Guests downloading content illegally using WiFi

[Mary172]

I have received a notice from my provider, Suddenlink about illegal use of my home Internet.  I have freely given my server and password information to guests to use - but no more!  My service provider has issued a warning and offered 2 specific dates where illegal copies of movies (not pornographic, unless you consider Kung Fu Panda pornographic!!) were downloaded when 2 different guests stayed in my Airbnb room.

Beginning today, I will add a warning to my House Rules and posted in the room, but I also have one other idea.  I think I will not offer the WiFi password until guests confirm they understand the house policy.  I am NOT a fan of many restrictions on my guests and doing anything that could be construed as negative, but I am very concerned about the illegal use of my home Internet.

Please share your thoughts on this and your experience!  Thanks all you wonderful hosts out there!

[Matthew285]

@Melissa298, in the USA, courts have been reluctant to blame the account holder for the actions of other people on the account holder's home network. Of course you should add rules about behaving properly on your home network, but other than the trouble of dealing with the warnings and such, there has not been a lot of financial liability placed on account holders if one can show the activity was not theirs.

[Fred13]

That stands to reason @Matthew285, especially considering how easily people share passwords once they know them.

[Chris773]

Interesting. Suddenlink seems to be particularly harsh with this topic, much more so than the law actually requires (or suggests, since it's a murky law at best).

Some info from Suddenlink itself: http://help.suddenlink.com/internet/Pages/DMCA.aspx

And some anecdotal reports from other SL customers about what happened to them: https://www.tigerdroppings.com/rant/tech/suddenlink-busted-me-for-torrenting/54221927/

I came to this topic because I was getting a "Walled Garden Error Code 5" and could not reset it like I have in the past by turning the modem/router off for 10 minutes, and so I called Suddenlink tech support and the rep told me a DMCA report had been filed against my account. They were able to provide me the date, and the guest who was here at the time admitted that his son downloaded something. All's been reset now and is OK, but SL's "three strikes" policy has me a little nervous because if this continues to happen, I may find myself blacklisted from Suddenlink for 6 months. (And then my only fallback option is CenturyLink's slow-as-molasses 10mbps connection...) The tech told me that if I get "Walled Garden Error Code 10," that's when I'll be on the 6-month suspension. I guess if that happens I'll try to appeal, but for now, I'll just have to cross my fingers and hope my future guests are more law-abiding (or at least use private torrent sites that the movie studios don't monitor...).

I'm definitely going to add something to the House Rules and maybe even post a sign on the wall with some verbiage prohibiting illegal torrenting. I found some suggested verbiage at https://community.homeaway.com/thread/3191.

Although the monthly price is higher, I wonder if a business account has more lenient rules on this topic since businesses like hotels and coffee shops and things probably have this kind of thing happen frequently. I work in IT and I have professional-grade (Mikrotik) routers in my properties and could probably set them up to at least log torrenting activity, though I don't know what benefit that would have unless I actually receive a lawsuit and need to defend myself in court. Outright blocking torrenting is really not feasible, since modern torrenting clients are pretty resilient against blocked ports and things, but I'll investigate that.

[Dino20]

Thank you for sharing that information.   I was just hit with a €1000 fine for my guest downloading some stupid Harry Potter movie which I've never seen one of them in my life, And I was not even in Berlin at the time but my IP address of my server at home is all over the place on this lawsuit that I'm receiving.

[Vicky383]

@Mary172 

Thank you for sharing your experience. This is what I do and it is proven effective. I strongly recommend setting up VPN and Guest network as many business do when they offer their wifi. Airbnb hosts should do the same!

1. Say it in the House Rules

Your house, your rules. Before booking, the guests are asked to read and agree to follow your House Rules. You can cancel the reservation if the guests violate them. I put in a section of the House Rules like this.

The guests are made aware of the regulation and consequences.

Peer-to-peer (for example bit torrent) and downloads of copyrighted material are strictly forbidden by German law and lawyers actively monitor these activities in Germany. Guests are fully responsible for any illegal uploading or downloading of content and for other illegal activities. By agreeing to the House Rules, you agree to not perform any illegal activities using my internet connection. Any copyright infringement by guest is subject to release of guests information to copyright holder.

2. Say it Again

People might not remember what they agreed on the House Rules anymore when they arrive. It’s a good idea to gently remind your guests again. I have a Welcome Sheet in the room giving my guests information about my home as well as reminding them about the House Rules. Another good way to remind them is when they are about the use your WiFi. Why not set up your WiFi password as a reminder to not download illegally? Something like IWilln8vrDownloadM0vies#$% has enough length as strong password, easy to enter, and serves as a reminder to the guests. 

Maybe you can paint the room all over with “Do not download movies,” though I wouldn’t suggest it. Be creative!

3. Secure your Network

To be rather safe than sorry, I take one step further and set up VPN and guest networks.

VPN act as a privacy protector of your network so even when there is illegal downloading on your network without your consent, it’s hard to trace. That’s right. No one would know what your guests or you are doing on your network, but please don’t download illegally just because people can’t see it. VPN is completely legal and it’s actually a good thing to have whether you are doing it for Airbnb or not. The benefits of VPN is beyond the scope of this topic and you can find lots of information about it with a simple search.

Guest networks are WiFi just for the Airbnb guests. Not for your or your friends. Having guest-only networks is a stronger proof that you are not involved in the activities in the guest networks. While it does not directly stop people from downloading, it allows you to turn on/off guest networks and decide how much speed they can have from your network. On top of that, the guests don’t have access to your router’s admin page so it also makes your network safer.

To secure your network like this you need a good router and VPN service. A good router will probably cost you around €120 one time and VPN is about €3.5 per month. You don’t have to worry about illegal downloads and it’s totally worth the effort and money. Check out How to set up Guest Network and VPN. It’s written for every host with minimum knowledge about network and technology to set up with ease.

This is from a blog I wrote. The full blog is here.