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Beware Comcast Users.


WRGKMC

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My wife was having issues with her computer freezing it web pages. I'm pretty good at fixing and maintaining our computers(we both work in the industry)

My first stop was to check the Wi Fi connection. I was dumfounded by the sheer number of Wi Fi connections in the list. I thought what the heck is going on here.

There must have been 30 connections. In the past I may have seen ours and the two closest neighbors.

 

I figured something was screwy with my network settings so I set about blocking all those connections and making sure my Firewall would block all unauthorized connections.

The screen kept freezing once a day or so. I run computers on our network too but wasn't having these problems. She uses Chrome as a browser and I eventually found out the latest version freezes and Google has no fixes yet. You have to de-install they're latest version and reinstall an earlier version, Or you could try drilling down into its settings and disable third party cookies.

 

So far It seems to have worked but in the process of digging for causes I find this story. Comcast, has routed a secondary channel through they're customers Wi Fi modems and turned them into public hot spots.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/12/comcast-sued-by-customers-for-turning-routers-into-public-hotspots/

 

In essence you are unknowingly allowing anyone in your area to make connections through your modem and connect to the internet, and if they are downloading big files or streaming video like Netflix they are using up all your bandwidth. (The bandwidth you're paying for)

 

There has even been some class action lawsuits started because Comcast failed to notify people they were doing this, and they could only opt out after they were turned on.

 

Security wise, if your device has a firewall, antivirus and a secure connection you probably cant be hacked very easily but many families have kids who game and trade files and wind up not only downloading Trojans but may not be bright enough to keep they're phones, tablets and computer security settings high. Add to that Win 10, has everything including the kitchen sink wide open by default. Remote desktop, data collection, Keystroke collection etc are all turned on by default and believe me its not easy figuring out how to actually turn them off or block them all.

 

There is a way to opt out but you have to log into the Xfinity site in order to do it (which I suggest you should)

 

Other providers may trick you into converting your modem into a hot spot. I have AT&T and I believe my wife may have been tricked into this. I still have to check but my previous digging turned up way too many devices on my network ( I confirmed which ones were mine and I found a mystery PC on my network that shouldn't have been there. I was eventually able to block it with my firewall.

 

What she tried to do was use a cell phone app to connect her IPhone to her computer and that opened up the flood gates to setting up a hot spot. Its exactly when all her problems started too.

 

If she had asked me first I wouldn't have allowed her to do that because I don't run a home network any more. Not with wireless. I run the computers in Public network mode, shut off all file/print sharing, and set all my connections to stealth mode so no one can find my location or IP addresses. Ever visit a site that knows where you are connected? Network discovery should only be turned on for a local network, not when you're a WWW surfer. it makes you visable to anyone and everyone and you become a target to hackers.

 

The whole idea for Comcast was to make money. By turning on your modem as a hot spot they become a wireless provider without having to put up cell phone towers. They them mine information, target people for advertisements and in effect try to control your life and suck your wallet dry. The government looks the other way because it makes it just that much easier to track anyone who carries a cell phone and when that know who they want to track they can track they're movements geographically as they drive through a neighborhood and connect with all these wireless hot spots. People are becoming fish in a bowl and this technology is like a tracking device - just like the ankle bracelets they put on criminals so they can track they're movements.

 

Best advice - turn this Hot Spot off. You can google how to do it. It may not do you much good because so many people simply aren't going to know about this privacy invasion.

Personally I'm going to get my own personal wireless up and running again and tunnel a private connection with its own password. I don't want anyone on my wavelength and the internet companies can go figgin pound sand as far as I'm concerned.

 

 

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My wife (not on Comcast) had a similar problem. It seems Microsoft was using her computer as a distribution hub for Windows 10 upgrades.

 

So she was sending out a constant stream of data on our "Dsl Lite" line, which has terribly slow upload speeds.

 

So it seems the Internet connections we pay for are not entirely ours.

 

Notes

 

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My wife (not on Comcast) had a similar problem. It seems Microsoft was using her computer as a distribution hub for Windows 10 upgrades.

 

So she was sending out a constant stream of data on our "Dsl Lite" line, which has terribly slow upload speeds.

So it seems the Internet connections we pay for are not entirely ours.

 

Net neutrality? Everyone gets equal access to the net, even high volume users. ;)

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