Accuracy of user stats

[daveza]

I have a client with adsl via Mweb ( ex-Tiscali ).

For a few months now his usage has been an average of 200 Meg down and 20 meg up per day. As the pc is only used for mail and browsing this doesnt make sense. The pc is very clean after I was called to check - no viruses, spyware, no p2p apps, firewall on with no exceptions. In addition I have changed the adsl password as well as the admin password on the modem. A day later this was the result - and the client wasn't even at home that day !...

Date Sessions Online Time (Seconds) Upload (Bytes) Download (Bytes) Combined (Bytes)

20-SEP-06 2 77125 11 307 255 143 382 735 154 689 990


143 Meg d/l and 11 Meg u/l.

Yesterday was even stranger ...

Date Sessions Online Time (Seconds) Upload (Bytes) Download (Bytes) Combined (Bytes)
21-SEP-06 38 42584 19 873 140 112 549 729 132 422 869

112 down and 19 up - but look at the number of sessions.

35 of these sessions were less than a minute.

A week or two back one day listed 57 sessions.

Oh, I have confirmed that all the sessions are from the pc belonging to my client.
There is no-one else who could be using the pc.

There seem to be 3 explanations:

1) An incredible hack who leaves no trace and knows new passwords immediately.
2) Client is doing the downloads under a state of amnesia...
3) The stats are simply wrong.

The question at the end of all this is - is it possible that the stats are incorrect, is this unheard of - and if it is a possibility then how do I prove it?

Mystified....

 

[linkinpark]

Is a router? It could be that the router is dialing out, that explains the sessions even when the pc is off, but that doesnt explain the usage. If its a wireless router, disable the wireless point. Also to test out number 3, unplug the modem from the line, and make sure that nobody else in the house (like a kid) is using his adsl when his not there. Hey maybe even his maid is logging on when he's at work. So just tell him unplug the modem for a day and check his usage, if he still has usage then you need to take it up with mweb.

 

[daveza]

Just to clarify -

It's a Planet ADE-3000 modem, no wireless capabilities.

The pc in the instance wasnt turned off, just that the client was away that day.

... and no maid

When the modem is off then there is no usage.

The pc is sending and receiving large amounts of data ( according to the stats ) seemingly on auto-pilot.

 

[JazzeD]

Install Netlimiter monitor or a good firewall. That should show u what is downloading. and connecting to the net.
I once had a problem like this and found out its google desktop search connecting like every 5 min or so too the net. And downloading 200 KB or so.

 

[squirrel]

It's possible that maybe Windows is updating, as well as his AV etc. Install NetLimiter as mentioned above and you can see what is using your bandwidth