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Does Virgin Media Track Downloads?

I need to get broadband for a private uni accommendation and I am wondering if Virgin Media tracks downloads and have the power to sue.

Reply 1

VaVe

If they do they don't act on it as far as I know. We've always had Virgin Media and been downloading through various means for about seven years with no sign that they know/care.

Reply 2

Currrrtisssss

We got a threat letter from Virgin Media around 2007 iirc.

Funny thing is the file it said it was that was downloaded illegally was my brother downloading Craig David lol!

Nothing since. :smile:

Reply 3

OmicronPersei8

Why? What have you been watching?

Reply 4

omegaSQU4RED

Not as far as I know.

Hopefully not....

Thanks for the response guys.
I can continue to exercise my left hand in peace ^_^

Arm wrestling is a hard sport.

Reply 7

Tabris

My housemate downloaded on average, around 25GB of stuff a day (I know).

We never got caught.

Reply 8

omegaSQU4RED

Original post by th2

Thanks for the response guys.
I can continue to exercise my left hand in peace ^_^

Arm wrestling is a hard sport.

heh, hard :P

Reply 9

Cicerao

Virgin wouldn't sue you, it would be some fatcats at Sony etc who'd sue you. I'll eat a hat if it happened to you, though. Chances of any action being taken pretty close to zero.

Reply 10

n65uk

They don't yet but will (it seems) eventually use a 3 strike rule, so even if you are caught you have an opportunity before anything bad happens:

http://www.cableforum.co.uk/article/394/virgin-media-first-uk-isp-to-adopt-3

It's worth noting that they will seriously restrict your speed after you reach the STM (site traffic management) download limits for a day, but what this limit is depends on your package:

http://help.virginmedia.com/system/selfservice.controller?CONFIGURATION=1002&PARTITION_ID=1&TIMEZONE_OFFSET=&USERTYPE=&VM_CUSTOMER_TYPE=Cable&CMD=VIEW_ARTICLE&ARTICLE_ID=2781

Reply 11

maturestudy

People living in different areas have reported vastly differing levels of service which makes it difficult to speak for their network as a whole but this is my experience.

VM continuously monitor download traffic and maintain logs of network activity. They also actively shape traffic 24/7, no matter what package you are on, and once you have reached a certain threshold they will often cripple your download speed.

They don't have the "power to sue", whatever that is, but they will turn over their records to third-parties who have a proper court order.

Reply 12

n65uk

Original post by maturestudy

Wrong. 50Mb do not get subjected to STM.

Reply 13

DOAADI

Original post by maturestudy

They also actively shape traffic 24/7, no matter what package you are on, and once you have reached a certain threshold they will often cripple your download speed.

The 100MB package has no discernible traffic shaping. In any case, Virgin Media state specifically that this package is completely uncapped, as is the 50MB one (although upload is throttled back at peak times).

http://shop.virginmedia.com/help/traffic-management.html

They make their traffic management policy abundantly clear.

http://shop.virginmedia.com/help/traffic-management/traffic-management-policy.html

If you have ADSL there is a different policy:

http://virgin.net/allyours/faqs/trafficManagementFAQ.html

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 14

F1's Finest

Original post by th2

Thanks for the response guys.
I can continue to exercise my left hand in peace ^_^

Arm wrestling is a hard sport.

lol arm wrestling (building forearm technique looool )and wanting to know whether VM can track downloads is suspicious :biggrin:

Reply 15

username607202

Okay let me explain how this exactly works:

When downloading third party content, the company who owns the right to the songs or films etc hire out a group of lawyers who then illegally download content in order to join a swarm and discover everyone's IP address. If the IP address is registered to someone in a country where they can be prosecuted the lawyers then contact your ISP who always deny them access. The lawyers then go to court and get a warrant in order to obtain your details, therefore the ISP has its hand forced, so reluctantly gives them your details.

Lawyers contact you either warning you or telling you to pay back a HUGE fine or they threaten you with court action. Usually if you are not a heavy downloader then chances are if you end up in court your case gets thrown out as it isn't worth the time and money.

Your ISP knows everything you do on the internet, fact. But no living human is actually sitting there looking at what you do, it is all logged automatically and only held for a certain amount of time until deleted.

Hope that clears up a few misconceptions. :smile:

Reply 16

maturestudy

Original post by n65uk

Wrong. 50Mb do not get subjected to STM.

Original post by DOAADI

I'm not going to argue with you but I would like to point out that I used to work for NTL and I know people inside VM. All traffic on the VM network is subject to traffic shaping of some kind, regardless of what plan it originates from/is destined for. Notice also that I say "traffic shaping" not "traffic management". Their traffic management policy is abundantly clear but also entirely irrelevant since it's a VM marketing term used to refer just to their strategy for dealing with P2P and Newsgroup use.

Reply 17

DOAADI

FFS maturestudy :rolleyes:

Do you have to convince yourself you're right all the time... everytime?

It was YOU who used "shaping" and "crippling your download speed" in the same breath, and now you're coming over all semantic on the difference between "shaping" and "managing".

The 50MB and 100MB packages are not "crippled" when you are using them. I speak personally with respect to the 100MB package.