a beaconing mode can completely choke a network with spurious traffic...pretty much bringing things to a grinding halt.

Since I don't use wireless networking, I really can't say how probable this type of failure is with wireless adapters, but it is something to keep in mind, and look for.

You may want to get FING and WiFi Radar installed on a mobile device (tablet or phone) so you can see what you're dealing with.
I'll look into more, thanks.