Security and Anti-Virus

[geno445]

 I just got an email stating it's from comcast that says the following:

Dear Comcast High-Speed Internet Subscriber:

Comcast has received a notification by a copyright owner, or its authorized agent, reporting an alleged infringement of one or more copyrighted works made on or over Comcast's High-Speed Internet service (the 'Service').  The copyright owner has identified the Internet Protocol ('IP') address associated with your Service account at the time as the source of the infringing works.  The works identified by the copyright owner in its notification are listed below.  Comcast reminds you that use of the Service (or any part of the Service) in any manner that constitutes an infringement of any copyrighted work is a violation of Comcast's Acceptable Use Policy and may result in the suspension or termination of your Service account

I have no clue what they are talking about can you help me with this? It gave numbers to call, etc. but I do not trust it.

Thnks

[ComcastJoe]

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geno445 wrote:

 I just got an email stating it's from comcast that says the following:

Dear Comcast High-Speed Internet Subscriber:

Comcast has received a notification by a copyright owner, or its authorized agent, reporting an alleged infringement of one or more copyrighted works made on or over Comcast's High-Speed Internet service (the 'Service').  The copyright owner has identified the Internet Protocol ('IP') address associated with your Service account at the time as the source of the infringing works.  The works identified by the copyright owner in its notification are listed below.  Comcast reminds you that use of the Service (or any part of the Service) in any manner that constitutes an infringement of any copyrighted work is a violation of Comcast's Acceptable Use Policy and may result in the suspension or termination of your Service account

I have no clue what they are talking about can you help me with this? It gave numbers to call, etc. but I do not trust it.

Thnks

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You receive this e-mail if you are dowloading movies or music illegally. Please follow the instructions on the e-mail for further assistance.

Thanks,
Joe
XfinityTV.com/Xfinity.com Support
Twitter: @XfinityTVJoe

[Jbrumbaugh]

Hello I too have received a few of these notices and think possibly its from our open wireless network which I have since locked down and set a strong password. Is there anything further I should do to clear this up? We pay for our electronic music through Itunes, we purchase our movies and physical music through the store so dont download illegally. We want to clear this up asap so we dont need to continue feeling concerned by these messages received.  

Thanks for your response

[Barmar]

If you think you've fixed the problem that was allowing people to use your connection to download material, you shouldn't need to do anything else.

[Jbrumbaugh]

Yes when I got home from work last night I secured my open wireless network so I think im good to go. Unfortunately prior to my securing my network I did receive one more notice but nothing today so Im certain the problem has been resolved.

Thanks.

[DeeJayZee]

JOE'S information is only partial.  There's more to this than just working with Comcast.

You have been targeted by a copyright troll, a legal firm that extorts people to make settlements based on mostly unsubstantiated claims of visiting their websites, downloading pay material, sharing files, etc.

They will subpoena Comcast to provide your personal information based on an alleged "infringement," using the IP number that Comcast assigns you when you sign on to the Internet using Comcast.  With this information, they will begin a campaign of harassment and extortion, offering you a very expensive settlement to not take you to court and expose you to public ridicule.  (Note, in five years, maybe a dozen people have actually been taken to court and none successfully prosecuted.)

Comcast will turn over your information to the troll firm within a certain number of days.  You may wish to hire an attorney to "quash" the subpoena, but this will result in the same information being delivered into the troll's hand -- and then the extortion will start.  I highly recommend getting an attorney qualified in this line of work (i.e., copyright and Internet law).  It will put your mind at rest and help to prevent you being called into federal court for something you only allegedly did.

BTW, Comcast has joined other Internet service providers (ISPs) in a suit to stop this type of extortionate practice, but for now, it will not fight in your behalf personally; it will turn over your personal information.  Be aware.  Here's a helpful website: http://fightcopyrighttrolls.com/.

[dbflygirl]

DeeJay,

Thank you so much for posting info and link!!  I usually consider myself pretty informed and current, however, this was completely new to me! 

It is truly amazing how despicable some people can be!  Cheers to Comcast for pursuing and winning the decision.

I'm sure this will also help soothe the minds of the customers who have been victims of this.

Thanks again!

[LinuxMint]

If you actually read the response filed in court, they are refusing to respond to porn  creators.

All four movants are in the business of producing pornographic movies. AF Holdings, LLC (“AF”) is an entity organized under the laws of St. Kitt and Nevis; Pacific Century International, Ltd. (“Pacific”) is a Maltese company; Sunlust Pictures, LLC (“Sunlust”) is aCalifornia corporation; and First Time Videos, LLC (“First Time”) is a Nevada corporation.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/96849906/Comcast-Reply

I seriously doubt that they refuse for movies and music still, besides you can watch movies on FastPass and download music from YouTube.

[dbflygirl]

Baby steps.............It's better than just blindly handing them over isn't it? 

"I seriously doubt that they refuse for movies and music still, besides you can watch movies on FastPass and download music from YouTube."

Not sure what point you are making.......but okay.

All I really intended was to thank DeeJay for the info..........I haven't "actually read" the whole blog as of yet.  

[DeeJayZee]

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BTW, Comcast has joined other Internet service providers (ISPs) in a suit to stop this type of extortionate practice, but for now, it will not fight in your behalf personally; it will turn over your personal information.  Be aware.  Here's a helpful website: http://fightcopyrighttrolls.com/.

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I'm pleased to report that Comcast has won a case where it succeeded in getting a court to quash subpoenas -- prevent them from issuing, thus protecting the privacy of its customers.  Hip hip hooray, Comcast.  Now it needs to have the case taken up by a higher court so that it becomes the law of the land and not just one case.  It's already filed to do so.  The days of the copyright trolls may soon be over.

[kula02]

I am also in receipt of 8 of these notices. I did not listen to any of this music let alone know who the groups are. Our network is locked and protected by the Comcast Security Suite. What is Comcast doing to protect from copyright trolls? What steps should we be taking to prevent further exposure?

[Jb46pct]

I recieved this email as well but Comcast told me I was commiting iligel activities on bit torrent from 2-4p.m. thursday when I wasn't even on that site and was instead on wikipedia and youtube.

[LoPhatPhuud]

Anyone else on your computer or network. If you use wireless router, is it properly secured to prevent unwanted connections?

[MrBear16]

I just received one from a week ago indicating a file that I was entirely ignorant of. Some porn movie apparently. I have had a few before. This is really annoying. I removed a bunch of malicious things shortly after the supposed date. Has it come to the point that people are making malware to download porn via your ip?

[LoPhatPhuud]

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MrBear16 wrote:

I just received one from a week ago indicating a file that I was entirely ignorant of. Some porn movie apparently. I have had a few before. This is really annoying. I removed a bunch of malicious things shortly after the supposed date. Has it come to the point that people are making malware to download porn via your ip?

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I have not heard of malware just downloading porn. If a computer is compromised via a trojan, it is entirely possible for the attacker to use your computer remotely.

You need to check and be sure your computer is secure and clean. You can have your computer scanned by any one the Malware Removal Sites listed here: http://forums.comcast.com/t5/Security-and-Anti-Virus/Where-to-Seek-Malware-Removal-Assistance/m-p/88...

All the services are provided free of charge.

Also, if you use a router, make sure that it also is properly secured to prevent unauthorized use.

[MrBear16]

I am assuming someone did it remotely through a trojan. The listed ip was the one assigned specifically to my computer. I have a router, but it is password protected. I did remove several nasty things. I am assuming the culprit prgram was amongst those. It is frustrating because I do not want my service cancelled or legal trouble for something I did not do. I need to go back to scanning more frequently. I have avast for anti-virus and malwarebytes for anti-malware. I should be clean now.

[kula02]

Would like to add one last thought.  First, besides thanking whoever, troll or otherwise I realized we shouldn't take internet security as a given.  After the emails I received a phone call one night supposedly from Comcast though the caller id had no name.  This person wanted to talk about the emails.  Creepy.  Didn't use the correct terms, maybe it was an off day for the guy or maybe Comcast is too cheap to pay from their help but it smelled of fraud and I have dumped the whole system. 

[LoPhatPhuud]

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MrBear16 wrote:

I am assuming someone did it remotely through a trojan. The listed ip was the one assigned specifically to my computer. I have a router, but it is password protected. I did remove several nasty things. I am assuming the culprit prgram was amongst those. It is frustrating because I do not want my service cancelled or legal trouble for something I did not do. I need to go back to scanning more frequently. I have avast for anti-virus and malwarebytes for anti-malware. I should be clean now.

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When you say your router is password protected, do mean access to the router settings, access to a wireless connection, or both?

Best practice is for router settings protected by a strong password, and the wireless connected via either WPA or WPA2. Both passwords should different.

[MrBear16]

Both. There is a password for the router settings and for a computer or device to connect to the network.

[LoPhatPhuud]

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MrBear16 wrote:

Both. There is a password for the router settings and for a computer or device to connect to the network.

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Great, glad to hear that.