Wifi got hacked & Torrent Copyright Infringment.

[chubbygamer1983]

So basically my Wifi got hacked. I noticed that a other mac address was attached to my router. I checked its log and I saw some P2P traffic. I immediately rebooted the router to stop it.

The next day I rang my ISP to explain what happened. They basically said there wasn't anything they could do to help me other than change the wifi password. thought to myself dam i'm all alone on this one. They reassured me if I get a letter though the door for copy right infringement they will back me up since all telephone calls are recorded.

So I am in the situation where I dare not switch on WIFI else get hacked by someone trying to hijack my connection and download torrents on my line.

Is there anything I can do?

AND

Is there anything I can do if I get a letter of copyright infringment?

 

[USAFRet]

What security protocol did you have on your WiFi?
WPA? WPA2? Please don't say WEP....
How strong was the passphrase?

And the ISP is correct. There is nothing they can really do from their end to prevent someone else from using your WiFi.

 

[Someone Somewhere]

Disable WPS if possible on your router. It's pretty easily breakable.

It depends on where you are as to whether you are held responsible.

 

[Ijack]

Is there anything I can do?

You could always do what your ISP suggests and change your WiFi password; that seems to me to be very sensible advice. Also, most routers will allow you to block all MACs except ones you specifically allow.

 

[Someone Somewhere]

MAC filtering is useless against anyone with the skills to crack a password, though.

WPS is the most likely culprit.

 

[chubbygamer1983]

What security protocol did you have on your WiFi?
WPA? WPA2? Please don't say WEP....
How strong was the passphrase?

And the ISP is correct. There is nothing they can really do from their end to prevent someone else from using your WiFi.

WPA2-PSK

So if I can't prevent someone else from using my wifi and I get a copyright infringement though my door essentially I am paying fines for someone else's crimes.

Am I not a victim as well?

 

[Someone Somewhere]

You can prevent them, but the ISP can't except through default settings. Best thing is to disable WPS and have a strong key (I'd be looking at 8+ characters, not based on any words, not even munged. xkcd-style, maybe). Or turn it off.

As I said, it depends on where you are as to what kind of recourse you have. Where I am, for some stupid reason (namely politicians who don't understand anything but what the film industry tells them), it is the account holder who has responsibility for the connection.

 

[USAFRet]

What security protocol did you have on your WiFi?
WPA? WPA2? Please don't say WEP....
How strong was the passphrase?

And the ISP is correct. There is nothing they can really do from their end to prevent someone else from using your WiFi.

WPA2-PSK

So if I can't prevent someone else from using my wifi and I get a copyright infringement though my door essentially I am paying fines for someone else's crimes.

Am I not a victim as well?

The question is - how did they hack your WPA2, and have you changed your password?
Hacking a strong WPA2 passphrase is not impossible, but non-trivial either.

Change your passphrase
Turn off WPS
Turn off remote admin of the router
Change the router password and username
MAC filtering

Any theoretical investigation into copyright infringement would start with you, as the owner of that connection. Very unlikely, though.

 

[chubbygamer1983]

You can prevent them, but the ISP can't except through default settings. Best thing is to disable WPS and have a strong key (I'd be looking at 8+ characters, not based on any words, not even munged. xkcd-style, maybe). Or turn it off.

As I said, it depends on where you are as to what kind of recourse you have. Where I am, for some stupid reason (namely politicians who don't understand anything but what the film industry tells them), it is the account holder who has responsibility for the connection.

where abouts are you from if you dont mind me asking?

 

[Someone Somewhere]

NZ.

 

[chubbygamer1983]

I live in the UK and I do know people have been fined for like £500 for downloading.

 

[Someone Somewhere]

Third notice is up to $15k.

However, they haven't actually prosecuted a single person, and the movie side of things haven't even issued a single first or second notice. *facepalm*

 

[mbarnes86]

Hi

I would not worry about copyright infringement cases as the only way to prove you downloaded the copyright or child porn etc is to have your hard disk examined by an computer forensic expert.
You could invite the company suing you to pay for an independent expert to prove the case

The legal systems in
Most countries no longer say the person paying for telephone & internet bill is automatically liable for any misuse attached to the IP address assigned to your router

Most freeloaders will move else ware if you set up all the above security warnings
I also change the wireless network name SSID so it does not reflect your ISP or brand of router or your name and address

If you have a wireless on off switch then turn it off when you are away from home.

If you make the wpa2 password long and save it in a notepad file on a USB stick you can transfer it to other pc's, though setting up smart phones can be difficult

Here in the UK a few years ago a rogue solicitor started sending out penalties for downloading copyright films but as far as I know they did not sue anyone and eventually were struck off as solicitors for making threats to sue without having any credible evidence


Regards
Mike Barnes


Regards
Mike Barnes