Internet Service Providers
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Comcast does it again! FCC Orders Comcast to Stop Blocking Some Large Files
After trying to throttle torrent transfers and being ordered to stop by the FCC, Comcast just wasn't satisfied. Comcast apparently has a need to limit their customers somehow, so they decided to introduce a new method of "improving" their network. It involves limiting speeds for up to 20 minutes for heavy users (see http://gizmodo.com/5039766/comcasts-new-network-managem... for more info). The FCC has decided otherwise, and has order Comcast to stop. It looks like the FCC has saved us once again. After trying to throttle torrent transfers and being ordered to stop by the FCC, Comcast just wasn't satisfied. Comcast apparentl... more
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Major Victory! FCC rules against Comcast Corp. in net neutrality decision
Earlier today the Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 that Comcast Corp. interfered with Internet users’ right to access content at their convenience. Comcast is the nation’s second-biggest Internet service Provider, and the company with a foothold on local high-speed Internet subscribers.
In an October interview Comcast Tallahassee general manager K C McWilliams said local consumers should not have experienced slowness with their high-speed Internet connections.
"It shouldn't be slower at all," McWilliams said about Comcast’s local Internet service. "It could be a number of things. Believe me; something is wrong if something is slow with our service."
Commission chairman Kevin Martin compared Comcast’s practices to opening someone’s mail, deciding not to deliver the message and telling the sending party unknown.
“Today, the Commission tells Comcast to stop, and to disclose to its subscribers how it is going to manage traffic on a going forward basis,” Martin said in a press statement. “We therefore take another important step to ensure that all consumers have unfettered access to the Internet.”
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More at link. Earlier today the Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 that Comcast Corp. interfered with Internet users’ right to access conte... more -
Virgin Media puts even more restrictions on heavy users
Virgin Media adopts even more extreme connection throttling for it's most active users. Is this a fair bandwidth management strategy, or are Virgin Media punishing its customers from using all of what they've been solved? Virgin Media adopts even more extreme connection throttling for it's most active users. Is this a fair bandwidth management strat... more
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Charter to Snoop on Broadband Customers' Web Histories for Ad Networks
Charter Communications, one of the nation's largest ISPs, plans to begin eavesdropping on customers' web surfing activity, to help web advertisers deliver targeted ads.
In letters being sent to some of its 2.7 million high-speed internet customers, Charter is billing its new web-tracking program as an "enhancement" for customers' web surfing experience. The letters were first reported by a BroadbandReports.com user on Sunday. The pilot program is set to begin next month.
"Browsing the web can become more like flipping through your favorite magazine, where you see ads that are appealing to you and enhance your enjoyment and the utility of the experience," the company's letters read.
Charter's system appears to be similar to a targeted advertising system in the U.K. developed by Phorm, a London company with alleged spyware roots.
Phorm is trying to strike deals with several large British ISPs to install a targeted advertising system to track the web-surfing patterns of broadband customers. Using modified browser cookies, Phorm's system would use surfing patterns to deliver closely targeted ads, and, the company claims, protect against online scams like phishing.
However, Phorm's proposal has set off a storm of consumer protest after it was revealed that British Telecom ran secret trials on thousands of broadband customers. Phorm's opponents include the inventor of the world wide web, Sir Tim Berners Lee, and several prospective advertisers. The U.K. government has said the system would likely be illegal unless explicitly opt-in.
Charter plans to test its program in four markets: Ft. Worth, Texas; San Luis Obispo, California; Oxford, Massachusetts; and Newtown, Connecticut, according to Charter Vice President Ted Schremp.
He described the system as capable of noticing when a user visits Honda.com or Toyota's website, for example, so when the user visits unrelated sites, he or she will be treated to automotive-related ads.
The company is aware of the privacy and transparency concerns, according to Schremp, but believes the program will benefit its customers and its own bottom line.
"The fact that we sent customer notification letters is indicative of the approach we are taking overall," Schremp said. "This is just another example of leveraging the latest technology."
Charter is partnering with a company called NebuAD to build profiles of its users. NebuAD will share the behavioral tracking results with third-party advertising networks like DoubleClick. Users can opt out of the system, but have to give their full name and address to get an opt-out cookie. The process would have to be repeated for every browser on every computer in a home to block the service, and would have to be reset if cookies are ever deleted. Charter Communications, one of the nation's largest ISPs, plans to begin eavesdropping on customers' web surfing activity, t... more -
Comcast Sends Its Regrets
Comcast, the nation's largest cable company, has opted to sit out tomorrow's Federal Communications Commission hearing on broadband network management practices at Stanford, Portfolio.com has learned.
As a result, the company will not face one of its most prominent critics, Lawrence Lessig, the iconoclastic Stanford law professor and "free culture" advocate who is set to give introductory remarks.
Although invited by the F.C.C. to discuss yesterday's announcement that it is developing a file-sharing "Bill of Rights" with peer-to-peer company Pando, Comcast has declined to attend the hearing. Comcast, the nation's largest cable company, has opted to sit out tomorrow's Federal Communications Commission hearing on br... more -
Hackers hijack entire Web
Seeking to make money from mistyped website names, some of the United States' largest ISPs are instead creating gaping security holes in the web's largest websites, including eBay, PayPal, Google and Yahoo.
The ISPs are making it possible for hackers to turn any website into a source of viruses, phishing attacks and other malware.
The massive vulnerability introduced by Earthlink and Comcast was quietly and quickly patched on Friday, after IOActive security researcher Dan Kaminsky reported the vulnerability to Earthlink and its technology partner, a British ad company called Barefruit.
"The entire security of the internet is now dependent on some random-ass server run by some British company," Kaminsky said.
Starting in August 2006, Earthlink changed how it handled the process of turning requests for a domain name such as Youtube.com into the numeric IP address of the site's server, hiring Barefruit to help it make money from this system.
The news of the massive security breach created by ISPs subverting internet protocol for profit comes just two days after the Federal Communication Commission held a hand-wringing public forum at Stanford University over whether it should punish Comcast its violation of a standard internet practices by sending fake packets to its users in order to reduce the amount of bandwidth peer-to-peer applications use.
Kaminsky is demoing the hole publicly on Saturday at the Toorcon security conference in Seattle.
Kaminsky, a well-respected security expert, is perhaps best known for cleverly proving that a spyware rootkit Sony included on music CDs infected computers in more than half a million computer networks in 2005.
The hole was made possible by ISPs subverting the Domain Name System or DNS, which translates website names into numeric addresses.
When users visit a website like Wired.com, the DNS system translates the domain name into an IP address such as http://72.246.49.48. But if a particular site does not exist, the DNS server tells the browser that there's no such listing and a simple error message should be displayed.
But using Barefruit's technology, Earthlink instead intercepts that Non-Existent Domain (NXDOMAIN) response and sends the IP address of Barefruit's ad server as the answer. When the browser visits that page, the user sees a list of suggestions for what site the user might have actually wanted, along with a search box and Yahoo ads.
The rub comes when a user is asking for a nonexistent subdomain of a real website, such as http://webmale.google.com, where the subdomain webmale doesn't exist (unlike, say, mail in mail.google.com). In this case, the Earthlink/Barefruit ads appear in the browser and the title bar indicates that it's the official Google site. Seeking to make money from mistyped website names, some of the United States' largest ISPs are instead creating gaping security h... more -
Your Internet Provider Is Watching You
What's scary, funny and boring at the same time? It could be a bad horror movie. Or it could be the fine print on your Internet service provider's contract.
Those documents you agree to — usually without reading — ostensibly allow your ISP to watch how you use the Internet, read your e-mail or keep you from visiting sites it deems inappropriate. Some reserve the right to block traffic and, for any reason, cut off a service that many users now find essential.
The Associated Press reviewed the "Acceptable Use Policies" and "Terms of Service" of the nation's 10 largest ISPs — in all, 117 pages of contracts that leave few rights for subscribers. What's scary, funny and boring at the same time? It could be a bad horror movie. Or it could be the fine print on your Internet s... more -
BBC NEWS | Technology | BBC and ISPs clash over iPlayer
A row about who should pay for extra network costs incurred by the iPlayer has broken out between internet service providers (ISPs) and the BBC.
ISPs say the on-demand TV service is putting strain on their networks, which need to be upgraded to cope.
Ashley Highfield, head of future media and technology at the corporation, has said he believes the cost of network upgrades should be carried by ISPs. A row about who should pay for extra network costs incurred by the iPlayer has broken out between internet service providers (ISPs) an... more
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