Erratic bill and virus downloads

[Aravind Gandhi]

Hi, I have the 500 combo broadband connection for the past 2 years. Recently my broadband bill went unreasonably high. I usually get a bill for around Rs.1000/- this time I got it for Rs.3000/-. I went to the portal and checked my usage details. I was surprised to find that my connection was active with humongous uploads and downloads even when I was fast asleep, like 5 am in the morning. We are sure that we had not activated the broadband at that time. I contacted the BSNL office and told them my problem as I was fearing that somebody might have hacked into my account. To my relief, I found that no one has hacked the connection. All the request for the uploads and downloads had gone through my modem and my connection is wired and not wifi. However, the officials were not able to give a plausible explanation for the unusual activity of my broad band at odd hours. According to them, the reasons can be 1. That I could have left the modem and the computer turned on even when I am not using it (which to an extent is true, but used to switch off before going to bed)2. That my computer is infected with virus which is generating these requests to download and upload automatically ( though the computer has an anti virus software )They advised me to keep the connection removed from the modem when I am not using it. Can somebody tell me whether their diagnosis is right and is possible? Thank you so much.

 

[dyna]

yes it is possible. but we cannot say whether it is right, without inspecting your computer

 

[essbebe]

Could be some automatic updates of applications, seen in your Task bar. ( incuding Windows Updates )Check the History ( if still available) and check the web sites accessed.Download AnvirTask Manager Free, to reduce the number of applicationsat Start up or resident. How do you connect In "Dialer" mode or "Always On" mode.Mention the modem/model/make number and OS in use.If the downloads are during NU period, how the data d/l is charged ?You may upload (screenshot JPG picture ) of usage portal page at tinypic.com and give the link here.Para tworecaution: Just in case someone is connecting to your telephone line . and has access to your user ID and PW.Change you log in password and Modem access password.

 

[merc782]

do a online scan of the computer by going to below url housecall.trendmicro.comnote: use a browser like firefox, dont use IE for above scanning

 

[Aravind Gandhi]

Thank you all for replies...@essbebe : I am not sure about the updates..I changed my laptop (windows operated) for an i-mac recently. So, I do not have information about updates. About the modem, just before we got this erractic bill we changed the modem as the last one conked off. The new modem model is Nokia Siemens Network modem, which is capable of wifi, but not activated. I will soon post the screen shot. Thanks, I had changed the log in pass word before, but what is 'Modem access password'. Where is it and how can I change it?@Merc782 : Before I do an online scan, can I know what that would do. There is one more question I would like to ask. Our last month's bill is also slightly on the higher side, like around Rs.2,600/-. However, we had watched videos on youtube atleast like 4 videos per day on an average. Whether this will increase the billing amount? Most of our activity is during the time when the usage is billable.Thanks once again.

 

[Deleted member 10390]

Run a scan with CA Yahoo Antispy. It comes integrated with Yahoo toolbar. Has always worked for me in situations like this.