Excessive Data Usage On Telkom ADSL

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CityBat

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Good Day

I have a problem at the moment with excessive data usage on my Telkom ADSL account & was wondering if anyone could help or give suggestions

At the moment I have a 40GB SoftCap package from Telkom which I have been using for ages

In a typical month I usually use about 15-20 GB of my data. During the week, I use about 250-400mb and on the weekends a little more as I have more time. I never download excessively and if I do, it is usually after midnight during night surfer

Since Monday this week, my usage data notification email that I get from Telkom daily, has been telling me that I have used about 5GB daily.

I have tried everything and can't seem to figure out what it is. My IT guy at worked completely disabled my wireless (which I wasn't using anyway), I have downloaded a usage tracker which tells me that I am using about 300mb a day which is normal, my torrents are closed etc. I also checked to see if its my Windows 10 that is doing a major update, but its not that.

I also find it strange, that my PC is only on for about 2-3 hours a day & 5GB's seems a bit excessive as well

Can anyone help or maybe give suggestions as to what it is? Or is it maybe just a error on Telkom's part?

It was also suggested that I phone Telkom and ask them to change the my passwords etc

Any help would be great. Thanks
 
Try installing glasswire. It'll monitor all traffic & let you know what app/process is using the bandwidth.
 
Did you just recently install a file backup programme like Microsoft OneDrive, which is now trying to sync your whole laptop into the cloud?

Otherwise my guess would be that it's either Windows or else you've been hacked and your PC is now a bot in a DDOS army.
 
Windows update configuration should be checked also. Have you ever done any customization on the Windows update settings?

Settings> Update and Security>Update settings select Advanced Options> Choose how updates are delivered, Either switch OFF the option or if you decide to leave it ON make sure that only PCs on your local network will receive updates from your PC.

Better to turn OFF the option in my opinion.

What AV software are you running? Or are you relying on Windows Defender only? Have you tried to download the Windows MSRT tool? If not suggest you do and let is do a full scan on your PC. I did the same last night and found that 3 files were infected with some or other malware after the last Windows update last week.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/malicious-software-removal-tool-details.aspx
 
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Hey Everyone

Thanks for all the feedback!

Soooooooooooo....as it turns out, I decided to phone Telkom with the possiblity of changing my router's password in case it had been hacked & took a chance and asked if there is a reason why my usage has been 5GB a day lately and why I am sitting on 38GB for the month. And surprise, he said i was only on 18GB for the month which is the norm for me and my daily notifications are wrong and I must just ignore them :). Should of just phoned them in the first place

So all is good! :)
 
Ditto for me.

I've been on the 100GB package for years and usually have plenty left over.

This month got notified I have reached my limit.
Then it automatically said I'm using "post paid" data which I did not sign up for.
Last night I purchased 20GB and right now I have 700MB left. All i have done since then is maybe 5 short 480p YouTube videos and 2 hours of BF1 gaming. Over the last few hours I have left my ADSL line alone and see that it is still dropping at about 500MB an hour.

I have rebooted router, disconnected Wifi, change router passwords, checked for viruses and monitoring application usage and it just doesn't add up. TIT racker must be broken.
 
Lost or Stolen ADSL Data

My Telkom ADSL data was stolen or lost. I am only aware of the loss between 19 June and 15 July, as during this period I was connected to my Axxess account. I estimate a loss of just under 40GB. On 19 June after receiving Telkom’s 80% usage notification, I changed over to my Axxess account, which I stayed connected to until all my Axxess data was depleted on 15 July. By this time, I also lost 18.66GB of my Telkom July data allocation.

The part that is absolutely frustrating, is Telkom’s blatant, ‘We Don’t Give a hoot’ attitude - this is my experience with Telkom in this regard. I’ve made numerous calls to 10210, demanded to speak to a manager on a few occasions, Mr C Ricks and Ms B Jacobs answered the call, I’ve received IT References, Interaction IDs and tons of “You’re not the only customer with this complaint. We’ll investigate”. Around 19 July, I received 15GB Pre-paid Top-Up data from Telkom. This does not even make up for the data loss in July alone.

Here’s the concerning bit. If this is fraud / theft, it could possibly be internal with Telkom staff. At least it can be traced and sorted – I hope. If this is a system glitch, how much more data can be lost while a client is actively using their Telkom account? How will we ever know or be able to prove this? This data loss situation might not be in Telkom’s best interest – honesty, integrity and all – but it certainly is in their interest if clients must constantly top up. Top-up data is expensive data.
 
It is NOT a password issue! Here’s my reasoning:

I have my Telkom Connection History for July. It shows me only connected from 15th July. I have my weekly Usage Summary email from Telkom on the 10th July indicating that 18.66GB of data was used. If someone got hold of my password, is should have shown the connection on the relevant dates as well as from which telephone number; there are no connections before the 15th. Please explain.

This can only be internal with Telkom, fraud with staff? A definite possibility! However here is my concern, if this is a Telkom system glitch, I could prove my loss as above while I was connected to my Axxess account. (and the same goes for the end of June). How on earth can I prove my loss if I am actively connected to my Telkom account? I use a fair amount of data, my wife, two kids, Netflix and Showmax.

I’m not so quick to give Telkom a pass on this! This is there problem and we as clients will be paying for this. You don’t get to use the data you already paid for in your contract – Telkom glitches that away from you - and Top-up data is not cheap data – more income for Telkom.
 
And if this is a password issue, you are obviously under the impression that someone got hold of your password and now you all seem to be quite comfortable with the fact that you’ve changed yours. What stops “them” from obtaining your new password? And your next password, and the next one after that?

For someone to use your internet, they must gain access via a land line number. Or is there another way? There were no connections listed on my history until the 15th July, yet 18.66GB of data was used by the 10th.

This is a Telkom issue, either fraud or a system glitch. Telkom has avoided dealing with this, no explanation from them. I’ve posted on Hello Peter and my interpretation of their response “Get lost”.
 
FairTradeCraig said:
And if this is a password issue, you are obviously under the impression that someone got hold of your password and now you all seem to be quite comfortable with the fact that you’ve changed yours. What stops “them” from obtaining your new password? And your next password, and the next one after that?

For someone to use your internet, they must gain access via a land line number. Or is there another way? There were no connections listed on my history until the 15th July, yet 18.66GB of data was used by the 10th.

This is a Telkom issue, either fraud or a system glitch. Telkom has avoided dealing with this, no explanation from them. I’ve posted on Hello Peter and my interpretation of their response “Get lost”.
Click to expand...

I agree this is a Telkom issue and like yourself three phone calls and four Emails produced zero response. I pulled detailed usage and connection history records from the customer portal and analyzed them side by side. Only logons showed were from my landline. Yet prior to the password changes there was usage showing for night time data (Free Midnight to 07:00hrs) when
I know for a fact that my router and PC were switched off!! Since the passwords change I have been monitoring usage and connection history on a daily basis, back to normal expected usage, and no Night time data use. So as I said something fishy at Telkom!
 
Some years ago I had a virus that ate up my data. It clicks on certain websites, from my computer, advertisers pay them per click. A clever thing, the normal anti-virus programs such as Windows Defender or Malwarebytes etc etc etc could not find it. Eventually, after days, I finally got hold of this ouk with Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool (MSRT). He cost me R600 for the data that he gobbled up.

Super Grandmaster Geoff.D recommends that you download MSRT. Do it. It’s free.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/malicious-software-removal-tool-details.aspx?id=16

Microsoft Support Emergency Response Tool (Microsoft Safety Scanner)
https://www.microsoft.com/security/scanner/en-gb/default.aspx

This is him, the green one, with his partners-in-crime, his two kids, they keep a lookout for any anti-virus and warn the old man. Hehe.

virus.png
 
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My update

…and so it finally comes to a close.

I’ve been credited with the full loss of data, as per my calculations, based on my Telkom connection history report as well as my weekly usage emails. I’ll not comment much on the letter I received: “At Telkom we take pride in ensuring our customer’s satisfaction.” “As a testament to our strive for perfection, we have taken steps to ensure that this will never happen again…” and “We deeply value your relationship with Telkom and are committed to providing you with the highest level of service simply because our customers deserve the very best.” LOL! What a steaming pile of hot…!

It took 3 months, tons of phone calls to 10210, emails, Hello Peter complaints – they didn’t help much, and finally, a month and a half long, complaint procedure with ICASA – very little help from them that I am aware of. They may have communicated with Telkom, I simply do not know if they did. They certainly did not follow-up with me, beside the initial SMS acknowledging my complaint.
Maybe as consumers we should take some of the blame. For the majority, it’s far easier to give up, accept any crap provided to us, and wander around like brainless lemmings. These companies have a plan of action; wear the customer down, ignore, ignore, ignore! They know it works.

Telkom was and is fully aware of the data loss problem, end of June / beginning July, yet they chose to be as useless as they possibly could or go the extra mile in shutting down my every avenue of complaint – thanks Hello Peter, I expected better from you. Customers also lapped up the “change your password” crap as though it was a message straight from the gods. Had this been the actual problem, Telkom would have been able to provide the landline number from which your data was used/stolen.

I wonder how many Telkom clients, who lost their data during June/July, bought (at a premium) additional data from Telkom. Lekker, extra revenue! Unscrupulous, in my opinion!!!

As consumers, we should stand up for your rights. Take the matter further. There are legal channels available. Don’t give up, ever - and for crying out loud, don’t be a lemming!
 
As useless as Telkom is, you'd be pressing it way beyond reason to suggest that Telkom are to blame for the fact that a user cannot secure their own router with a non-default password (usually admin/admin) and, furthermore, monitor the usage on their own ADSL account - and if they see strange usage patterns, simply change the password which WILL prevent the hacker from using up any more of your data. Nothing 'godly' about this suggestion apart from the fact that it just WORKS! In any case, Telkom DOES now provide the means to actively monitor who is logged onto your account at any time and you can even see the landline number which is dialing up. It's easier than ever to monitor your Data now and track down any gremlins stealing it - so there should be no need for any drastic emotions or speculation for that matter. Simply log in with your username and password at https://secure.telkomsa.net/ and see for yourself
 
I was not logged on to my Telkom account for 15 days and neither was anyone else - my Telkom Connection History report proves this. Yet my data was being depleted according to Telkom's Usage emails during that period. Contradiction much? NOT a password issue at all!!! Telkom's Fault 100%
 
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