Stripped of Internet Connection

[s0ulz]

A rather interesting thing happened today that I was absolutely not expecting.

I came home and my internet connection was dead. It was sluggish at best last night but now it was gone. So I phone my ISP and the answer I got for my lack of internet connecting literally made me hit the cupboard with my foot.

"You're internet connection has been stopped due to the fact that you have broken the law of copyright protection."

My jaw dropped and began to query specifics as in what was the supposed fellany and when did this supposedly happen. Specifics completely rule me out of any trouble, but apparently someone used my connection at 3 AM and downloaded Hitman from a torrent program.

I quickly thought what could've happened - my WiFi router had wireless enabled and after a reset due to power outage it had reset the password for the network. So some young punk (read: pirate) used my connection belevolenlty and got me into trouble.

The fellany was reported by some American organization that apparently keeps tabs on certain files on Piracy networks (p2p) and if used pressures the ISP to follow the law and strip the internet connection.

So here's the consequence - I am now out of an Internet connection til at least Monday evening and have to write a letter in which (this is ludacrous) I have to admit knowing about piracy and in the future avoid any contact with it.

Let's see how this turns out, so I wont be attending any quests this weekend. Good luck, have fun...

[Laldiien]

I really hope you can get this resolved quickly.  Not having a connection would very quicklybe the death of me.
 
 That said, I am positively giddy at the turn.  It's nice to see someone take a swing at pirates and hit them where it counts.  It blows that someone jacked your signal, though and I hope the end result is you find out who it was and drop them in a dark hole.

[MJZ]

So here's the consequence - I am now out of an Internet connection til at least Monday evening and have to write a letter in which (this is ludacrous) I have to admit knowing about piracy and in the future avoid any contact with it.

DON'T do that, S0ulz. Do NOT write a letter admitting your guilt - call in somewhere for legal advice, but do not write that you were aware if you were NOT. If you do they can go haywire on you and wave the paper in your face. O.o

[s0ulz]

I am in no way admitting something I did not do, I will only write that I am AWARE of piracy. No frickin' way am I guilty in any way in this situation.

[MJZ]

Ohhh okay. I'm glad - I misunderstood what you wrote. Phew.

[Witch Hunter]

Yeah Soulz, be careful of any double meanings your words might have - tricky tricky buisness.

[lonnarin]

In US legal terms, when the Judge asks you if you 'understand' the charges brought against you, it's really a trick to dupe you into accepting the judgement of the courts, 'standing under' the authority of it.  I remember a guy I knew who just responded "I have knowledge and comprehension of the charges brought against me" again and again while the judge kept screaming angrily "do you UNDERSTAND them?!".  After the fourth time, he asked him to explain to the court what the legal terminology of "understand" indicated in this current context, to which the judge literally exploded and called a recess.  All charges were dropped when the judge returned to the bench.

Duality of wording is a very nefarious and dangerous thing when it comes to  legal systems, especially when they mask admissions of guilt with general statements.  Admit nothing... and possibly file a report with law enforcement for tresspassing & computer fraud regarding the unknown user using bit torrent on your connection.  Considering it's a wi-fi, the culprit couldn't be more than a few hundred feet away...  Once you get that finished, sue the living daylights out of your ISP for unlawful denial of service & their obvious compliance with the tresspassing charge brought against your neighbor, and tack on some extra emotional distress for good measure.  They promised you a secure connection, and even if you leave the password off, they are still liable for any legal troubles regarding said connection.

Of course things may me different where you live.  Here in America you can become a millionaire for spilling coffee on yourself if you're convincing enough.

[Nibor21]

I am in no way admitting something I did not do, I will only write that I am AWARE of piracy. No frickin' way am I guilty in any way in this situation.

Do NOT do this either.

Write a letter stating that you have been advised by your ISP that THEIR logs indicate that someone either unlawfully gained access to your equipment or has duped the ISPs systems into thinking your equipment had been used for illegal purposes.

Also state that you had neither knowledge nor involvement in any illegal activities using either your equipment or connection.

[s0ulz]

So I did a little research and sent a response to my ISP today.

First of all I only admitted knowledge of the general worldwide problem with piracy, yet denied any ties to it. I also wrote what Nibor said and filed a complaint against my ISP due to their failure of notifying me of the incident and following measures.

We'll see what unfolds...

[ycleption]

Have you read your service agreement lately? It's quite possible that they have the right to take away your service without notice, and have no obligation to tell you about the reason. Companies are pretty careful to make sure they can't be sued over such incidents. That doesn't mean you can't file a complaint, since it's bad customer service at best, but don't expect any real compensation. In any case, it's probably a good idea to read the service agreement, just so you can see what your rights are here.
Hope things get worked out soon.

[s0ulz]

Well as of writing this response here, I am currently using my connection again.

ycleption, I did read it and it stated that they can suspend or limit my connection only if they notify me in written form 5 days beforehand. And no I didn't go after any compensation, since I do want to continue relations with my ISP.

Anyhow, the letter seems to have worked and done the impossible. On friday they told me it couldnt be opened before Monday evening and this morning I wake up and surprisingly enough, it works.

In case anything else unfolds, I'll keep my eyes and ears open for any developments, but for now I at least have access to the Internets. Yay!

[lonnarin]

What would be really funny is if your connection works now not because your ISP reactivated your account, but that since it was deactivated, the pirate leecher had to sign up for his own ISP services, and forgot to set a password on his wi-fi.

[MJZ]

Hah I doubt the pirate would forget to do that