Internet Usage Being Used Up By Unknown Source

Many times throughout the month i have gone to check my internet usage to find that 2GB had been used up, at the most 5GB was once used. This has happened many times varying in the amount used.
I didn't have any background applications like torrents running in the background and i am scanned for viruses, so i am 99.9% sure its not my computer doing it.
In the house there is another laptop and my iPod touch, i have scanned the laptop for viruses. Nothing.
I have rung the ISP many times and they haven't been able to find a solution. My isp is optus.

One time when i was on the phone to them i had the internet usage meter on the optus website up and running to check the usage and i click the
refresh button and bam! right infront of my eyes 2GB is used. I naturally assume then its a hacker. I tell the isp this and they go on how it is very hard
to hack. I have a Belkin router which is encrypted with WPA+WSK encrytion.

But i used to have a cheap netcomm router and i had that for ages and this problem did not occur on that router until about 2 months ago.
So i find out that the password on the netcomm was WAP which is much easier to hack into.
I go and buy a belkin one to see if the problem might be resolved. The problem is still there.
But i would imagine if it was a hacker he/she would be hacking in every day to steal my internet not once a week or so.
So i call my isp and ask them if there is a problem with there cables in the ground and they say there's not because it would have showed up on there report/bill thing.

In this frustration i have downloaded a internet monitoring program called bandwidth monitor to see where all this internet is going. No answers yet.
Please help i have no answers to this huge problem.

 

I am with OPTUS, and haven't found them, very helpful.

Are you speaking with Optus Head Office,or the ISP Help Desk, in India.?

I wouldn't stop, till they gave you answers, to this irregularity.

 

Optus meterage does not always record as you use it.

I have used say 6 GIGS in a short period, and sometimes it wont show for 4 odd hrs,and then all of a sudden the meter shows the amount used.

I think this is whats happening in your case,to be honest.

I watch the Optus usage meter very closely. 

 

While i was watching a DVD on my computer i notice that bandwidth monitor (the program i use to monitor internet usage) starts to spike.
It sais 2MB/s and this go's on for minutes so the first thing i do is go into trend micro (my security software) because it has a network monitoring thing in it that tells me who's connected to my router and i go and check it its just my computer. There is a light on my router that shows me if it is sending and receiving signals to other computers that light is not on. Third of all i check this program i downloaded that checks what ip addresses are connected (the program is called advance ip scanner) i go in that and its just my pc's ip adress comes up.

So i turn of the belkin router and the 2MB/s stops. So i make it so i only get access to the internet while the router is off by swapping some cables around and BAM! With the router off and internet access on my pc still available it comes up with 2MB/s.
I installed zone alarm it when it restarted my pc it comes up with all these programs trying to access the internet like "bonjour" trendmicro, google chrome etc and i allow them beause i know there safe and there always on. But

you said this but there is no traffic tab in the program. When i go and type "ipconfig" a black box appears and disappears.???


I have spoken with the optus head office i believe.

 

I went in the optus FAQ and it sais. I quote. "he Internet Usage Meter is updated on a regular basis - approximately every 15 minutes."

 

I know it is supposed to every 15 minutes,but doesn't always happen.

I am talking from experience with Optus.

 

I got ipconfig up what am i supposed to be looking for? (And i have windows 7 by the way)

Oh and i know its not the Belkin router causing this internet usage issue so what could it be? Could the cables in the ground be Fudged up? What should i do and who should i call?

 

Thanks for responding

 

That was uncalled for.

People here all have lives and volunteer their services. The fact that the people who are helping you may have had weekend plans and jobs is fully understandable.
My review of your posts indicate that you get plenty of replies. Sometimes certain topics are not within the expertise of every member or staff member.

 

Sometimes i just don't know whether the person doesn't know the answer to my question and that's why he's not responding or he's ignoring me or he's out (holiday,job doing stuff) so sometimes with an issue especially this issue (which is driving me insane) i get a little impatient.

 

I wouldnt trust ANY 3rd party monitoring software especially from firewall suites.

Have you been into your routers home page yet?
If I were you I would log in and change the routers password and security to WPA2 if its available.
You may be able to limit the PCs that access your router by MAC address as Dragnet mentioned, if you can do this then its extra security. You could also set the DHCP range VERY limited, so if you ONLY have 3 devices (remember the router is always 192.168.1.1 then you router will set any other devices that connect your router in order so 192.168.1.2 then 192.168.1.3 all the way up to 192.168.1.254 so you can set yours to 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.1.3 this would allow only your router and your 2 PCs access.
You can also (router allowing) set static IP addresses dished out as fixed by the router and then Disable DHCP which is the 192.168.1.* thing above

If not post your exact router and model number here and I will see what it supports.

I can understand your frustration in getting this resolved, but please also be aware as BeeCeeBee has said not everyone checks in on a daily basis.

 

I have been on my routers homepage but naturally i dont know what anything mean.
It sais the security mode is WPA/WPA2-Personal(PSK) and the authentication is WPA-PSK but there is also WPA2-PSK and WPA-PSK+WPA2-PSK should i change th authentication and how many digits should the password be?My router is 192.168.2.1 it was 192.168.1.1 on our old router but when we put the new Belkin one in, it changed to 192.168.2.1.

I dont understand this

But these scenario's are only if i am being hacked, isnt it very very very very very very hard to hack someone's router. What other things could it be?

 

Im looking at my program the monitors internet and it's using 2MB/s AGAIN.
So i looked in task manager and started ending processors to see if it was a program draining all my internet.
It's not a program i ended all the processors that looked suspicious and my internet is still going.
Just telling you guys that it's a program using my internet and i dont know what it could be

 

Have you tried leaving your Task manager open to networking and looking to see if there are any spikes or indication of usage while your browser is closed?

 

If you have Zonealarm installed, open Zonealarm, under programs you should get a window showing all the programs and there permissions, in the left most column labelled "Active" you should see a green dot marking any programs that are currently using the internet connection. by clicking on the boxes to the right you can change that programs permissions to access the internet.

 

Thanks Match

 

192.168.1.1 Is what it should be if its 192.168.2.1 it sounds like there is another router involved.
How is your internet delivered into your house, is it a phone line (ADSL) that then plugs into a device and then you plug that into your router?
Or do you plug the wire straight into the router?
It may seem like we are going backwards, and I dont know about anyone else, but im confused :unsure: