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Being Throttled on a Hotel Network - Advice Needed
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Hot4ts
Newbie
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14. February 2011 @ 23:24 |
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So I've been staying at the same hotel every week for a few months. Using Vuze 4.5.0.3.
My NAT stays white (sometimes firewalled), my torrents are usually blue or yellow, though sometimes green. U/L speeds are nowhere near as fast as D/L speeds, but it gets the job done. (On my home network, it's green-green-green).
Last week, though, I got throttled. I called the (central, 800-number) Help Desk, and they asked if I was using P2P, Netflix, etc. They said when there's too much congestion in one router at a hotel, they lock down the MAC addresses hogging the bandwidth.
OK, so I put on my smartpants and figured, well, I'm in no hurry to get stuff D/Led, I'll just set the U/L and D/L speeds at 28K each.
Worked fine for a week, and I got throttled again tonight. TONIGHT what the Help desk told me was if there are "too many ports" open, they cut off that MAC address.
Now, I thought Vuze only used a handful of "ports" per se, but I thought he might be referring to the number of open connections.
So here's what I did:
- Kept the 28K/28L speed limit
- Set the GLOBAL Max Connections (Tools=>Transfer) to "12"
- Selected TOR network
- Set (Connection=>Transport Encryption) to require RC4 encrypted transport
Will any (or all, in concert) of these options help me stay connected?
Does anyone know what (if any) is a "typical" max connections that will log me out? (In other words, can I raise the 12 to a 20, or a 50, and still stay under the radar)?
I'll take any and all advice, because I will be in this hotel for a few more months.
Thanks.
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mrslicker
Member
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15. February 2011 @ 22:06 |
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Smac, and ill smac ya back. dont use tor for bittorrent, people dislike that. not only that its atrociously slow, and it requires lots of configuration, not just a checkmark box in vuze. also consider signing up for itshidden, they have a free vpn service that limits at about 80k for both down and up if your real connect supports that speed tbw. i think a vpn tunnel will use only one port like 443 or something, but i might be wrong. VPNETMON2011 is a program that will disconnect from and close, say, a torrent program if vpn drops, and can reenable the connection after vpn is back up. this prog is highly recommended by me for your purposes. make sure to set it up right. its not very hard.
Does anyone know what (if any) is a "typical" max connections that will log me out? (In other words, can I raise the 12 to a 20, or a 50, and still stay under the radar)?
ANSWER: that is a highly subjective question, and likely only well answered by a tech working for that hotel or involved with a similar situation.
EDIT: i say logout off wireless->apply smac->itshidden->VPNETMON2011->VUze( its hidden is a free account and times out after 20 minute periods, but you can set windows to redial after a minute or so, unless you feeling froggy enough to pay a few euros and get uninterrupted) and keep the bandwidth conservative, or consider a different file getting means that doesent involve swarms, or search forwarding (gnutella uses forwarded searches through hubs and leaves and can rack up the network activity by connecting to crap-tons of different people even if not downloading...)
have fun dude :)
lubricant -> Mr Slicker -> ???
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 15. February 2011 @ 22:33
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Hot4ts
Newbie
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15. February 2011 @ 23:23 |
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Thanks. Few clarifying questions.
1) SMAC - If I understand correctly, I could set a spoofed MAC. When the hotel boots me, I create a new MAC, and it's like I'm a brand new user on a totally new machine. Is that correct?
1a) SMAC2 - I CAN go back to the original hard-wired MAC on my wireless card, right? (It's a corporate computer)
2) TOR - Thanks for the tip. I'd read something obscure about it, but not much details.
3) ON VPNETMON2011 - I don't know that that will help me. What's happening is, I get kicked off the network and my MAC is banned until I call tech help and get reinstated. So if I understand what you're suggesting, it might be too little too late.
4) I don't understand the beginning of your edit, "logout off wireless"?... I know you're typing fast, but I lost the plot.
As far as itshidden goes, I'm in the States, so what's a Euro? Is that like a sandwich? Or shiny beads? (I'll look into that).
I think you're right, in that forwarded searches won't be my friend here, as I'm trying to figure out how to be conservative.
BTW, I did get the boot last night, even with the setup I mentioned in my original post.
Please confirm the relative "safety" of Smac.
Thanks, give the missus a lick for me!
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 15. February 2011 @ 23:25
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mrslicker
Member
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16. February 2011 @ 10:09 |
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1. yes, to a point. your other identifiers will remain, one thing i was thinking about is your network name. like Bill-PC or someother, that will stay unless you change it too.
1a. its a software modification i believe, should be no problem. or try technitium on cnet, dont know if it is good, but its free. if in doubt write down the original one for later use.
3 & 4. what i suggested, is to log off the hotel network change mac address and then re-establish the connection with new mac adress. after that is verified to work, then log on a vpn to 'guard' your traffic, then use vuze after all the steps with the arrows have been accomplished that whole post was theoretical, but i figure it would work.
-itshidden is based in European Union, and requires a small fee to be paid for uninterrupted, higher speed access. the EURO's in question are a unit of currency.
check this out for the efficacy of smac. its available on cnet, which has clean downloads. this is a pay software so loo for alternatives, if your not able to get it registered.
ALSO, if you want to use a diff mac address without spoofing, you could plug in a diff wireless, like usb, adapter. but if your habits stay the same you will still get blocked, sounds like.
lubricant -> Mr Slicker -> ???
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 16. February 2011 @ 10:27
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Mez
AfterDawn Addict
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19. February 2011 @ 20:43 |
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Hot4ts, the anti P2P robot things will find you and throttle you regardless of your IP. It is not the hotel or the ISP you are being attacked by agents for hire. I doubt that a new MAC will help you. You will need a VPN or secure socket connection to avoid them. You can only get them through a paid service.
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mrslicker
Member
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21. February 2011 @ 19:23 |
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Mez, here is what he said in his original post: "I called the (central, 800-number) Help Desk, and they asked if I was using P2P, Netflix, etc. They said when there's too much congestion in one router at a hotel, they lock down the MAC addresses hogging the bandwidth." & "TONIGHT what the Help desk told me was if there are "too many ports" open, they cut off that MAC address. "
you dont pay much attention, and only believe what you want to.
lubricant -> Mr Slicker -> ???
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Hot4ts
Newbie
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21. February 2011 @ 22:03 |
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I know an anonymous MAC isn't the answer, but my supposition was that if I use a fake MAC and then get booted, my "real" MAC is still clean, and I can just reboot and get back on the network to attend to my business. Or I can try another MAC and go through the whole process all over again.
Is that a correct presumption?
ALSO - Help me understand the VPN thing, because I guess the way I understood that doesn't really jive with what you're suggesting. If I read your posts correctly, I can:
1) connect to the hotel's network
2) connect to the VPN
3) through the VPN, launch Vuze
4) continue downloading "Chuck", and the admins at the hotel network will see traffic, but not any information about what that traffic is.
Is that about right?
===
And, as far as that "EURO" being currency or something like that, I'm pretty sure the only types of money that exist are dollars, petrodollars, and the dollars that the Chinese have. Occasionally I'll find a Canadian dollar "coin", but I think those are supposed to be like a practical joke or something... I have a degree in international finance, so I'm pretty sure I'm right about that.
===
And I assumed it was "Mrs. Licker"... Couldn't decide if that was a name or a hobby...
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 21. February 2011 @ 22:30
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mrslicker
Member
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23. February 2011 @ 12:59 |
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a vpn is like a proxy (except for all traffic not just for websites)
3) through the VPN, launch Vuze -Negative. (you will already be connected to proxy, just launch normally)
lubricant -> Mr Slicker -> ???
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Hot4ts
Newbie
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23. February 2011 @ 15:07 |
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Thanks. Is my thinking right, re: the MAC address?
Essentially it's like changing the tags on my car, right?
I really appreciate your advice and patience.
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Hot4ts
Newbie
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24. February 2011 @ 14:52 |
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Second question - I loaded "Go Trusted" as a VPN service (it was highly rated on cnet).
I'm at work, connected to the GoTrusted VPN, and went to ticketmaster.com, and got
Quote:
Forbidden...
You don't have permlssion to access / on this server.
What the hey?
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mrslicker
Member
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3. March 2011 @ 03:17 |
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sorry about the delay. yes you have the right idea about mac addresses.
im actually not sure about why you would be blocked. could it be the port you connect from is blocked for vpn? has ticketmaster blocked that ip from accessing their site?try it again at a different net connection and see what happens there, then you will know if it is your work or the computer itself.
lubricant -> Mr Slicker -> ???
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Hot4ts
Newbie
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5. March 2011 @ 15:23 |
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I think because my Google comes up as Google.co.hk (Hong Kong) when connected to VPN, Ticketmaster must think I'm overseas. (And I actually had trouble buying tickets for the Who once when I was in Hong Kong, now that I think about it).
I'm running VPN and slowing down my speeds on Vuze and it seems to be working OK in the hotel.
So here's a question, I haven't changed my MAC. So if I'm connected to VPN only, what I am transferring and what sites I'm connected to are completely transparent to the ISP, is that correct?
For instance, at work, folks aren't "supposed" to check things like AOL, Facebook, etc. But if they run through a VPN, the corporate IT folks won't see the site they're connected to, just that they're connected to the IP that the VPN routes to. Right?
Or, let's say I'm downloading the latest bootleg of Justin Bieber show... And Justin decides to crack down on such behavior... His folks would see that my VPN address was connected, but they couldn't trace that back anywhere?
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mrslicker
Member
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16. March 2011 @ 22:36 |
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What you are transferring/visiting is supposed to be invisible to ISP, but data bulk is not.
VPN account details acquisition leads to payment sources. Worst case.
lubricant -> Mr Slicker -> ???
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 16. March 2011 @ 22:37
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Hot4ts
Newbie
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27. March 2011 @ 11:56 |
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One thing I've noticed is, I don't get greens when going through the VPN. When I have my ports forwarded (correctly) without the VPN, all is well.
But when I connect, I get NAT errors and when I do the NAT/Firewall test, I get "blocked" messages.
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mrslicker
Member
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4. April 2011 @ 03:36 |
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check to see if the vpn you use allows port forwarding. i dont think a lot of them do.
grabbed this from the utorrent forum ()thanks alderaan): Technically you could have forwarded ports on a VPN but the owner of the VPN server manages them and they almost never provide such a feature because it's too much micromanagement. If you want a port forwarded contact them but they might refuse or provide it for a fee.
lubricant -> Mr Slicker -> ???
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Hot4ts
Newbie
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5. April 2011 @ 22:43 |
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What's weird is, back at the hotel (where this all started), I get a green "Nat OK" when logged into the VPN, but my torrents stay yellow.
It was at home I was hoping to capitalize on good speeds (home network) and anonymity (VPN) so I could get my ratios higher.
By the way, I'm using "GoTrusted"; it's six bucks a month (don't start that Euro shit with me), and seems to work pretty well.
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mrslicker
Member
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15. April 2011 @ 23:36 |
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hahah. i will not mention gyro's again to you. glad you've mostly got it sorted.
lubricant -> Mr Slicker -> ???
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