[ale] OT: Comcast Wi-Fi

Fri Apr 25 14:35:05 EDT 2014

I see.  I am not using the wifi of mine, currently, and the wifi light is
unlit, so I am assuming that means Comcast is not running their wifi
fingers through my space.  I do see an 'xfinitywifi' SSID, but I have
neighbors who also have Comcast internet, so it could be theirs.

On Fri, Apr 25, 2014 at 2:20 PM, Boris Borisov <bugyatl at gmail.com> wrote:

> I'm using both wire and wireless capability of the modem!
>
>
> On Fri, Apr 25, 2014 at 2:18 PM, Boris Borisov <bugyatl at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTYwMFg5NjA=/z/XdgAAMXQVT9S~Y3R/$_57.JPG
>>
>>
>> On Fri, Apr 25, 2014 at 2:02 PM, Pete Hardie <pete.hardie at gmail.com>wrote:
>>
>>> Is your cable modem one with the lights on the front labelled "wi-fi" ,
>>> "phone1" etc?  If so, is your wi-fi light lit?
>>>
>>>
>>> On Fri, Apr 25, 2014 at 1:38 PM, Boris Borisov <bugyatl at gmail.com>wrote:
>>>
>>>> I don't doubt Comcast got technically inclined people to do this
>>>> properly. My main concern was more of a ethical side. Why would you turn
>>>> something "on" without email or over phone talk.
>>>>
>>>> I did quick test. My LAN is on 10.0.0.x the other wi-fi is on
>>>> 10.224.0.x  if I remembered the number. Seems like speeds are independent
>>>> although speedtest.net test over "xfinitywifi" wasnt able to finish -
>>>> stuck on the middle. There is not a trace about this Wi-Fi network on the
>>>> router control panel, I guess is hidden from me in the way IP passthru is
>>>> hidden.
>>>>
>>>> Cheers
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Fri, Apr 25, 2014 at 1:03 PM, Lightner, Jeff <
>>>> JLightner at dsservices.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>   Saying things done by corporations are not stupid or unethical or
>>>>> illegal doesn’t match my experience at all.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Just because it would be “obvious” to people that think that things
>>>>> should be a certain way is no reason to believe that they are that way.
>>>>> Most corporations are more interested in rolling out new things quickly
>>>>> than they are in insuring they don’t do them stupidly.    Assuming that
>>>>> they might actually NOT gouge you by charging you for the bandwidth they
>>>>> are providing to others would be foolhardy.   Whether they would do that by
>>>>> design (which is feasible) or by lack of attention to detail (which is also
>>>>> feasible) would be anyone’s guess.   I’ve had to call Comcast on more than
>>>>> one occasion after seeing the antics they’ve played with my bills.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> If you don’t think corporations do things to maximize their profits
>>>>> I’ll point out the recent article mentioning how very large banks (Chase,
>>>>> Wells Fargo, and Bank of America all mentioned) are posting transactions
>>>>> that overdraft your account from largest to smallest rather than
>>>>> chronologically to insure you end up paying more overdraft fees on smaller
>>>>> (yet chronologically earlier) checks.   They were previously caught doing
>>>>> exactly the same thing with debit card transactions but I think that got
>>>>> outlawed when they did some of the hasty banking reforms back in 2008/2009.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Or look at the fact that GM is only now recalling parts that have been
>>>>> known to kill people over a long period of years.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Corporations are in business to make money and pretending they don’t
>>>>> do shady if not outright illegal actions to that end is silly given all
>>>>> evidence to the contrary.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> *From:* ale-bounces at ale.org [mailto:ale-bounces at ale.org] *On Behalf
>>>>> Of *Brian Mathis
>>>>> *Sent:* Friday, April 25, 2014 11:23 AM
>>>>>
>>>>> *To:* Atlanta Linux Enthusiasts
>>>>> *Subject:* Re: [ale] OT: Comcast Wi-Fi
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On Thu, Apr 24, 2014 at 3:12 PM, Michael H. Warfield <mhw at wittsend.com>
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> On Thu, 2014-04-24 at 14:40 -0400, Boris Borisov wrote:
>>>>> > Yesterday I've noticed Comcast silently enabled additional wireless
>>>>> > network on my cable router named "xfinitywifi". I didn't get the
>>>>> > reason behind the idea but is open with web based login. Someone else
>>>>> > with same issue.
>>>>>
>>>>> Congratulations.  You just became the newest member of the Comcast
>>>>> wireless internet cafe provider club.  Someone with a Comcast login can
>>>>> now log in through the Comcast app gateway and take advantage of their
>>>>> expanded WiFi footprint through your free bandwidth that they're
>>>>> offering up!
>>>>>
>>>>> This has been mentioned in a number of forums over the last several
>>>>> months.  I don't recall if you can or how you opt-out of them offering
>>>>> your bandwidth to all comers.  Since I don't have Comcast, I can not
>>>>> test and say for sure from first hand experience.
>>>>>
>>>>> Regards,
>>>>> Mike
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Please stop with the conspiracy theories.  Comcast may be evil, but
>>>>> they are not stupid, and anything they do is most certainly going to be
>>>>> legal.
>>>>>
>>>>> Adding this service from a customer location is:
>>>>>
>>>>> 1) Most likely in your customer agreement somewhere
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> 2) OBVIOUSLY not going to count against bandwidth caps on your own
>>>>> account
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> 3) OBVIOUSLY isolated to a different subnet/channel, just like any
>>>>> neighbor of yours could not see your traffic
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> 4) Uses a totally separate wifi subsystem, which is why they need to
>>>>> "upgrade" your equipment for this service to work.  The new cable modem
>>>>> needs to have a totally separate AP, or at least a chip that can support
>>>>> multiple wireless APs.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> 5) Your own service speed will not be affected any differently than if
>>>>> your neighbor was using their own bandwidth.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> No, I don't have a source for any of this, but these are clearly the
>>>>> first questions anyone would ask inside a company when they decide to roll
>>>>> out a service like this.  Common sense isn't all that common, but this
>>>>> stuff is just bloody obvious.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> If they didn't do any of these, they could easily be sued by customers
>>>>> for either exposing their networks to security risks, and/or using up the
>>>>> data caps they paid for.  The only possible complaint you could make is
>>>>> more power usage, but at only a few hundred milliwatts for the additional
>>>>> wifi network, that's barely costing you a penny per year in power usage, if
>>>>> that.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>  ❧ Brian Mathis
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Athena®, Created for the Cause™
>>>>>
>>>>> Making a Difference in the Fight Against Breast Cancer
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
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>>>>
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>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Pete Hardie
>>> --------
>>> Better Living Through Bitmaps
>>>
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>>
>
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-- 
Pete Hardie
--------
Better Living Through Bitmaps
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