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Comcast is injecting 400+ lines of JavaScript into web pages

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Re: Comcast is injecting 400+ lines of JavaScript into web pages

#481

Post by marklyon »

sethrin wrote: post #442
marklyon wrote: post #365

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was told I could not disable their hotspot, nor could I set my own DNS servers. Since I kept having connectivity issues due to Comcast’s DNS being flaky, and not wanting to manually configire every client, I bought my own modem and wireless setup.

As the other person has said, they have a FAQ for disabling the hotspot. I additionally set my modem to bridge mode in order to use a more capable router. It does look like Comcast mandates the use of their DNS whenever possible, and I'm sure that I bothered to configure an alternative because of reliability issues as well.

The DNS issue was the clincher for me, but I followed their instructions for disabling it and it reappeared when the router was rebooted (not reset).

Overall, I’m rather happy with my current setup. I bought the most recent SB modem available at he time, got an Edgerouter and a Unifi AP. Took a few minutes longer to set up than a netgear or whatnot, but was able to use POE to put the AP in a far better location (it’s actually under my sofa instead of the closet where all my wiring goes) and have had a far more reliable and customizable experience.

Re: Comcast is injecting 400+ lines of JavaScript into web pages

#482

Post by dredmorbius »

sethrin wrote: post #329
throwahey wrote: post #291

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a reason they are doing this. After signing up for Xfinity I noticed that the modem we were leasing was broadcasting a public access point with no way to disable it. I purchased my own modem immediately. Then some time later they rolled out their mobile services, which you guessed it, rely’s on those open access points and Sprint as a fall-back. So now customers are paying monthly to host Xfinity mobile serv…

As far as I am aware, it is possible to disable the public 'xfinitywifi' hotspot on all Comcast modems which provide this feature (I had a stint as a TSR relatively recently). Further, I believe this is a user-configurable setting on all CC modems. I personally have this feature disabled on my Arris 1682G, and this should be their most common model in most regions.

Times ... change.

It took a moment to realise you didn't terminate and stay resident.

Re: Comcast is injecting 400+ lines of JavaScript into web pages

#484

Post by virtuallynathan »

notyourday wrote: post #454
virtuallynathan wrote: post #437

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Different modems can use different numbers of DOCSIS channels. A 4x4 DOCSIS 3 modem is only capable of, at most, 150Mbps and on average 75-100Mbps. A new DOCSIS 3.1 model can do >1.2Gbps.

Yeah, no. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DOCSIS 3.0 spec does up to 1.2Gbit/sec, just like Comcast. You know up to 200Mbit/sec, which is more like 20 because of all the "extreme complexities of the internet service".

DOCSIS 3.0 supports 38Mbps per channel, which is in the table on wikipedia. Not every modem is capable of 1.2Gbps - The fanciest modem out there is 32 channels, which gets to your theoretical 1.2Gbps. If you have a 4 channel modem and expect consistent speeds of more than 100Mbps, you are SOL.

Re: Comcast is injecting 400+ lines of JavaScript into web pages

#485

Post by GFischer »

davrosthedalek wrote: post #416
phil21 wrote: post #388

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Verizon is far and away the market leader in international roaming and it isn't even remotely close. At least in my experience. Source: Tried to get away from VZW for a decade now - international roaming always being the ultimate decider. Curious who you've found to be better. Verizon has always been that shit-tier company ran by borderline criminals which happens to have the far superior network and hard product.

Have you tried t-mobile? They seem to have excellent coverage everywhere I go, which is mainly Europe. /And/ free (but slow) data.

T-Mobile works very well where I live (Uruguay), we have some company-issued US-based cell phones and they have very good connectivity.

Re: Comcast is injecting 400+ lines of JavaScript into web pages

#486

Post by smsm42 »

throwahey wrote: post #291
Declanomous wrote: post #266

I'm annoyed by this on several levels. The biggest issue is that I'm using an Arris SB 6121 and I'm getting notifications that my modem is EOL. However, the SB6121 is listed as a supported modem for my speed level on their supported modems page. If I go to their supported modem page, I literally get a page where my current modem is shown as not supported, and the exact same modem is shown next to it as "supported." I…

There is a reason they are doing this. After signing up for Xfinity I noticed that the modem we were leasing was broadcasting a public access point with no way to disable it. I purchased my own modem immediately. Then some time later they rolled out their mobile services, which you guessed it, rely’s on those open access points and Sprint as a fall-back. So now customers are paying monthly to host Xfinity mobile serv…

I would actually be fine with it - I'm pretty sure I am not using full bandwidth supported by my cable and I'd be fine for Comcast to use it for whatever they like, in exchange for free Wifi and stuff. But when they also want to charge me a fee for that, that's where it doesn't work for me. If you want to host your infrastructure, which you sell, in my home - why I should be the one paying for it?

Re: Comcast is injecting 400+ lines of JavaScript into web pages

#487

Post by Sephr »

icebraining wrote: post #71
exikyut wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep. The random classList polyfill at the bottom was a nice touch. As I scrolled to this bit I was initially like "oh this'll be nice they encrypted some of--oh. :(" My favorite bit was the "this detects the browser type and version" snippet that was copyrighted 2001. Nice! I think the move to open-source the code was a ham-fisted way to get the "we're modifying copyrighted documents in flight" part past the lawyers.…

I think the move to open-source the code was a ham-fisted way to get the "we're modifying copyrighted documents in flight" part past the lawyers. It's admittedly a pretty decent legal move. I don't get it, how does that work?

He is mistaken, it has nothing to do with it. My code is included in Comcast's injected code, but that doesn't mean any of Comcast's liability has shifted to me.

Re: Comcast is injecting 400+ lines of JavaScript into web pages

#488

Post by phil21 »

justrobert wrote: post #391
phil21 wrote: post #386

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> customers should not be subsidizing the cost. Can you please explain to me how you think this is a thing? Are you really that concerned about the extra watt or so of power usage a virtual SSID uses? Or are you operating under the misconception that this somehow impacts your bandwidth allocation? It's by far the most innovative and awesome thing Comcast has ever done. And they get ultra-hate from people who should a…

Except comcast has datacaps for total transfer per month. I don't use comcast so I do not personally know if they charge for excessive data usage, but I know cox does. Besides the point of potential cost, why should a user who is paying for the service subsidize comcast. They are not getting a discount for offering the wifi to customers.

> Except comcast has datacaps for total transfer per month.

For you. Not the public wifi network that is served before it hits your LAN. This is what I meant by my original post - there are tons of misconceptions on this.

Your ratelimit is not effected either, at least not any more than your neighbors do who exist on the same headend as you.

> why should a user who is paying for the service subsidize comcast.

How is it subsidizing Comcast again? I just don't see this point - the only possible way you are subsidizing it is with increased spectrum usage (which is a valid point) and perhaps additional power usage - but we're talking pennies per year if it's even measureable.

Tower space? This sort of product wouldn't exist without it.

I think it's confusion on where customers think or feel the demarc is. The ethernet port on the modem is your demarc, not the cable entering your house. If Comcast did something to alter and/or impact traffic after

> They are not getting a discount for offering the wifi to customers.

Of course they are? You get access to everyone else running the same AP in their homes, so when I travel I don't have to worry much about broadband access. It's especially great at airbnbs with broken internet - I can simply use the neighbors xfinity AP. It's actually an incredibly consumer-friendly thing we used to speculate on in the late 90's and early 00's when wifi was just starting to become a thing.

I do agree it should be something you can toggle in a user interface, but turning it off should remove your access from the xfinity wifi pool. I also completely understand why it's not optional - due to the ignorance shown in the thread. Most consumers think that me torrenting on the Xfinititywifi AP is somehow impacting their data cap and/or throughput. It's not, and even highly technical people continue to perpetuate this myth.

I'm about as anti comcast as they come - but this is one of the better more consumer friendly things any ISP has done, much less Comcast.

Re: Comcast is injecting 400+ lines of JavaScript into web pages

#489

Post by phil21 »

Corrado wrote: post #422
anigbrowl wrote: post #392

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you know the public access point data is being attributed to customers' usage totals? Or does that just seem like the sort of thing they'd do?

Well, if it weren't I would connect everything I own to that guest access point and bypass my cap completely. Or perhaps the speed of that connection is very slow. But then it wouldn't be much use to other customers either.

This works and you can do it today. You actually can get faster than your current service plan (assuming you aren't at the top-tier already) if you have a linux router you can set up for dual-wan.

Last I played with it, I could get an additional 35-40mbps or so out of a typical 100/25 comcast connection in my area.

Re: Comcast is injecting 400+ lines of JavaScript into web pages

#490

Post by sethrin »

dredmorbius wrote: post #482
sethrin wrote: post #329

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As far as I am aware, it is possible to disable the public 'xfinitywifi' hotspot on all Comcast modems which provide this feature (I had a stint as a TSR relatively recently). Further, I believe this is a user-configurable setting on all CC modems. I personally have this feature disabled on my Arris 1682G, and this should be their most common model in most regions.

Times ... change. It took a moment to realise you didn't terminate and stay resident.

Apologies; I never used DOS enough to retain that acronym.
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