Problem summary
- An LTE account may contain unexplained usage on the stats page.
- There are a number of causes of unwanted traffic as explained below.
Causes
Network Chatter
- Up to 10mb per day of random packets caused by portscans, DNS, router update checks, remote pings etc.
Skype
- New Skype client generates traffic even if not in use.
- This is because Skype can turn any PC into a 3rd party router for assisting in its P2P telephony functioning.
Wireless Hijacking
- If your router is wireless-enabled, hackers in the nearby vicinity may be using your bandwidth for their own purposes, even if WEP or WPA is enabled.
Spyware, Malware, Viruses, Trojans, Rootkits
- Any of the PCs connected may be infected with the above causing your machine to become a zombie for sending spam or an instrument in sending a denial of service attacks.
- New evidence suggests rootkit technology is now being employed to avoid detection by most antivirus programs.Because LTE-A is so fast, it’s possible to use large amounts of data in a short period of time. Please make sure that you monitor your data consumption.
Other Common Reasons for high data usage:
- Uninterrupted streaming in 4k
- Data hungry apps and platforms that contain images or videos (YouTube, Facebook, 9gag)
- Applications that run in the background
- Operating system updates
- Online backups and updates
- Leaving your router switched on when you are away
Solutions
Network chatter
- Turn off your router to avoid any traffic charges.
- Alternatively, put the router in “stealth mode” – this makes it appear to be offline to the outside world and reduces the small amount of daily wastage.
- Ensure that if your router supports DDoS protection that you enable this.
Skype
- Log out of Skype when not in use.
- Use a different client e.g. MSN Messenger or other SIP-based voice services.
Wireless Hijacking
- Enable WPA-PSK encryption using a 12+ character random password.
- Do not use known words, product names, labels or anything else.
- Do not use WEP encryption as this can be cracked within minutes giving a false sense of security.
Spyware, Malware, Viruses, Trojans, Rootkits
- Run multiple viruses and anti-spyware scans on your system, there are various tools available to do this via the web:
- Trendmicro Housecall
- Panda Active Scan
TIPS:
There are also various tools available to track traffic usage on individual PCs, the easiest to use is probably Netlimiter:
• NetLimiter
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