Friday, May 29, 2015

Stop Xfinity WiFi

Got Comcast Internet service? Then you're probably providing open Internet service to the public, and unless you've read and understood everything very carefully, you probably don't even know it!

When you rent a wireless gateway* from Comcast (as most customers do), by default Comcast enables another wireless network called xfinitywifi for use by other Comcast and Cable WiFi Alliance customers. This is a really bad idea:
  • Security and privacy are put at risk by opening up service to outsiders in shared equipment. (Claims that outsiders are completely walled off are disingenuous -- there is always a risk.)
  • Internet service is degraded by the additional traffic. The carrier wireless gateway is a cheap low-end device with limited processing capacity (and is a common cause of connectivity problems in general).
  • Wireless networking is degraded by the additional wireless traffic. Wireless bands are already crowded and limited in many areas, and this just makes things worse.
  • It's not good for guest Internet access (as claimed by Comcast) because it won't work if your guests are not Comcast or Cable WiFi Alliance customers. Set up a private guest network on your own wireless router for your guests.
  • Comcast is running its business for free out of your home on equipment you are paying to rent.
It's possible to opt out of this outrageous arrangement (instructions here), but there's no way to be sure you'll stay opted out without continual checking.

The better solution is to never ever rent a carrier wireless gateway. Instead, buy your own:
  1. DOCSIS cable modem (from the approved list, like the excellent SURFboard 6183)
  2. Wireless router (See Choosing a Wireless Router 2019)
* Cable wireless gateway is a combination of DOCSIS cable modem and wireless router.

To be ethical and above board, Comcast should at least provide a free wireless gateway in return for supporting Xfinity WiFi.

More Info

Comcast

Saturday, May 23, 2015

Ad Blocking

uBlock Origin
UPDATES:
  1. I now use and recommend uBlock Origin.
  2. Firefox (Nightly) now supports uBlock Origin on mobile.
Ads on the Web not only are often annoying and performance degrading, but also can seriously compromise your privacy (by tracking you) and security (as an attack mechanism for malware).

Apologists for ads claim they finance the "free" Web and that some ads are better than others, but those claims are greatly exaggerated, since the Web has many different financing mechanisms including service fees paid by users, and since it doesn't make sense to risk compromising performance, privacy and security.

The best way to deal with ads is to use a blocking extension in the Web brower (Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera, or Safari).
  • The best ad blocking extension (as of this writing) is uBlock, available for Chrome, Firefox, and Safari.
  • If you must use Internet Explorer (not recommended), Adblock Plus is a good alternative, but be sure to configure it to block all ads. (So-called "unobtrusive" ads are not blocked by default.)
  • Blocking extensions don't work well on mobile, where ads can be even more of a problem due to data consumption, but Adblock Browser can be used instead of the native browser (Chrome or Safari) to do the job.
Ad blocking extensions won't stop malware on your device from serving ads, so it's also a good idea to scan your device for malware. See Anti-Malware for Windows.

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Internet Fax

Use a free personal account at FilesAnywhere to send up to 10 faxes per month. Fully professional quality and service, highly recommended!

For more information, see original post Internet Fax.