Charter Spectrum → Charter Installed a Non-removable Cookie in my System

Needless to say I'm pissed after working on this for 4 solid hours.
This is pure BS! I'm unable to go anywhere but the Charter Install page.

It's in both browsers so I cannot remove it as it just keeps coming back. I've restarted both browsers many times. Anybody have any suggestions? Posting from my laptop.

More than likely your modem is unprovisioned, call tech support.

I've been on chat with tech support and also e-mail. All I've had is line troubleshooters so far. They don't have a clue about software.

My modem is fine as my e-mail is working and my laptop is posting here with that same modem. It's my system they messed with and I can't browse with my main computer. The picture is evidence!

I've been with Charter for 5 years and gave them good reviews but now I think it's time to jump ship. I have 2 accounts and pay around $175 a month. That's all going to end..

Provision your modem!

Again? The cookie won't leave after I did..

Why would I want to do that again with speeds on my laptop like this a few minutes ago? Read my above post.. Modem is fine, SB6120 DOCSIS 3.0

Do you have a router?

If so, remove it and connect direct to the modem, then power cycle the modem and PC? Can you get anywhere after?

If it still only goes to install.charter.com have tech support check the config file (provisioning) on the modem.

BTW, did you ever fill out the install.charter.com page?

I provisioned with that page once and the modem was good to go.

Both computers are working through my Airport router great. Here's what I found out on the Apple forum. Charter puts the install config in so when you turn on the computer and hit the browser it automatically brings up the Charter provisioning page. It does that with the cookie in the above pict. No matter what address the browser wants it takes it to the Charter page. That's what keeps on happening over and over. The cookie won't go away, it's a Charter bonus by some misinformed programmer.

So I need for the guru's at Charter (if there is any) to tell me how to permanently the F*&^%ing cookie that keeps popping up. I even set my cookies to "never accept" and the damn thing just keeps appearing.

It's not the cookie routing you to install.charter.com, it's the "walled garden" system doing it based on your modem provisioning. Once you're at the install page, the cookie is downloaded.

You're hitting the "Walled garden" because the modem isn't provisioned right.

It doesn't always work right when home routers are involved... due to the way DHCP leases are handled, DNS caching, etc.

OK, I'll go straight to the modem with the ethernet cable and eliminate the router..

Still the same thing. I checked the modem status page at »192.168.100.1/ and showed normal operational. Signal levels looked good.

Same thing as in you go to install.charter.com?

If so, what happens if you go through the install.charter.com pages now?

PS, the modem will indicate normal operation because it's getting everything it needs to sync... but more than likely it's getting a "unprov" config file or something like it.

The modem has to be registered again.

Just for kicks here's a screen shot of the status page..

How about if I do a hard restart on the whole computer letting it set for a few minutes instead of a fast restart? I get spooky re-provisioning so many times...

That's what one of the Apple guys suggested..

Success, it's gone! Thank you..

I'm back in the router now and it's still gone. This maybe has something to do with the latest Apple system I've only had a few days. What ever they put in the system hopefully is gone forever..

On edit, there were some Charter techs working on the service across the street and that's when I lost signal. I stole the neighbors wi-fi signal to get tech support to reset the modem and that's when they sent the file.

I've seen that exact thing happen on a couple other computers of people who live in my area who have called me up after first getting Charter.

EXACTLY why when I connect a modem, I CALL in the MAC address instead of using that messed up page.

In fact, when I first signed back up with Charter a few weeks ago, the brand new SB6120 wouldn't do squat except go that page. Don't know why I was gullible enough to try it to begin with.

Glad to hear you got it fixed.

Thanks! Thinking back I was already provisioned BEFORE the tech at Charter sent that page. The page must be designed to let you provision a new modem not already in the system.

So when I re-provisioned an already provisioned modem the file thought it gained permanent residence.. I run two constant clone external backup hard drives so now it's also in the backups.

The thing is, I told the online tech my modem was probably OK and I just needed a reset. When told of the problem he said just clear your cookies and cache so I did. That was a mistake because the file was somewhere outside of the browsers. Now my auto passwords are asking for login everywhere I go. The SB6120 modem is blazing fast so I really don't need a cache.

For future information Charter should let us know where that file resides so we can get it out of the system for good. Some hacker maybe could use that for a keystroke logger or spy ware. I ran my spyware program this morning already.

What a night!

The config (provisioning) file resides in the modem, it never touches your computer. The install.charter.com website interfaces with the provisioning and billing systems. It changes entries on the DHCP server that tells the modem to download the right config file when it receives its IP lease.

There aren't any files Charter or other cable ISPs need to load on your computer to activate cable internet service.

Thanks for the info DrDrew! Here's what I don't understand;

After I provisioned the first time the browsers would go the correct URL EXCEPT when I tried to go to amazon.com. Only amazon.com would take me to the Charter page (both Safari & Firefox) and at the same time would reinstall the cookie regardless. I had the cookies set to "not except" and it still would show up.

I also run Windows 7 on the same computer but I haven't tried IE yet. Maybe I'll fire up Windows and do that now.

What I don't understand, if it was in the modem why die the hard restart on the CPU correct the problem? I did not power down the modem at that time.

When the modem gets an upprovisioned config file, IPs and DNS setting tend to be changed. When the modem gets the correct config file, those settings usually get changed again.

If the modem wasn't reset the last time, but the PC was and that fixed it then something was probably cleared on reset after the modem picked up the right config file.

It flushed the DNS cache, picked up a new IP, picked up new DNS servers, etc. Routers get in the way of that sometimes too.

OK, thanks.. I won't worry about that cookie any more. I'm posting this with Windows 7 & IE. I just did a 20 MB down and & 2 MB up with Windows. This modem seems a lot faster since the new provision and the dual band Airport router.

I could have had a bad cable also. I just ordered two decent Cat 6 short cables for the modem to router and on the the CPU.