Interesting email from Cox Communications

[scirocco16vr32 at gmail.com (Chris Bennett)]

Apparently I am some sort of software pirate.  Despite what reality
is... I got "caught" for something I didn't do.

I got a semi nasty email from Cox yesterday telling me to cease and
desist immediately distributing a pirated movie called "the perfect
score"  Apparently this copy is in spanish and it was tracked to my IP
address.

I do not deny that I speak a little spanish, however, my mastery of
the language isn't that so that I may follow a movie in spanish.  So
why would I download and upload this one?  Simply I did not.

I called them and they tell me that if I comply with this email they
sent me, it's pretty much no harm no foul as Paramount Pictures only
has an IP address and without a court order Cox will not disclose my
name.  Paramount will back off and the matter will be forgotten.

I explained that while I download an occasional song, for the *most*
part I own a CD or GASP... an LP for every MP3 on my computer.  I
usually download it see if I like it and then go buy the CD.  Gone are
my days of having a CD with one song worth a shit.  If there's only
one song I really like I try to get it from the Itunes store.  (My
Ipod sadly is another matter)  I also download an occasional adult
movie clip, but nothing major and certainly not an entire movie.  So
where did this come from and WHO if not I downloaded it?  I assured
Cox it wouldn't happen again and turned OFF the modem.

I suspected my wireless router immediately.  All of my near neighbors
are rather old and I don't think any of them own a computer much less
a wireless capable one.  I never bothered securing it for that same
reason.  I entered the routing tables to see if it logged a different
IP than my four wireless devices/computers.  There was nothing there
to suspect.  The next suspect was a mobile user...  Wardriving is, for
those of you that don't know, driving around looking for a wireless
network to hack into.  Working in the IT dept I am aware of linux
distributions with "tools" to crack secure wireless networks, all on a
bootable CD.   Another reason why I didn't bother to secure it... if
they want in that desperately they WILL get in.  Especially with a
Linksys.  Not to mention they can cover their tracks fairly well.  I
don't share my drives across the network anyway so I assessed it as
fairly low risk.

Other possibilities include neighbors farther out than 100 yards... or
some sort of remote control trojan.  I don't allow remote desktop
connections.  So I don't suspect that.

So I think I am going to rescan all of my computers--I scan weekly
anyways, disable Emule altogether, and finally I think I am going to
throw the laptop in the car and survey the neighborhood for Wi-Fi
networks.  I have searched all of my computers--well I am still
waiting to search the one with the better part of a terabyte of
storage--for this file they claim I downloaded.

All in all I am rather puzzled but it did scare the shit out of me and
I no longer underestimate the geezers in the hood.

Geezerz need excitement
If their lives don't provide them this they incite violence
Common sense simple common sense
--The Streets