AT&T hunting down jailbreakers using using MyWi

[mike123abc]

AT&T Warning Users Over Unofficial Tethering - Threatens To Auto-Enroll Them In DataPro Plan | DSLReports.com, ISP Information

DailyTech - Report: Unauthorized Smartphone Tetherers Get Ultimatum from AT&T

Tethering can be an efficient way for our customers to enjoy the benefits of AT&T’s mobile broadband network and use more than one device to stay in touch with important people and information. To take advantage of this feature, we require that in addition to a data plan, you also have a tethering plan.

Our records show that you use this capability, but are not subscribed to our tethering plan…

If we don’t hear from you, we’ll plan to automatically enroll you into DataPro 4GB after March 27, 2011. The new plan – whether you sign up on your own or we automatically enroll you – will replace your current smartphone data plan, including if you are on an unlimited data plan.

If you discontinue tethering, no changes to your current plan will be required

I wonder how long it will take the writers of MyWi to disguise their tracks better?

If they offered a solution like VZ I would take them up on it $20/month to tether and $30 unlimited data for the phone. The $20 extra would be a business expense anyways, right now I use a Virgin Mobile hotspot.

 

[DodgerKing]

How do they know? When I check my data usage on my account it makes no distinction between tethering or single use.


Of course, I have probably used less than a few MB of data in total while tethering anyway. I only use it when I need to access something that my work blocks out, such as updating my Virus Definitions on my main computer in my classroom. Other than that, I already have WiFi or Broadband connection just about everywhere I frequent

 

[Juan]

How do they know? When I check my data usage on my account it makes no distinction between tethering or single use.


Of course, I have probably used less than a few MB of data in total while tethering anyway. I only use it when I need to access something that my work blocks out, such as updating my Virus Definitions on my main computer in my classroom. Other than that, I already have WiFi or Broadband connection just about everywhere I frequent

They can prolly see the mac address of the device hitting the network..now if u could disguise that....

 

[Pepper]

They can prolly see the mac address of the device hitting the network..now if u could disguise that....

Wrong, the only MAC an ISP will ever see is the one it assigned the public (or in AT&T's case the AT&T private) address to.

I think they might be tracking it via APNs but don't have the technical info to explain why I think that.

 

[DodgerKing]

I am curious to know how they can determine if your phone accesses data for itself or for a tethered device through APN.

I think they will simply notify people who use a lot of data or show unusual data patterns or increase in data use. This red flag will then make them assume that you are tethering. After all a tethered computer will use more bandwidth in a given time than the phone by itself

 

[Juan]

Wrong, the only MAC an ISP will ever see is the one it assigned the public (or in AT&T's case the AT&T private) address to.

I think they might be tracking it via APNs but don't have the technical info to explain why I think that.

APN is the equivilent of layer1 and layer 2 on the OSI model..somewhere on the network is a router (layer 3) that assigns a IP address to your IPhone (prolly DHCP) ..In that router they can do a "show bindings" that will show what MAC addresses are using the IP on the I Phone.. If the MAC adress does not belong to a I Phone they gotcha..

 

[mike123abc]

Or they could be doing deep packet inspection and if they see things that should not be on the iphone like IE/Firefox/Chrome or other PC software packets they know there is tethering. If the HTTP packets are identifying themselves as a non iphone browser they probably could flag it. Using a VPN would be a way around that.

If they are somehow reading the DHCP bindings then MyWi would just need to be updated to better hide any MAC addresses.

 

[diogen]

I wonder how long it will take the writers of MyWi to disguise their tracks better?

Hackers can't win this game.
They can make it more expensive to detect and analyse (DPI) but in the end you can't hide the origin of the web request.

The socket has a listening port (for NAT to work). Different listening ports means different devices.
To simplify and reduce costs most likely a mix of deterministic and probabilistic methods is used.

You can probably try to make one device act like two (and use that to claim AT&T is mistaken!) but not the other way around.

Diogen.

 

[navychop]

I have no interest in jailbreaking, but WOW, what a kick in the teeth.

 

[JAG72]

I wonder if they will only be going after people with the unlimited data plans?

 

[tomcrown1]

If I read Gizmodo article right what Att is looking at is the amount of data used. If they see a hugh amount then they assume you are tethering.

 

[TheForce]

For those who use a high level of data, say in excess of 5Gb a month on a regular basis, do you know why your downloads are so high?


I recall my one time I used in excess of 5Gb in a month and that was when I was tethering slingbox content for 4-6 hours a night for 35 days. I think streaming music all day and night would also create a huge volume and this wouldn't be tethering necessarily. In another case when I traveled for a week out of town and tethered my cell phone connection I used slightly under a gig just slingboxing each evening for a week.

I hope AT&T adopts a similar pay as you use policy as does Verizon. Basically, it is $35 for 3Gb base plan and $10 per Gig for each Gig over that on the 5spot device. This is what Verizon's tethering plan is now and I have it. I don't recall what it is for a phone but it is small upcharge for their software and free for 3rd party you buy. Only difference is I have my base at $25 rather than $35 because of a promotional but then that expires next month it will be $35 like everyone else. Verizon told me yesterday they don't know if tethering with LTE will be the same but will determine that in May. For now, one month, tethering is free on LTE with regular data plan.

Currently I'm paying-
$25 per month soon to go to $35 for the 5Spot tethering device.

$55 per month for unlimited on my smartphone, locked for 2 more years by contract.

I also learned that LTE tethering is not the same as 3G tethering since it is a different radio, meaning that 3rd party tethering apps may not work with LTE. Verizon's LTE tethering app, has an unknown charge for the first month until May. Right now it is free.

 

[JAG72]

I hope AT&T adopts a similar pay as you use policy as does Verizon. Basically, it is $35 for 3Gb base plan and $10 per Gig for each Gig over that on the 5spot device. This is what Verizon's tethering plan is now and I have it. I don't recall what it is for a phone but it is small upcharge for their software and free for 3rd party you buy. Only difference is I have my base at $25 rather than $35 because of a promotional but then that expires next month it will be $35 like everyone else. Verizon told me yesterday they don't know if tethering with LTE will be the same but will determine that in May. For now, one month, tethering is free on LTE with regular data plan.

Verizon and AT&T basically have the same pricing on their tethering plans. AT&T is $45 for 4GB of data and $10 per GB after that. The only difference is they start you out at 4GB of data instead of Verizon's 3GB default.

 

[navychop]

If I read Gizmodo article right what Att is looking at is the amount of data used. If they see a hugh amount then they assume you are tethering.

I imagine there's more to it than that. Too many mistakes would likely be made if it was just the amount of data. My data use spikes now and then, such as when my son was hospitalized.

 

[Steve Mehs]

Yet another reason why AT&T sucks, as if there wasn't enough already. I don't understand this, by charging for tethering your basically paying for the same data twice. It’s nothing more then double dipping by A Fee & Fee. I've never come close to using that much data on the iPhone since AT&Ts data coverage is so poor, it's kinda hard to use what you don't have. With Sprint, I've never gone over 5GB but I have hit 3.5-4GB. I do a lot of audio streaming, 10+ hours a day streaming Sirius XM or Pandora in my work truck, I use the GPS a lot, in the fall I was streaming NFL RedZone and I occasionally stream Sabres games using the NHL GameCenter Live app.

I know other provider charge for tethering but they don’t really seem to care if you pay for the service or use a third party app as much as A Fee & Fee does.

 

[diogen]

Just theoretically speaking, what happens when you plug the phone SIM into a 3G-capable netbook (there are lots of them).
This isn't tethering so should be OK, right?

Diogen.

 

[mike123abc]

I thought that on VZ you can have unlimited data for iPhone plus if you pay $20 you get 2GB of tethering (using the iphone tethering).

If AT&T offered this, I would take them up on it. I want to keep unlimited iphone, but would pay $20/month for PC tethering even if limited to 2GB.