[ale] heads up - warning - you could be sharing comcast wifi without knowing it

[Jay Lozier]

On Tue, 11 Jun 2013 20:17:49 -0400, Ron Frazier (ALE)  
<atllinuxenthinfo at techstarship.com> wrote:

> Hi guys,
>
> I thought you'd like to know about this.  I heard the host on the Tech  
> News Today podcast ( http://twit.tv/tnt ) say something similar to the  
> following: Comcast will be expanding its wifi network by putting wifi  
> gateways in Xfinity users homes. ... Comcast users will get free access.  
> ... Guests get two free accesses. ... If you don't want to participate,  
> you have to opt out.
>
> That's not an exact quote but it was enough to get me thinking.  They're  
> going to give the PUBLIC access to the internet through MY gateway in MY  
> HOME!  Say WHAT?
>
> http://twit.cachefly.net/audio/tnt/tnt0771/tnt0771.mp3 - summary at  
> 3:05, discussion at x:xx
>
> I googled around and found this.
>
> http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57588325-94/comcast-expands-wi-fi-network-with-new-neighborhood-initiative/
>
> Supposedly, they replace your cable modem with this new wifi gateway  
> device.  It broadcasts two wifi signals.  You log into one of them and  
> use YOUR service as normal.  Guests login into the other, for free if  
> they are Comcast Xfinity customers, and get two free accesses if they're  
> not Xfinity customers.  SUPPOSEDLY, the 2nd connection is independent of  
> the main one, and it doesn't reduce your bandwidth.  Yeah, I believe  
> that.  The APPARENT plan is to replace all the gateways and enable this  
> internet sharing without the customer's knowledge.  That's got to be  
> against the law somehow.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Ron
>
>
<snip>

I see both sides to this. For most Comcast customers it makes some sense  
since they are not technically literate. It potentially removes one device  
they must set up. Depending on the specs it might be more secure for most  
users. Also, the second signal means that the subscriber does not need to  
given out wifi log in credentials to any guests. The technically competent  
are more likely to want a separate router to isolate the home network from  
the modem.

-- 
Jay Lozier
jslozier at gmail.com