Comcast Blunders

less than 24 hours ago I had comcast installed....big mistake!!! I am completely un-able to access e mail or enter a secure password for the account.........
after spending nearly four hours on the phone with comcast tech support the problem was not resolved.. comcast tech support says that my firewall has to be disabled. Now I an not the brightest star out there but I know better than to disable my firewall.
oh but it gets better....to show comcast tech support that the problem is not with my firewall...I agreed to disable it for one minute...an try the login without a firewall...needless to say the login didn't work.....so up went the firewall again..........Comcast tech agrees that the problem is not on my end...not with my computer...agrees that the problem is one with comcast.....AN THEIR TECH SUPPORT STILL CONTINUES TO INSIST THAT I DISABLE MY FIREWALL!!!
I will point out that the tech who installed the service was not able to login either.
oh...comcast is suggesting I use mcafee firewall..which they offer free. my response was .. they kiss my lilly white..chilly snow buttocks!! I'll find another provider.
oh one more comment....there is a constant stream sent to their servers...from the modem..it passes ok...when I asked "what the hell is this..are you tracking"" they said no its just to let us know the modem in on.....huh..then why should my firewall be disabled if comcast knows the modem is working? an if the stream is passing why is the login not working also....
Comcast sure needs some for real tech support people.
To tell a customer to not use a firewall for any extended amount of time is outragous!! I could understand a very brief period to check whatever needed checking....but that takes only seconds.
so....its the weekend but come monday its a new provider...comcast goes!

snowman

 

Hi snowman! Is this Comcast a different company or are they a subsidiary of EarthLink? I checked out their website. I see they are big on McAfee AV. I use Norton. I tried McAfee. Not impressed by it.

BTW, the price of my DSL has gone UP for new subscribers. It's between 35 and 50 bucks now (50 for what I get for 28.95). Glad I didn't wait. I got it thru my phone company. They do not advertise that they put customers first but their customer/tech service is second to none. I'm always suspicious of outfits that say they put customers first. I let experience speak for itself. Another thing I like is everytime I'm on the Net I'm given a different IP. It's like a free proxy IP. (At first I had problems with it, but straightened them out with Wilders help.)

Hope you find a decent ISP. Perhaps, the members here could suggest some that might be helpful to you?

 

Prince

I just spent another two hours on the phone with comcast tech support....they simply haven't the knowledge or experience to resolve this problem..
however this is getting rather interesting. I put comcast in the trusted zone.....opened that zone wide open....well the comcast login says I don't have activeX enabled.....meaning its not in the trusted zone...so where is it?? better yet...what website is it?? it sure as heck isn't comcast. before I return the modem I hope to find out whats going on with these people......something smells. for being cable the connection is rather slow....my former dial-up was faster......except for downloading. Now thats not right at all.
the cost for this service is $45 monthly.......DLS with my phone company would be $40 monthly...don't know if modem rental is needed.
you know after the crash of the dot coms that led to so many bankruptcies...a person would think that these internet providers would realize that comsumers are getting fed-up with their nonsense......how absurd that I can't enter a secure password of my choice....instead I am sitting here wide open.....an their tech support says disable the firewall.....good golly miss molly!! I thought comcast was more on the ball than this.....after already being caught doing its customers wrong....will betcha I file numerous complaints.......
snowman

 

hey snowy

Do you have MSN DSL access offered in your area?
They offer free use of their modem.
Cable should be fast. From my experience with cable, it is usualy faster than DSL. That would be Charter Communications Cable service that is.
You find out if MSN is offered in your area off the main MSN page.

http://www.msn.com

Also go to
http://www.comcast.com

and try editing your membership. They will ask for your username and password
and I will tell you this. When you try access your e-mail account via their web site, you won't be able to with your firewall active. When away from home all I can do is close my firewall while I check my mail, if I am using their web page e-mail interface and not outlook ect.

Comcasts IP config EXE file

http://comcast.comcastonline.com/memberservices/mcafee/ipconfig.asp

Last but not least the page on which Comcast tells it's customers to install a NAT router which they will not support and also they tell you to install a personal firewall, which they will not support.
http://comcast.comcastonline.com/onlinesecurity/portfaq.asp

 

Controler

hey my friend...say I sure appreciate the info you provided......sooooooooo, it is a firewall issue afterall....will its not going to be an issue with me....cause my firewall is staying enabled.....to heck with their e mail..all I wanted was to change the password to a more secure one....seems to me the tech support could have done that very easily........later on I'll see if there isn't a work around for this lil issue.......for the moment I routed comcast to nowhere......its working.....no homepage though...which I don't mind..
anyone have a suggestion for an e mail account that I could use...other than hotmessmail or yahooIgotyou..

my phone provider offers dls....but at this point I am ready to just return to ye ole dial up....comcast cable is nice but has the above issues.....plus I strongly "suspect" comcast now......no way should a firewall ever need to be disabled.......an as mentioned above...comcast homepage was not in the trusted zone like it should have been...the homepage also drops stored cookies....not nice. I was told stored cookies were not used by comcast....they lied!! what ever became of honesty...

snowman

 

Controler

this is what I got at the link you presented:

In order to provide the best possible experience for you on our Web site, we have taken advantage of several features that rely on JavaScript to work properly. Therefore, please turn on JavaScript and enjoy the rest of our new site


not one..no not one of their tech support said that java was needed.....I BLUNTLY ASKED THEM SEVERAL TIMES!
but ok...I enabled java (sandbox) and activeX...an the homepage still says that its not enabled.....oh this stinks!
I have seen enough

snowman

 

Snowman, you're clearly not technically minded. The answer is to stand naked in front of the Whitehouse, reading a copy of Playboy, while looking for somewhere to hang a patriotic flag. You'll never need another firewall ever again.

 

Hi snowman! Just spent a couple hours researching links on Comcast. I have some juicy ones for you. I even found an independent users website. This is a scary company! It may be a very good idea for people, especially in Internet Security, to be very wary of them. Read the links and you'll understand. Got some tech stuff for you too (David Farber and Linux).

http://dc.internet.com/news/article/0%2C%2C2101_979581%2C00.html
DoJ to Review AT&T-Comcast Merger
FTC Chairman Tim Muris moves case to Department of Justice. DoJ confirms review has begun.

http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/200202/msg00057.html
IP: Comcast man-in-the-middle attack
interesting-people message. Subject: IP: Comcast man-in-the-middle attack From: David Farber <dave@farber.net> Date: Fri, 08 Feb 2002 10:02:04 (The FBI and the Dept. of Justice should really look at this one!)

http://www.ddj.com/news/fullstory.cgi?id=5483
Comcast: No more tracking Web visits By David Lieberman, USA TODAY NEW YORK - Comcast headed off a controversy over privacy rights Wednesday by promising to stop collecting data on what Web sites its high-speed Internet customers visit.

http://www.osopinion.com/perl/story/15468.html
OPINION: Comcast Broadband Deal Offers Few Benefits to Consumers. December 21, 2001 Consumers are stuck between failing or troubled DSL providers on one side...

http://www.geocities.com/flutocracy/cablemodem.htm
Get a Cable Modem....Go to Jail
A chronology of my experiences with Comcast@home regarding criminal charges filed against me due to errors by Comcast. (Comcast's Left and Right Hands are completely divided from each other.)

http://www.comcastusers.org/
Welcome to the Comcast Users Union Home Page!
The Comcast Users Union Website. The INDEPENDENT source of information for customers of Comcast Internet, Cable TV and Cellular Phone businesses.

http://linux.umbc.edu/lug-mailing-list/1999-11/msg00382.html
Re: Comcast firewalled?

You would be wise to pull the plug with this outfit!

 

Checky.....right about now your offered solution sounds just about right....the situation with ip's has reached the outragous point........



Prince

WOW!! thats alot of info you found....an it sure explains some rather odd behavior I have experienced while connected........even as I type I am watching packets going to comcast.......this is what they claim is monitoring the modem connection........for awhile I prevented the outbounds just to see what would result......an after about an hour my connection froze....could not surf.....
As for the MAN IN THE MIDDLE issue......a great many internet providers are doing this these days......completely unknown to users........most users....even the experienced would never even be awear of this issue........its part of the "proxy cache server" system..........I spent an entire year researching this issue.......an could not find anyone even slightly interested........an sadly this is by far not a new issue....no attempt was made to hide its useage...
while people were in an uproar wondering about magic lantern........information was being collected and stored all during that time.....an not by any government.....an now all any one wanting infomation need do....is check the cache servers............supposedly the information is kept for three days.....yeah right......AN YES THE INTENTION WAS ALWAYS TO INSERT TARGETED ADVERTISMENT AND COLLECT USER HABITS>>PROFILING!!!!!!!!!
before anyone considers asking me questions...DON'T!!!
I have no interest or desire or intention to discuss this issue....
well I have some chores to see to.....Prince thanks for taking of your time to look into this matter. right now a dial-up connection seems as appealing as cable.....I can cope with the slower downloads.....
snowman