Ok, I got a notice from my internet provider that Paranormal Activity 2 was torrented from my IP address because they received a complaint from Paramount. The catch? I do not illegally download anything, my network is not wireless, my computer is the only one on the network, and I'm the only one with access to my computer. And I have no desire to see Paranormal Activity 2. So I'm really confused. How could this have happened, and how can I prevent it from happening again?
You may have been victimized by a botnet. In other words, your computer has been compromised and used as a relay point in a torrent system without your knowledge. You may want to run some vigorous spyware/malware/virus checks. Hopefully O2C or Apostle or Nick will see this and give you better advice.
I would be curious about the full wording of the [-]suit[/-] complaint. If you really didn't download anything, you might want to contact your local news media. They would love a story about companies persecuting innocent people.
You probably have a dynamic IP, so someone who has had the same IP as you at some point downloaded this. Is there a phone number you can call to find out more information? I'd also be careful in case it's a scam.
I got a letter from Comcast saying that downloading True Grit from Bitorrent is against their policy. It was an accident...I wasn't wearing my glasses and accidentally hit the wrong keys/buttons. What are the odds? :
AIUI, they don't have any real concrete evidence against you, which is why they sent that email. A little googling indicates that its not much to be concerned about.
Make sure it's not some sort of scam. The scammers will try just about every avenue of attack and I wouldn't be surprised if they tried sending people fake copyright threats hoping to intimidate people into "settlements" to avoid prosecution.
Oh this was snail mail I received about it. The guy I talked to at Charter said he'd take care of it and let Paramount know it was a mistake.
Also, were I to run serious antivirus/spyware/malware software, which would be the best to use? I've been using Microsoft Security Essentials, but now I'm kinda paranoid. Preferably free software.
You'll need to run a couple of different programs as malware coders are putting in defenses against cleaning programs. Malwarebytes, Spybot Search & Destroy, and AdAware, are all good. WinPatrol is good for blocking malware from being installed. If you're not running an antivirus program, Avast and ClamAV are both free & have good reputations.
I've used malwarebytes on my dad's computer at home. Though now I have another stupid question. I went to malwarebytes.org to download the free version, but when I click download now, it takes me to some other website, majorgeeks.com, and I can't figure out how to download it or if I even want to.
majorgeeks.com is a hosting site for software. AFAIK, its trustworthy, but if you have doubts, you can get it from download.com (which is owned by CBS).
There are no secure lines in the civilian world. Someone could physically tap into your phone or cable TV lines at at least a dozen places and you would never know it and no software is going to help you on that. You know those little green phone connection boxes along the side of the road? A person can tap in right there and call Antarctica or use a DSL modem and surf and download all they want. Same can be done from cable connections anywhere there is a panel.
I haven't found anything else out. Haven't heard from Charter yes and haven't received anything else about it. I'll post a picture of the notice as soon as I can take one where the text is readable. Its vague as all get out. I really just need to know if I should be worrying about the safety of my computer. I've scanned it over and over with Microsoft Security Essentials and haven't turned up anything. I'll do the same with Malwarebytes as soon as I get it. And btw, thanks for the support!
Yeah. Probably a time zone fuckup - likely whoever had your IP address some hours earlier or later downloaded it.
Your ISP's warn you about downloading copyrighted stuff? Scary! Although I'm expecting UK ISP's to follow suit soon, given recent court cases that have not favoured the P2P community....
That's not going to cut it. You need a good virus scanner and/or spyware detector. Find out if you have a static or dynamic IP address. Go to one of those sites that tell you your ip address, unplug your router overnight, when you plug it back in then go back to that site and see if your ip address changed. If it did, you have a dynamic IP address and someone could have used that ip address to download the movie. If your IP address didn't change then you probably have a static address, and it was your connection that downloaded the movie.
STEP ONE: Download MalwareBytes Anti-Malware: http://www.malwarebytes.org/products/malwarebytes_free Download rkill: http://www.technibble.com/rkill-repair-tool-of-the-week/ Download Spybot Search & Destroy: http://www.safer-networking.org/index2.html STEP TWO: Startup in Safe Mode. Run rkill (you'll see a window pop up for a brief second and disappear) Install AntiMalware Bytes. Run a scan If it finds something, let AMB get rid of it. Install Spybot S&D Run a scan. If it finds something, let SS&D get rid of it. Enable Tea Timer from the options menu in Spybot S&D Restart your computer in normal mode. Enjoy pain free computing.
I had actually installed Malware Bytes before reading the above post, but the scan turned up nothing . I'll do the rest of it later tonight or tomorrow.
