Comcast routers broadcasting free Wi-Fi to neighborhood

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    Comcast routers broadcasting free Wi-Fi to neighborhood


    Posted: 08 Feb 2014
    Comcast customer Ronaldo Boschulte didn't know exactly what he was getting when the company swapped his malfunctioning modem for a new one. The cable modem doubles as a Wi-Fi router—that much he was expecting. But he didn't realize the router would, by default, broadcast a public Wi-Fi network that anyone with a Comcast account could connect to.

    “I didn't know it had a hotspot," Boschulte told the St. Paul Pioneer Press in Minnesota.
    Source

    A Guy
    A Guy's Avatar Posted By: A Guy
    08 Feb 2014



  1. Posts : 4,566
    Windows 10 Pro
       #1

    That's a fantastic security risk. Thanks comcast!

    Just goes to prove you should buy your own router. And preferably modem as well.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 2,409
    Windows 7 Professional 32-bit/Windows 8 64-bit/Win7 Pro64-bit
       #2

    Good job comcast.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 542
    Windows 7 Pro 64bit
       #3

    luckily we got Wi-Fi early last year and I haven't seen no such network named xfinitywifi in the list of available wireless networks
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 25,847
    Windows 10 Pro. 64/ version 1709 Windows 7 Pro/64
       #4

    They must have one hellofa security department at Comcast.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 757
    Win10 Pro 64-bit
       #5

    "Lying on his family room floor with assault weapons trained on him, shouts of "pedophile!" and "pornographer!" stinging like his fresh cuts and bruises, the Buffalo homeowner didn’t need long to figure out the reason for the early morning wake-up call from a swarm of federal agents.

    That new wireless router. He'd gotten fed up trying to set a password. Someone must have used his Internet connection, he thought.
    "


    SWAT Team Raids Home Because Guy Had An Open Wireless Router | Techdirt
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 548
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64 SP1
       #6

    Referring to the above, I agree with the police that the lesson to be learned is that network equipment should be properly secured. Just like how you wouldn't be giving the keys to your car willy nilly, one should do their best to ensure their stuff won't be misused.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 25,847
    Windows 10 Pro. 64/ version 1709 Windows 7 Pro/64
       #7

    OH I think it's a little over kill with the S.W.A.T.
    If you sent a S.W.A.T. after every unprotected router we wouldn't have enough S.W.A.T.
    Comcast is going to driving law enforcement crazy.
    I think I'm protected. I even removed my antennas from my router and covered the ports with aluminum foil.
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 983
    10 x64 | 7 x64
       #8

    Maybe he was tipped off by the crowd of ex-surfers from Barns & Noble.
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 20,583
    Win-7-Pro64bit 7-H-Prem-64bit
       #9

    Not that difficult to test all you need is a cell phone or laptop and see what's offered as wifi connections,
    Pretty crazy default settings,
    I will never ever use Comcast even if it were free and that has nothing to do with this issue
    This was the first thing I tested and still do with U-Verse,
    Cheers.
      My Computer


 
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