Netreport Help
What is Netreport?
Netreport is a web based reporting tool to advise Virgin Media of abuse of its network. It is designed to replace email based abuse reporting.
How to use Net Report for reporting network abuse.
Step 1:
First select the type of abuse. As an example you may wish to report a port scan against your PC, so from the drop down list you select "Port scan".
Step 2:
Next you are presented with a box listing the form of abuse. Select the form that best describes how the abuse reached you. Using our previous example of the type "Port scan" you are now presented with two options, choose the one that is most appropriate. For this example we will use the type "Firewall alert".
Step 3:
You are now taken to a new window with a number of different fields. The first field is "Offenders IP". In here you must enter the IP address of the machine that has scanned your PC. This will be recorded in your firewall logfile, for emails and newsgroup postings it can be found in the headers. Please note that this field will only accept an IP address from within the Virgin Media range (such as 194.168.4.100), if you attempt to input a non Virgin Media IP address the form will error when you click on the submit button. Please note that certain types of abuse may give you additional fields to fill in.
In some cases you will also see a field called "Offenders email". This can be used if you know the email address of the person you are complaining about. Please note that we MUST have the IP address to process the form (except where you are reporting Virgin Media hosted web space) and that the "Offenders email" field is not mandatory to complete the form.
Step 4:
The next field, "Log Evidence (cut & paste)" is used to provide you with an area where you can list the specifics of the complaint, including any evidence that you have that has brought you to this form. In all cases except for Virgin Media hosted web space abuse your evidence must list the offending IP address you have reported as this forms the basis of the complaint. In this example of a port scan you should include the port numbers which have been scanned.
Step 5:
The next fields deal with the date and time of the abuse. This information should be extracted from the evidence you are presenting. If you are including evidence spread out over a period of time, such as in the case of a network or firewall log, please select a time from the middle of the recorded range.
Step 6:
You now need to select the "Confirm Time Zone" field. The machine that recorded the abuse sets the time zone, and it is essential that the time zone you select is accurate. Home PC users should check their system clock against their local time to determine the correct time zone. Email header information usually contains the time zone adjustment in the appropriate line containing the offending IP address.
Step 7:
Once all these fields have been entered, please enter your name, including your title, and a valid reply to email address. A reply to address is important as we will assign a reference number to your complaint, and we would like to send this to you. This will also allow us to make contact with you should we need any extra information to help with our investigation. You may, however, choose to remain anonymous but if you do so and we require further information, we may have to stop our investigation. Once done, click on the submit button. As long as all the needed fields are filled in, you will receive a confirmation email giving you a reference number
What advantage is there to me if I use this form?
Our aim is to deal with reports on a near real time basis. When this form is used reports are collated against Virgin Media IP addresses, and repeated reports against an IP address within a specified period of time are flagged for immediate attention.
Why can't I use email to report abuse?
As mentioned above our aim is to deal with reports on a near real time basis. Email could not achieve this kind of efficiency because we could not control the subject and content of the email. This system will provide Virgin Media with a more accurate picture of the network components that need to be investigated.
How will Virgin Media acknowledge my form submission?
As long as you include a single valid reply email address, Virgin Media will send you a confirmation of your submission, along with a reference number. We will also use this address to contact you via email should we require additional information. The email we may send will contain a link to a form that you must use to respond to our request. That information will be sent back to the case that your report has been assigned to. You will be unable to reply to the address used to send out our acknowledgement or request for further information.
How will I know that my complaint has been dealt with?
You will receive an acknowledgement of your submission as long as you supply us with a single valid return email address. For legal reasons and in accordance with our privacy policy and the Data Protection Act 1998 we will not divulge the party responsible for generating the complaint nor the action that we have taken. In all cases any action taken by Virgin Media is at the discretion of the Internet Security Team.
I am entering a valid IP address, why is the form rejecting it?
The form is designed to collect reports of abuse of the Virgin Media network, and will therefore only process reports based on a Virgin Media owned IP address. If the form is rejecting the IP address then it is likely that the IP address is not assigned to Virgin Media, click here for a lookup tool you can use to check the ownership of the IP address.
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