Virgin Media Data Retention Period
 

Hi All,

Does anyone know the official data retention period for VirginM customers?

And what data is held for that period?

I don't fancy getting a letter thro the post for downloading trailers and stuff that are in reality legaly downloaded :O(

Why offer 50Mbit downloads when you cant do anything with it! LMAO

Re: Virgin Media Data Retention Period
 

7 days, I doubt they track their Usenet servers

Re: Virgin Media Data Retention Period
 

Why would you get a letter for LEGAL downloading?? All the letters sent out were either warnings by VM in conjunction with the BPI for downloading MP3's on P2P or by Davenport-Lyons for downloading some games/porn/mp3's again on P2P...

The ONLY people getting letters they don't deserve is probably piratebay seeding fake IP's which in the end is a godsend as it brings in probable doubt as to the offence ;)

So stop panicing....

But as for data retention I presume you mean the link from IP to customer issue and not newsgroup retentions ;) This in reality could be kept for years...

Re: Virgin Media Data Retention Period
 

tbh i wouldnt worry too much about what you download or how much you download. I have been downloads tonnes of stuff for years and have never had a letter. I always try to make sure i do the bulk of it during the night so as to not affect the service too much and i think it keeps everyone happy.

Re: Virgin Media Data Retention Period
 

and a lot of the letters sent out by both Virgin and Davenport-Lyons were total nonsence.

Re: Virgin Media Data Retention Period
 

He asked about retention of data, not newsgroup retention. The answer is it varies depending on the data however Virgin Media do not log which websites customers visit as a general rule, however there are records of who was on which IP address when for quite some time - as required by law.

Re: Virgin Media Data Retention Period
 

The EU requires the following details of phone calls and emails to be kept for 6 months to 2 years:

1. Source (originating number, from address)
2. Destination (dialled number, to address)
3. Date and time
4. Identity of "communications device" (type of mobile phone, IP address maybe?)
5. Location of any mobile equipment (what cell tower for mobiles)

Here in Airstrip One, sorry the United Kingdom, they also have to log the following for 12 months:

1. Subscriber details include name, date of birth, installation and billing address, payment method, bank account/credit card details, customer reference number
2. Services subscribed to
3. For phones the phone number, IMEI, IMSI, serial number etc
4. Email addresses (remember to use a fake name when signing up for gmail/hotmail)
5. IP addresses associated with your account
6. Instant Messenger name/handle
7. Any log-in details
8. MAC addresses associated with your account
9. Any other identifying numbers/names for your account

For your mobile phone they keep the following for 12 months:

1. Log of all calls made, including both phone numbers
2. Time/date of call
3. Both phones IMEI/serial numbesr
4. Location of both parties in a call, in latitude/longitude format
5. Length of call
6. IP address (maybe for VOIP?)
7. Type of call if applicable

They also have the ability to determine the phones location to within a few meters using triangulation (like the iPhone does) and on some phones to install covert bugging software that turns the phone into a microphone for them when it's turned on (as reported by the Financial Times)

For 6 months they keep the following data about text and multimedia messages:

1. Calling / destination number
2. Phone IMEI/serial
3. Date and time
4. Delivery receipt, if available
5. Location of both phones in lat/long format

They keep the following data on email for 6 months:

1. Time of log in / log out to webmail
2. From address
3. To address
4. Any CC/BCC addresses
5. Time of sending a message
6. Time of receiving messages
7. IP address at time of sending/receipt/logon/logout
8. User name
9. MAC address

The following ISP data is kept for 6 months:

1. IP addresses
2. MAC addresses
3. Username
4. Time of access

Web activity is kept for 4 days:

1. Domains visited (so if you visit "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninteen Eighty Four" they just log en.wikipedia.org)
2. Time of visit
3. Any services used
4. IP address of access

They also keep certain other data, if available, like IM usernames and dates of access/sending/receiving messages. They can also keep any other data they think is important for undisclosed amounts of time.

They keep postal data (what is written on the outside of the envelope) for an unknown amount of time. Bank data is 7 years.

Plans are afoot to record vehicle movement data via automatic numberplate recognition cameras for up to 2 years as well.

They almost certainly keep newsgroup access logs too. Even worse, it seems that lawyers can get access to this data for civil copyright suits, when originally it was only supposed to be security services, the tax office and the police.

Basically, the only way to protect yourself is to use a VPN service like Relakks, sign up for gmail with a fake name or even better run your own email server with no logging, and use TrueCrypt to encrypt your entire PC, preferably with a hidden OS too. Otherwise, expect to have a log of everything you do kept.