MWeb increases protection against ADSL bandwidth theft

bandwith theft

now if there was no cap this crime would cease to happen.
 
well done to mweb for spotting the opportunity and doing something constructive

telkom on the other hand state that they cannot respond to subpoenas requesting information on who is stealing bandwidth because they do not have the technical ability to find out this information.......
 
Axxess vIP Secure

Mweb have just copies the free vIP Secure feature from Axxess. They have had that feature for the past 3 months already. :eek:
Why MyADSL did not run a big news article for Axxess is beyond me since everybody that read the forums know what a rip-off Mweb is :mad:
 
AFAIK I'm using this feature with WebAfrica for longer than I can remember.
 
emmanuel said:
AFAIK I'm using this feature with WebAfrica for longer than I can remember.
Click to expand...

Just shows you what MyADSL think about the smaller ISP's.
But Mweb......... Now hear this, now hear this! :mad:
And Mweb don't even advertise on MyADSL and they get the free press!
 
uhm but some isp's(saix ones) are already blocking/restricting it to work on just your exchange/number so having the username/pwd is somewhat useless.
 
Why don't they just setup the connection direct to the ISP as in the UK, and this type of problem will be limted to the people joined to your ISP and using your username/password.

The fact that the domain determines who you authenticate to is in IMO not a good idea.

Fair enough it allows you to switch ISP's easily!
 
What ports are they talking about?

If you have not opened any on your router and not doing any forwarding, i would expect all ports to be blocked in any event ...:confused:
 
some routers have the http, telnet, ssh admin modes accessible from outside/public internet. I wonder if they block these ports does that mean u can't host those services ?

"Why don't they just setup the connection direct to the ISP as in the UK, "

uhm thats due to the way ADSL is structured in SA and fact that ISP's here are just resellers.
 
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What about wireless routers?

Broadband theft can also occur without your knowledge if you are crazy enough not to protect your wireless network. Wireless connections are becoming increasingly popular in the homes with users not even setting up basic security (even large companies are guilty of this).
 
“The Protected Access service is a free, value-added service to MWEB customers,” said Hart. “It is not a programme, so it doesn’t have to be downloaded and installed; it simply needs to be activated in MWEB’s “My ADSL Account” section.
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At Mweb's high cost of bandwidth this is long overdue :(
 
dominic said:
well done to mweb for spotting the opportunity and doing something constructive

telkom on the other hand state that they cannot respond to subpoenas requesting information on who is stealing bandwidth because they do not have the technical ability to find out this information.......
Click to expand...

Kudos to Mweb as well. All ISP's should do well to do something like this.

Whether it be binding the username/password combination or router/modem hardware to a specific line so the same user/pass combo cannot be used elsewhere... or blocking certain ports, something need to be done to combat theft.

However, Telkom's statement is unbelievable. Just plain o_O. Proudly South African? Proudly [censored] more likely...

And isn't that in breach of the law? Surely as ISP you have to comply with an reasonable subpoena?

Now, IMHO :

They do have the technical ability, but they don't want to do so because they will lose a large chunk of their income should nobody be able to steal bandwidth anymore.... Sis, skande on Telkom, they don't want to protect their consumers...

In the end it is business practices like these which can make or break a company. Their decision might harm them in the long run.

If Mweb and others can do it (with their limited income and squeezed margins) then surely Telkom can do the same (unlimited income)...

/imho
 
Instead of coming up with an "ingenious" way of preventing intruders into your router, why dont they just inform people on how to change the access passwords..? Put an explanation on the website instructing them how to do this and let the people who are using ADSL come to terms with security settings and the fact that it must remain secure. People arent educated on these things when ADSL is setup, so naturally they are gonna have no clue how to prevent. Blocking ports on basic customers might help, the obvious being port 80 which can be blocked unless they are by some chance hosting a website, which is unlikely. You wont be able to block those ports on more corporate customers as i know that we need every port available. Telkom are doing a godawful job at informing people of the security risks, but then again that wouldnt be in their best interests. The sooner a client gets capped the sooner they would have to fork out to get another account. Its a win win situation for them. People need to be informed of this forum and how to use, they need to take the initiative in their own hands, thats the only way nething will get done in this country.

PS: I know Mweb have another facility that only allows a connection from a certain telephone number. This however doesnt work when the account is used on a different line when the owner is not using his account(not connected), small floor. But locking an account to a telephone can help in some instances.
 
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Instead of coming up with an "ingenious" way of preventing intruders into your router, why dont they just inform people on how to change the access passwords..?
Click to expand...
'

Instead of coming up with an "ingenious" way of preventing intruders into your router, why don't they just... I dunno... increase the cap?

This sort of crime does not spawn from unruly criminals wanting to cause trouble, it comes from EXORBITANT bandwidth costs and a lack of enough bandwidth for everyone.

Now, I am in no way endorsing bandwidth theft, I am just saying that if people have become so desperate for bandwidth that they resort to hacking into people's routers to steal accounts, perhaps there is too much need and not enough delivery in the bandwidth market.

This has nothing to do with people becoming criminals, it has to do with people becoming desperate.
 
I completely agree with you there Kasyx!
If there wasnt such a stranglehold on bandwidth people wouldnt have to resort to stealing accounts. But its a bit more than that i feel, these people arent stealing the accounts just to remain online etc, they are stealing them and abusing them, jumping from one account to the next untill every account that they have found becomes capped. Theres a blatent lack of consideration towards the people whos accounts have been stolen. In the end, your not doing Telkom over, your doing the customer/average-user over. Your actually doing Telkom a favour.
 
dominic said:
well done to mweb for spotting the opportunity and doing something constructive

telkom on the other hand state that they cannot respond to subpoenas requesting information on who is stealing bandwidth because they do not have the technical ability to find out this information.......
Click to expand...

But what about that sophisticated eavesdropping system or systems that have been put in place by the government to watch our every move, cant they use that.
 
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