[ale] OT: Comcast Wi-Fi

Boris Borisov bugyatl at gmail.com
Fri Apr 25 14:40:11 EDT 2014


Look at the signal level ... Should be strong as possible when you are
close to the router. I'm using my Android tablet for that purpose.


On Fri, Apr 25, 2014 at 2:35 PM, Pete Hardie <pete.hardie at gmail.com> wrote:

> 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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>
>
> --
> Pete Hardie
> --------
> Better Living Through Bitmaps
>
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