Activity Lights on DSL Modem flashing with little activity

by JMoney97 Jul 31, 2006 2:31AM PDT

Good day all. At times, it appears that the "enet" and "dsl" lights are displaying a lot of activity without being solicited on my part. I am not sure how I would ascertain as to what is causing this? I thought perhaps some spyware, but in running spysweeper and a few others, I thought that maybe they were performing some kind of active scan or something? Not sure if there is some kind of application I could use that would give me a clear answer, or if there is some kind of netowork traffic monitor; an easy to use utility would be good as I don't know how adept I am at analyzing netowrk traffic Thanks for your help in advance, James

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Occasional activity light is normal. . .

by Coryphaeus Jul 31, 2006 2:37AM PDT

The modem can query the host (your ISP), your host can query the modem, running programs can request updates (your anti-virus programs), XP can look for updates, etc. Unless the lights are showing constant activity, I wouldn't worry.

Wayne

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Thanks; see other reply post to moderator :-)

by JMoney97 Jul 31, 2006 3:30PM PDT

Thanks Yeah, I mean it isn't a continuous flashing/fluttering as though I was d/l a file (or upload) but I would say about 2-3 flashes per second and they rotate between the enet and dsl lights. See also the notes I wrote to the moderator below.
Thanks again,
James

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Normal.

by r. proffitt Forum moderator Jul 31, 2006 2:46AM PDT

There are far too many compromised machines out there scanning for other machines to infect. Not much you can do about that.

Bob

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Would it still occur if the PC was off?

by JMoney97 Jul 31, 2006 3:28PM PDT

Thanks for the reply. It just seems to me as though there is a large amount of activity; maybe 2-3 flashes per secondand they fairly consistently alternate between the ''dsl'' and ''enet'' lights. I am using a Efficient Networks speedstream 5360, if that is relevant at all. This occurs even when the computer is powered off. If my I was part of a ''botnet'' would I still be used as a server even if my computer was powered off? I do keep all of my McAffee, Spybot, Spysweeper, Adaware Pro up to date and everything, but I know that that is no guarantee either. Thank you again for your help; I appreciate it more than you know that there are people out there wishing to share their knowledge.

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Here, with PC off, still flashes. Why....

by r. proffitt Forum moderator Jul 31, 2006 11:37PM PDT

It's simple in my case. I have a router and the modem. Since the router is effectively online, outsiders and compromised machines are still out there pinging and whatever else is going on.

"If my I was part of a ''botnet'' would I still be used as a server even if my computer was powered off? "

No.

Bob

Activity Lights on DSL Modem flashing with little activity

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