Issues with your Comcast Network? I may know why. Please read and give info!

So I've posted complaining about comcast. They cannot help resolve my network issues. My gateway reboots on its own. My wifi is slow as a mfer half the day. I drop wifi and it goes out for a few minutes at random when I have maybe 7 devices online or even just my computer and game consoles in sleep mode but still online. I am fed up with these issues! I contact support and they're resolution always is to send me a new gateway, maybe mines defective. I get the same gateway model with no resolution to the problem. I've tried an "upgrade" and still issues! The same ones! I've had technicians come out to test my fiber cabinet outside the house. No issues! They suggest "Maybe your lines to the pole outside are bad because they're 20 years old" I said maybe. I got fed up with the issue I switched to Verizon. 

Verizon fios worked flawlessly. No issues at all for a week! The only issue was with cable. Bad wiring made the cable not work. Lots of barrel connectors per line to coax outlets in rooms. 20 year old wires. I fed a new line directly from the splitter outside to the modem. Verizon fios internet worked. Switching back to Comcast xfinity brought back my network issues. Cable worked fine in every room.

What I just discovered today which pisses me right off

This xfinitywifi hotspot appeared one day. I figured a business up the street has some amazing router with a freakish range. Nope. These bastards are broadcasting this wifi from MY gateway I'm giving them money to rent. I pulled up a simple wifi meter to test my theory that they're piggy backing out of my gateway. Amazing. My two wifi bands share the same channel, same ping time about 1ms difference. Signal strength is identical between my two networks and their xfinitywifi hotspot. The only other signals on this channel are from someones Netgear box.

HOW RIDICULOUS. Over the past year I have had computers being hacked. I've had malware, adware, viruses, one after another I couldn't keep up with cleaning them all out on every computer in my house. Albeit we use free antivirus still, infections. Malwarebytes was finding infections weekly. I know I do nothing on my PC that puts me at risk of doing something to get infected. I know nobody else on their PC downloads random crap, pirates anything or downloads porn (unless clearing history after jerking it in the living room). The PC they have is used for looking at work emails or checking lottery numbers. I look to see what they do because I blamed them for clicking ads or bad email links. Nothing. Why in the world do these computers get targeted so much? I don't freaking know. Identity of someone in the house has been stolen. The only place they might be entering info online is the home PC. Maybe some company with their info got hacked. I dont know. Unlikely. They dont use any services they have been hacked and lost peoples information. THATS YOU EXPERIAN WTF.

I'm pretty damn sure all these issues are because people use this xfinitywifi hotspot. I don't know how hackers may infect the router this way to get on my networks but I don't see it impossible. My discovery that my gateway is vulnerable to the Telnet exploits might make sense here. Just recently someone was paying bills on secured store websites and a hacker got them to land on their fake page saying how they're microsoft and this PC is infected...call us etc. I know they were on the legit Walmart website at the time from looking at the history.

I'm calling Comcasts REAL tech support guys and complaining. I want the RF channel they're broadcasting turned off. I want to know how they do this. I wan't their statements on how nobody on the xfinitywifi hotspot could jump over into my networks. I wan't their statement on router exploits and if someone on xfinitywifi can exploit my router to gain remote control of it. I wan't them to explain how for the last year I have had persistent infections to my computers when I know its not user error. I've had a computer that nobody touched ever with a fresh OS install. It did get infected with malware after some time.  I want god damn reimbursement for every month I've rented any gateways from them. These issues (especially infections) did NOT happen to any device in my home when we had Verizon and nobody had changed their browsing habits. Thats no coincidence and the issue got seriously horrible since I noticed xfinitywifi hotspot.  Crazy. I'm calling when they open.

I want to gather statistics though polls for people with Comcast Xfinity alone and people with Xfinity service with the xfinitywifi hotspot available to them. I am curious if you have it and also have problems. I want to know how many people experienced Identity theft and computer infections with this service since Comcast started their whole "Hotspots everywhere" crap using customers who pay them hundred plus dollars a month for service and give them even more money to rent equipment only to have Comcast broadcast their own wifi off of them. It's disgusting that you pay a hundred and more dollars per month to an ISP that rents you equipment than they turn you into a wifi host for their own open wifi service that people pay them 20-100 dollars or more to have times sessions. I want my freaking cut for hosting their network. 

Who wants to read their contracts and agreements with me to find where they legalize through agreeing to the rights to do this. I don't think anyone ever notified me to say "Hey! Were going to use you to broadcast open wifi from your router that has had or currently has vulnerability to being exploited! Since we started xfinitywifi you have had x amount of exploits before we patched them. Thanks for being loyal Comcast customers!" 

Disgusting. I know in other countries ISPs do this. It's still disgusting. After I call them and set things straight I'm going to monitor my network and just see how my problems go away. I don't know how or if I can scan this network for connected devices. It only makes sense that my wifi and ethernet connections suck so bad and don't even work at times to the point where the gateway has issues making it reboot or reboot only the wifi module. 

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I'm not. These issues combined with the correlation with the start of open xfinitywifi are too coincidental. With all the infections to my computers since this wifi hotspot popped up is too coincidental. If any of my investigations can prove the times of identity theft for those in my house and the time Xfinity had done this stuff that'll be amazing. Actually I think before I call comcast I'll make notes of when my issues occur. Than after calling them I'll take notes of when they occur if at all. 

End of my rant. I just am far too intrigued over my theory I wanted to share and get input.  I'm researching the topic now. I know nearly nothing about it. But doesn't this sound stupid?

By default the login to their routers is admin as username and password for password. Nobody knows how or why to change this. They broadcast open wifi from a router with default password and bad security.

 I'm unsure how "isolated" this hotspot network is from my router. Do they pack in a whole "second router" that isnt using my hardware which runs my network? I know they use a second antenna to broadcast it. Thats the only difference I know of now. I may be very wrong on some of my thoughts here. Which is why I'm posting this to get more knowledge from you all. I just smell fish here. Funny how after getting into this I see my municipality driving cars around the street and undercover cars lol. I bet thats just a real coincident and not related but its just funny paranoia xD

Edited by 100cigarettes, 09 August 2017 - 08:28 AM.

RIght, I've noticed the Comcast WIFI hotspot and exactly why I've ordered my own personal cable modem.   This will save me rental fees as well I can fully control my own personal router configuration.   Additionally I should obtain better performance that the default Comcast WIFI/Router combo unit.

I do remember reading somewhere that if you call Comcast support you might be able to get help disabling that Comcast WIFI hotspot,  because it's not configurable by end-users.

Dude, I have been reading all your posts ever since you registered here and let me tell you, your nickname fits perfectly with what you write, lol. I haven't seen you in person, but I know that right now you look exactly like the explaining meme.

I do think that you are correct, as I stated in your previous topic. I think that you have done good switching to Verizon. If I were you, and by assuming how you feel about this whole situation judging by your posts and investigations, I'd call Comcast and if they don't have everything explained and fixed properly, I will gather all evidence, along with Comcast's Terms and Conditions, and a copy of your personal contract with them, and bring it to a lawyer for a consultation in order to find out whether you'd be wise to pursue litigation or not. I think that if you are correct in your presumptions of the situation and if those same ones are not specified in either your contract or the broader terms of the firm, you stand to have a significant reimbursement.

Good luck, pal, and don't beat yourself too much if things don't work out - at least you'll still be good with Verizon.

So I've posted complaining about comcast. They cannot help resolve my network issues. My gateway reboots on its own. My wifi is slow as a mfer half the day. I drop wifi and it goes out for a few minutes at random when I have maybe 7 devices online or even just my computer and game consoles in sleep mode but still online. I am fed up with these issues! I contact support and they're resolution always is to send me a new gateway, maybe mines defective. I get the same gateway model with no resolution to the problem. I've tried an "upgrade" and still issues! The same ones! I've had technicians come out to test my fiber cabinet outside the house. No issues! They suggest "Maybe your lines to the pole outside are bad because they're 20 years old" I said maybe. I got fed up with the issue I switched to Verizon. 

 

Verizon fios worked flawlessly. No issues at all for a week! The only issue was with cable. Bad wiring made the cable not work. Lots of barrel connectors per line to coax outlets in rooms. 20 year old wires. I fed a new line directly from the splitter outside to the modem. Verizon fios internet worked. Switching back to Comcast xfinity brought back my network issues. Cable worked fine in every room.

 

What I just discovered today which pisses me right off

This xfinitywifi hotspot appeared one day. I figured a business up the street has some amazing router with a freakish range. Nope. These bastards are broadcasting this wifi from MY gateway I'm giving them money to rent. I pulled up a simple wifi meter to test my theory that they're piggy backing out of my gateway. Amazing. My two wifi bands share the same channel, same ping time about 1ms difference. Signal strength is identical between my two networks and their xfinitywifi hotspot. The only other signals on this channel are from someones Netgear box.

 

HOW RIDICULOUS. Over the past year I have had computers being hacked. I've had malware, adware, viruses, one after another I couldn't keep up with cleaning them all out on every computer in my house. Albeit we use free antivirus still, infections. Malwarebytes was finding infections weekly. I know I do nothing on my PC that puts me at risk of doing something to get infected. I know nobody else on their PC downloads random crap, pirates anything or downloads porn (unless clearing history after jerking it in the living room). The PC they have is used for looking at work emails or checking lottery numbers. I look to see what they do because I blamed them for clicking ads or bad email links. Nothing. Why in the world do these computers get targeted so much? I don't freaking know. Identity of someone in the house has been stolen. The only place they might be entering info online is the home PC. Maybe some company with their info got hacked. I dont know. Unlikely. They dont use any services they have been hacked and lost peoples information. THATS YOU EXPERIAN WTF.

 

I'm pretty damn sure all these issues are because people use this xfinitywifi hotspot. I don't know how hackers may infect the router this way to get on my networks but I don't see it impossible. My discovery that my gateway is vulnerable to the Telnet exploits might make sense here. Just recently someone was paying bills on secured store websites and a hacker got them to land on their fake page saying how they're microsoft and this PC is infected...call us etc. I know they were on the legit Walmart website at the time from looking at the history.

 

I'm calling Comcasts REAL tech support guys and complaining. I want the RF channel they're broadcasting turned off. I want to know how they do this. I wan't their statements on how nobody on the xfinitywifi hotspot could jump over into my networks. I wan't their statement on router exploits and if someone on xfinitywifi can exploit my router to gain remote control of it. I wan't them to explain how for the last year I have had persistent infections to my computers when I know its not user error. I've had a computer that nobody touched ever with a fresh OS install. It did get infected with malware after some time.  I want god damn reimbursement for every month I've rented any gateways from them. These issues (especially infections) did NOT happen to any device in my home when we had Verizon and nobody had changed their browsing habits. Thats no coincidence and the issue got seriously horrible since I noticed xfinitywifi hotspot.  Crazy. I'm calling when they open.

 

I want to gather statistics though polls for people with Comcast Xfinity alone and people with Xfinity service with the xfinitywifi hotspot available to them. I am curious if you have it and also have problems. I want to know how many people experienced Identity theft and computer infections with this service since Comcast started their whole "Hotspots everywhere" crap using customers who pay them hundred plus dollars a month for service and give them even more money to rent equipment only to have Comcast broadcast their own wifi off of them. It's disgusting that you pay a hundred and more dollars per month to an ISP that rents you equipment than they turn you into a wifi host for their own open wifi service that people pay them 20-100 dollars or more to have times sessions. I want my freaking cut for hosting their network. 

 

Who wants to read their contracts and agreements with me to find where they legalize through agreeing to the rights to do this. I don't think anyone ever notified me to say "Hey! Were going to use you to broadcast open wifi from your router that has had or currently has vulnerability to being exploited! Since we started xfinitywifi you have had x amount of exploits before we patched them. Thanks for being loyal Comcast customers!" 

 

Disgusting. I know in other countries ISPs do this. It's still disgusting. After I call them and set things straight I'm going to monitor my network and just see how my problems go away. I don't know how or if I can scan this network for connected devices. It only makes sense that my wifi and ethernet connections suck so bad and don't even work at times to the point where the gateway has issues making it reboot or reboot only the wifi module. 

 

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I'm not. These issues combined with the correlation with the start of open xfinitywifi are too coincidental. With all the infections to my computers since this wifi hotspot popped up is too coincidental. If any of my investigations can prove the times of identity theft for those in my house and the time Xfinity had done this stuff that'll be amazing. Actually I think before I call comcast I'll make notes of when my issues occur. Than after calling them I'll take notes of when they occur if at all. 

 

End of my rant. I just am far too intrigued over my theory I wanted to share and get input.  I'm researching the topic now. I know nearly nothing about it. But doesn't this sound stupid?

 

By default the login to their routers is admin as username and password for password. Nobody knows how or why to change this. They broadcast open wifi from a router with default password and bad security.

 

 I'm unsure how "isolated" this hotspot network is from my router. Do they pack in a whole "second router" that isnt using my hardware which runs my network? I know they use a second antenna to broadcast it. Thats the only difference I know of now. I may be very wrong on some of my thoughts here. Which is why I'm posting this to get more knowledge from you all. I just smell fish here. Funny how after getting into this I see my municipality driving cars around the street and undercover cars lol. I bet thats just a real coincident and not related but its just funny paranoia xD

If you would like assistance with securing your network. Let me know and I can walk you thru it. 

To help focus the topic, please indicate which router you are discussing.  My original Comcast router was a Ubee and it worked fine until it finally died.  I used it with a variety of Wi-Fi routers and can't report any problems.  Xfinity replaced it with their new Wireless Gateway router.  The Web Service used to manage the router is not user friendly unless you have some network engineering experience.  The Web Map used by Linksys is so much more convenient for monitoring network use.  Xfinity gives you a list of the names of the devices.  Some of these names are MAC addresses.  I have no clue how to identify them.  I've been blocking them to see if anything happens.

The login mentioned by 100cigarettes is for the Web Service.  When you enter the default user name and password, you are given the choice of changing the password.  So I suspect that 100cigarettes is talking about a different router.

I don't know what you guys mean by hot spot.  Would someone define that for me please?

Thanks, Tim

I noticed in the network list one called xfinitywifi.  The wave icon has a "!" in a shield above it.  I have no clue what this is for but can speculate that it might involve remote troubleshooting.  One of Xfinity's many problems seems to be a lack of documentation that is easily obtained.  You have to search for manuals and info in places like BC.  The impression is that Xfinity does not care for its customers, a rather odd attitude for a business, eh?

OK.  I found out what is meant by hot spot.  The xfinity hot spot can be removed through the xfinity site.  The forums at the xfinity site offer just about every solution to every problem with every router they have used.  It may take a bit of searching, but you can find all the answers there.

The Web Service for the Wireless Gateway has a front end through the xfinity site.  Most of what you need to do can be handled through there.

The MAC addresses used as host names in the Connected Device lists are various devices.  You can get info about MACs.  The first half of the MAC address identifies the manufacturer of the device.  I'm using http://hwaddress.com/ to identify the company names.  You can then check their product line to guess what device it is.  On my network, one device was from Apple.  When I disabled it, we couldn't log on to the network with a MAC laptop.  Another device that needs to connect is a power line Wi-Fi booster.  There is also something from Lite-On Tech but I'm not sure if it's an optical disk or SSD or what.  Apparently it's needed by the Play Station.

So the news is you can track down everything in the Connected Device lists.  Don't block anything unless you can't identify it.  Of course, you can always block everything and wait for the whining.  You can find out some info about the devices that way.  But that seems rude to me and I would prefer to work it out behind the scenes.

Ok, this is the experience I have. You can go on your xfinity account and turn the hot spot off.  I have my modem from Xfinity bridged to my Apple Extreme Router, Xfinity router is turned off. No one gets access that way and my Apple Extreme can handle everything in my network. The Apple Extreme router is amazing since I have many Apple products besides Android phones and 1 Windows laptop. Everything is wireless and quick. Hope this helps. Also you can see on the Airport utility who and what is on your network