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jlivingood
Premium Member
join:2007-10-28
Philadelphia, PA

6 recommendations

jlivingood

Premium Member

Story is inaccurate

Sorry, but I have to say this story seems really inaccurate (perhaps purposefully so). If this were the case, with ~20M customers, wouldn't there logically be more than a single anonymous & unvalidated report?

In any case, customers are free to use their Xfinity Internet service to visit any website, use any app, etc. as they are in compliance with our AUP. Nothing new there. And there is no program against Tor - heck I've even used it a few times.

weaseled386
join:2008-04-13
Edgewater, FL

weaseled386

Member

said by jlivingood:

If this were the case, with ~20M customers, wouldn't there logically be more than a single anonymous & unvalidated report?

I understand what you're saying, and I don't have a dog in this fight. However, everything has a beginning.
APG
Premium Member
join:2007-01-13

4 recommendations

APG to jlivingood

Premium Member

to jlivingood
I would guess that user was told, "We're sorry, but the Tor browser is unsupported, meaning our agents aren't trained on using it. Are you able to connect with IE, Chrome or Firefox?"

Alas, via the magic of the internet it becomes, "Comcast tells customers what they can and can't do on the internet."

GlassDarkly
@73.160.110.x

GlassDarkly

Anon

said by APG:

I would guess that user was told, "We're sorry, but the Tor browser is unsupported, meaning our agents aren't trained on using it. Are you able to connect with IE, Chrome or Firefox?"

Alas, via the magic of the internet it becomes, "Comcast tells customers what they can and can't do on the internet."

+1. The paranoid TOR users view reality thru a "glass darkly". Can't depend on descriptions of their interactions with cust svc reps.

newview
Ex .. Ex .. Exactly
Premium Member
join:2001-10-01
Parsonsburg, MD

3 recommendations

newview to jlivingood

Premium Member

to jlivingood
You'll have to admit tho, given Comcast's animosity towards it's own subscribers, and recently recorded Customer Service gaffes, this report certainly smacks of something Comcast would do.
elefante72
join:2010-12-03
East Amherst, NY

elefante72 to jlivingood

Member

to jlivingood
Lets just say journalistic integrity and three sources went out the window. This was all 3rd party say so, not chat, no recording to back it up. Not saying it didn't happen, but without some corroboration its just words on a page to drive impressions.

I did see a quote on how TOS doesn't allow proxy services, and I can't see why not. Technically speaking talking to comcast DNS server is a proxy, so it's just more of monopoly behavior and will not get any better with the merger. In fact the yoyo was probably using the Comcast DNS ervers...

If people pay for the pipe, STFU and let them use it. My electricity company doesn't say I can't plug in a heater or setup 5000W kiln. They just charge me to use it. Now if that is what Comcast really wants, then just be done with it. To me Comcast is the new Sony... Buy a few media companies and go all midevil.

On the other hand people who rely on Tor for anonymity are not informed if in fact that is their motivation.

jlivingood
Premium Member
join:2007-10-28
Philadelphia, PA

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jlivingood to newview

Premium Member

to newview
said by newview:

You'll have to admit tho, given Comcast's animosity towards it's own subscribers, and recently recorded Customer Service gaffes, this report certainly smacks of something Comcast would do.

I understand the natural skepticism, of course, but in this case the facts don't seem to be there.

newview
Ex .. Ex .. Exactly
Premium Member
join:2001-10-01
Parsonsburg, MD

newview

Premium Member

With Comcast, it's pretty obvious one hand doesn't know what the other hand is doing, so .... as in the recent article by Ars Tecnica reporting that Comcast employees were mistakenly telling some customers of its Extreme 105 service that they cannot use their own modems and must instead rent equipment from Comcast, it's ALSO possible that the articles are in fact TRUE but due to misinformed Customer Service reps.

FureverFurry
RIP Daphne: 3/12/05 - 6/19/12
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join:2012-02-20
49xxx
Zoom 5341J
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FureverFurry

Premium Member

said by newview:

With Comcast, it's pretty obvious one hand doesn't know what the other hand is doing, so .... as in the recent article by Ars Tecnica reporting that Comcast employees were mistakenly telling some customers of its Extreme 105 service that they cannot use their own modems and must instead rent equipment from Comcast, it's ALSO possible that the articles are in fact TRUE but due to misinformed Customer Service reps.

I suspect it's a bit of both an agent saying TOR is not supported and another ("ill-informed") agent flat out - errr, - fibbing that TOR violates the TOS. Bit like the agent that told me my uSNR read at their CMTS was "none of your business". Just because there isn't an employee named so-and-so doesn't mean they didn't tell the customer that was their name .
Kearnstd
Space Elf
Premium Member
join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ

Kearnstd to APG

Premium Member

to APG
That is exactly what I bet happened. Users who have a preferred browser even if its unsupported will flip out on the CAE and the ISP when told its not supported during a troubleshooting call.

Robert
Premium Member
join:2001-08-25
Miami, FL

Robert to jlivingood

Premium Member

to jlivingood
Of course Jason this story is inaccurate. Furthermore, absent of the price, the service is solid. The continued advancements that Comcast is making is evident that you have more important things to do than go around looking for ToR customers.

scaredpoet
join:2001-03-26
Monmouth Junction, NJ

scaredpoet to jlivingood

Member

to jlivingood
In any case, customers are free to use their Xfinity Internet service to visit any website, use any app, etc. as they are in compliance with our AUP. Nothing new there. And there is no program against Tor - heck I've even used it a few times.
In that case, I'm sure that Comcast will be perfectly fine with my connecting to the VPN I'm now running *all* my internet usage through in light of this story.
scaredpoet

scaredpoet to APG

Member

to APG
I would guess that user was told, "We're sorry, but the Tor browser is unsupported, meaning our agents aren't trained on using it. Are you able to connect with IE, Chrome or Firefox?"
I certainly would like to think that this is the case, but if individuals hadn't recorded their interactions with Comcast when say, they tried to cancel service, would we have believed them when they said reps were putting them on hold for hours until the call center closed, and refusing to honor their request to disconnect on the first, or fifth, or 20th time they asked within the same phone call?

My guess is the truth is somewhere down the middle. The user either was running a server, had a DMCA situation, or did something else to bring attention to his activity being just using a Tor browser; he was called by Comcast to find out what was going on; and maybe he let it slip that he was using Tor. That riled up an overly-law-and-order minded rep who decided to overreach a little, and the result is this story.

In any case, true or not, this story has reminded me that maybe I should start using a VPN more often. Since you know, Comcast has no problem with that stuff, right?