Comment Re:50% chance? (Score 1) 497
So in light of this news, should cable companies change their tech support policy?
Every once in a while my cable internet slows down or just drops out, and it's due to something "outside". After double checking that I can ping/connect to my firewall router, I have to call tech support.
One of the first questions they ask is "do you have a hardware firewall/router" followed by "remove your computer from the firewall/router and connect it directly into the cable modem". I guess that they want to ping/verify the DHCP to my local machine, which is normally blocked by the router.
I guess my the choice is between: not having internet connectivity, or being connected and getting hacked?
And from the it's so strange it has to be true department, last month my neighbor found a novel use for the cable wire as it passed over her porch : hanging potted plants. The amazing part is that she managed to make loops/knots in the wire for each plant. I think the highlight was hearing "what the hell?!?!" followed by "I think we found your problem" from the kindly support tech. Guess that was a first for him too!