AT&T Notifies Unauthorized Tetherers to Knock It Off
How do they know?
I apologize for asking if this is common knowledge to most people who post here, but how do they even know if you are tethering? Do they just assume "high volume=connected to a computer" or is there a way to tell?
I barely use my "unlimited data"- read emails (rarely compose replies), light facebook, and movie times- so I barely use my data, but honestly if someone wants to pay $600 for an unsubsidized phone with tethering as part of the OS (true Android, Symbian, maybe WebOS?) shouldn't that sort of be a perk?
I barely use my "unlimited data"- read emails (rarely compose replies), light facebook, and movie times- so I barely use my data, but honestly if someone wants to pay $600 for an unsubsidized phone with tethering as part of the OS (true Android, Symbian, maybe WebOS?) shouldn't that sort of be a perk?
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ReschDMD said:
I apologize for asking if this is common knowledge to most people who post here, but how do they even know if you are tethering? Do they just assume "high volume=connected to a computer" or is there a way to tell?
I barely use my "unlimited data"- read emails (rarely compose replies), light facebook, and movie times- so I barely use my data, but honestly if someone wants to pay $600 for an unsubsidized phone with tethering as part of the OS (true Android, Symbian, maybe WebOS?) shouldn't that sort of be a perk?
1) They can see what IP addresses you're connected to. For example, if you're using a 2.1 O/S Android and you're connected to a site that uses lots of Flash video- they know you'...
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2 and 3 there are null and void for android though.
tTorrent, freebie download, works well too.
tTorrent, freebie download, works well too.
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Basically when I do tether, and its rare, its basically just that, some websites, news etc... and IRC which is low bandwidth. More or less, I use a VM MiFI with an unlimited data plan which I use when needed and not even every month.
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Any and all phones that can be used as a modem have more than one COM port. One of these COM ports is used for wireless phone internet and another one is used for tethering... that's the only way the carrier would know.
It has nothing to do with ip addresses or only using facebook. 🙄
Geez... student, that's another F.
It has nothing to do with ip addresses or only using facebook. 🙄
Geez... student, that's another F.
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Wrong. They are making the assumption that "high usage = tether". Nothing more.
Why wouldn't I be able to use my smartphone to download tons of legal torrents (such as Linux distros) and save it to a memory card so I can load it into an offline pc? What's preventing me from doing just that?
Also, I'm sure I could write my own app that plays YouTube videos and forces them into 1080p if they are available (some YouTube videos have a 1080p option). This is possible regardless if it is a noticeable difference or not.
Why wouldn't I be able to use my smartphone to download tons of legal torrents (such as Linux distros) and save it to a memory card so I can load it into an offline pc? What's preventing me from doing just that?
Also, I'm sure I could write my own app that plays YouTube videos and forces them into 1080p if they are available (some YouTube videos have a 1080p option). This is possible regardless if it is a noticeable difference or not.
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This explanation came from Reddit:
For all you wondering how they can tell:
All IP packets have something called a TTL associated with them. It stands for Time To Live. Every "hop" along the network from one router to the next reduces the TTL by one. When it reaches 0, the packet is dropped. This was introduced to keep routing problems from overloading the network. If for example, by some error a packet was going around in a circular path, the TTL would eventually reach 0 and prevent a packet storm.
The thing is, ALL routing devices do this. OSes use standard TTLs. For example, let's say both your iPhone and laptop use 127 for the TTL. AT&T will receive packets from your iPhone with a TTL of 127, but since the packets from your laptop ...
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For all you wondering how they can tell:
All IP packets have something called a TTL associated with them. It stands for Time To Live. Every "hop" along the network from one router to the next reduces the TTL by one. When it reaches 0, the packet is dropped. This was introduced to keep routing problems from overloading the network. If for example, by some error a packet was going around in a circular path, the TTL would eventually reach 0 and prevent a packet storm.
The thing is, ALL routing devices do this. OSes use standard TTLs. For example, let's say both your iPhone and laptop use 127 for the TTL. AT&T will receive packets from your iPhone with a TTL of 127, but since the packets from your laptop ...
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While I do understand that it is a good way to gauge if someone is tethering or not, it is not a a guaranteed way.
Short of watching over your shoulder to see if you are tethering or not, every single possible scenario that can be done on a laptop can also happen if you were doing a request from your phone directly.
What's to stop someone from adjusting their TTL on their Android for example down to 128 just because they can?
Sorry to say, but it just comes down to high usage = tethering assumption.
And, at that point, if someone really did that and AT&T didn't believe them and called them liars, this could cause legal issues (possibly).
Short of watching over your shoulder to see if you are tethering or not, every single possible scenario that can be done on a laptop can also happen if you were doing a request from your phone directly.
What's to stop someone from adjusting their TTL on their Android for example down to 128 just because they can?
Sorry to say, but it just comes down to high usage = tethering assumption.
And, at that point, if someone really did that and AT&T didn't believe them and called them liars, this could cause legal issues (possibly).
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This forum is closed.
