Unencrypted modems - beware

[the_lone_wolf]

Originally Posted by yorkie_chris

So is the response "F##k off and prove it, see y'all in court" gonna work?

considering the approach of simply ignoring them then telling them to shove it if they persist has worked for 24,990 or so of the 25,000 people they've accused, and the only "victory" they've had was a default judgement when the defendant never showed up at court i'd say yes...

[SoulKiss]

Originally Posted by Ed

yes.

And mini matt, yes that's the one.

As they seem to have been "shot-gunning" it with these letters, and as there is insufficient proof that the individual addressed by the letter was the actual originator (I'm not questioning the IP address, but the users identity here), and the fact that the nature of the material is potentially embarassing, cant this be considered extortion?

ie

"Give us £2.5k or we will enter court documents connecting you to the possession of Homosexual Pornography".

Indeed, though a shot gun is probably more accurate than this, this is more a blunderbus

Looks like their basic attack vector is "IP address is identifying the individual". As mentioned already there are a boat load of questions here which could form a defence, from unsecure wireless to seeding of torrent trackers with IP addresses beyond those that are actually downloading - a widespread tactic which a certain scandinavian jolly roger site has already said it's done.

So I'd guess the stock response of "please detail how you intend to prove that an IP address personally identifies my client" would suffice. From there, if they respond there's going to be ample opportunity to pick big holes in their case.

[flymo]

if the client is telling the truth then I totally agree, tell them to shove it. You have no obligation to ensure that your wireless network is encrypted. It could have been anybody, not necessarily a resident even.

If he is telling porkies, rip the disc out of the machine and sling it in the nearest lake or have a play with an angle grinder for a few hours. The machine can still be linked to a download by way of network card mac address and potentially the processor or bios serial number but thats a bit more unusual.

However, if there is nothing to hide on the said machine then dig your heels in.

Originally Posted by flymo

if the client is telling the truth then I totally agree, tell them to shove it. You have no obligation to ensure that your wireless network is encrypted. It could have been anybody, not necessarily a resident even.

If he is telling porkies, rip the disc out of the machine and sling it in the nearest lake or have a play with an angle grinder for a few hours. The machine can still be linked to a download by way of network card mac address and potentially the processor or bios serial number but thats a bit more unusual.

However, if there is nothing to hide on the said machine then dig your heels in.

One of the ways of compromising a wireless network is to sniff the mac addresses of whitelisted machines (if access is tied down by mac address) and then spoof the mac to match that of another device on the network. It is not only entirely plausible, but actually likely in cases where wireless networks have been accessed by someone with a bit of nous.

[SoulKiss]

Originally Posted by Ceri JC

One of the ways of compromising a wireless network is to sniff the mac addresses of whitelisted machines (if access is tied down by mac address) and then spoof the mac to match that of another device on the network. It is not only entirely plausible, but actually likely in cases where wireless networks have been accessed by someone with a bit of nous.

Spoofing a MAC address is VERY trivial

In fact look at the attached screen grab from my Routers web config page......

[flymo]

Originally Posted by Ceri JC

One of the ways of compromising a wireless network is to sniff the mac addresses of whitelisted machines (if access is tied down by mac address) and then spoof the mac to match that of another device on the network. It is not only entirely plausible, but actually likely in cases where wireless networks have been accessed by someone with a bit of nous.

Yep, totally agree. The proof of the pudding is the content of the hard disk. No disk, no evidence.

[yorkie_chris]

And surely even mainboard serial numbers can be spoofed just as easily?

Annnnd with it not being a criminal case, there aren't really any grounds for siezing the hard drive either? Annnnd if he's any sense he'll have formatted the drive and gone over it with some type of data destruction program, or alternatively hit it with a hammer.

[SoulKiss]

Originally Posted by yorkie_chris

or alternatively hit it with a hammer.

K, what have you done with yourkie_chris...........

[_Stretchie_]

Originally Posted by yorkie_chris

Annnnd if he's any sense he'll have formatted the drive and gone over it with some type of data destruction program, or alternatively hit it with a hammer.

Surley making a DVD 'BACKUP' of material in question... Err, for future use.. Erm, incase this happens again?!?!?