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Comcast DNS Redirection Goes Nationwide
As users continue to debate the benefits of the services

A few weeks ago we noted that Bell Canada was the latest to implement DNS redirection advertising, a system that, instead of delivering the traditional 404 response to misspelled URLs, redirects users to an ad-laden portal operated by the ISP. While praised by ISPs as a "service," it's really just a way to generate revenue off of clumsy typists, and is traditionally disliked by 'Net purists. It's getting hard to find ISPs who don't deploy it; Comcast started tinkering with it just last month, and today announced via their blog it's going nationwide:

quote:
Based on the success of the market trial we have now decided to roll out the service to the rest of our customers. Customers will receive an email explaining the service and how it works. If customers do not wish to use this service, they can use our easy to use opt-out located here, and we'll be making the opt-out process easier in the future.
Given the fact that the service went from a seven-state trial to a national deployment in less than a month, one gets the impression that the "success of the market trial" was kind of a predetermined certainty. In most instances, user input into such services is superficial, though Comcast reps have been talking with users in our forums about the new service, noting how they're at least trying to standardize the practice across ISPs. Slashdot users today just discovered Bell's DNS redirection, and aren't happy about the new service:
quote:
Click for full size
During the opt-out process, they claim to be interested in feedback, but provide no method on that page (or any other page within the 'domainnotfound.ca' site) to contact them with complaints. They note that opting-in is 'recommended' (!), and that 'In order for opt-out to work properly, you need to accept a "cookie" indicating that you have opted out of this service. If you use a program that removes cookies, you will have to repeat this opt-out process when the cookie is deleted.
Contrary to the Slashdot poster, Bell does offer a feedback link within the portal, though it's not clear if this was added after the Slashdot post. A major problem with early DNS redirection efforts were that ISPs wouldn't deliver particularly good opt-out processes. In some instances, ISPs have been kind enough to deliver "clean" DNS servers so that users wouldn't have to fiddle with cookies in order to opt-out of the cash grab. In at least one instance, the ISP backed away from the service because customer reaction was so negative.

We've been watching DNS redirection (d)evolve for a few years now, and it's kind of interesting to watch people discover the "service" for the first time. It begins with them thinking it's some kind of scam, quickly dovetails into them complaining that it's a cash-grab and against the basic principles of the Internet, and ends in begrudging acceptance. Some sign up for OpenDNS, so that ad money at least goes to a company they like. Regardless of how users feel about it, it has very quickly become an industry standard.

Update: Our hats off to Comcast for posting this handy list!
view:
topics flat nest 

Cjaiceman
MVM
join:2004-10-12
Castle Rock, WA

1 edit

Cjaiceman

MVM

Opt-Out

I've already opted out a few weeks ago. I don't need this garbage on DNS servers. I would highly suggest that everyone else does it to.

SLD
Premium Member
join:2002-04-17
San Francisco, CA

SLD

Premium Member

Re: Opt-Out

I will when I can get the MAC address off the modem. Unfortunately, it is not in an easy place to reach.

Cjaiceman
MVM
join:2004-10-12
Castle Rock, WA

Cjaiceman

MVM

Re: Opt-Out

usually it can be found somewhere on the status page for it.
»192.168.100.1
Try that.

Snowy
Lock him up!!!
Premium Member
join:2003-04-05
Kailua, HI

Snowy

Premium Member

Re: Opt-Out

said by Cjaiceman:

usually it can be found somewhere on the status page for it.
»192.168.100.1
Try that.
I never knew that!

SLD
Premium Member
join:2002-04-17
San Francisco, CA

SLD to Cjaiceman

Premium Member

to Cjaiceman
I replied earlier to JL that your suggestion worked great. He wrote the same thing as you.
Well, thanks!

S_engineer
Premium Member
join:2007-05-16
Chicago, IL

1 edit

S_engineer

Premium Member

they should have Billy Mays announce this.

Comcast is just full of news today........thiis is no big deal, but it also follows the trend of how to ring out a penny.

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

1 edit

FFH5

Premium Member

Re: they should have Billy Mays announce this.

said by S_engineer:

they should have Billy Mays announce this
That would be quite a trick, since he died a month ago.

»www.nydailynews.com/news ··· ome.html

ropeguru
Premium Member
join:2001-01-25
Mechanicsville, VA

ropeguru

Premium Member

Re: they should have Billy Mays announce this.

said by FFH5:

said by S_engineer:

they should have Billy Mays announce this
That would be quite a trick, since he died a week ago.

»www.nydailynews.com/news ··· ome.html
Wouldn't surprise me though if Comcast had that predetermined also.

fifty nine
join:2002-09-25
Sussex, NJ

fifty nine to FFH5

Member

to FFH5
said by FFH5:

said by S_engineer:

they should have Billy Mays announce this
That would be quite a trick, since he died a week ago.

»www.nydailynews.com/news ··· ome.html
Not a week ago, a MONTH ago.

SLD
Premium Member
join:2002-04-17
San Francisco, CA

SLD

Premium Member

Re: they should have Billy Mays announce this.

Yeah, didn't you hear everyone *shouting* for joy?!?

David
Premium Member
join:2002-05-30
Granite City, IL

David to FFH5

Premium Member

to FFH5
said by FFH5:
said by S_engineer:

they should have Billy Mays announce this
That would be quite a trick, since he died a week ago.

»www.nydailynews.com/news ··· ome.html
That would be quite the trick considering he died over a month ago. Dying 2x and announcing this product on behalf of comcast.

S_engineer
Premium Member
join:2007-05-16
Chicago, IL

S_engineer

Premium Member

Re: they should have Billy Mays announce this.

i just saw a commercial with him in it selling some planting type auger with a free drill. The first words out of his mouth were "I'm Billy mays and I'm back". This was less than a week ago. He must still be haunting the cable channels.....

bobobobo
@rr.com

bobobobo

Anon

Re: they should have Billy Mays announce this.

But he is back. Back in our hearts *sobs*

dvd536
as Mr. Pink as they come
Premium Member
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ

dvd536 to S_engineer

Premium Member

to S_engineer
said by S_engineer:

Comcast is just full of news today........thiis is no big deal, but it also follows the trend of how to ring out a penny.
Only that billy only pitched stuff he believed in.
oh yeah, he's dead too.
Expand your moderator at work

Devanchya
Smile
Premium Member
join:2003-12-09
Ajax, ON

Devanchya

Premium Member

It's the secondary that is the problem...

My main issue with these "fing money grabs" is it breaks secondary fail-over for dns.

If Comcast or Bell Canada DNS says the domain isn't there, well what about another DNS server? Bell is famous for having a crumy "cheap" DNS system...

Ah well, sit back and enjoy the rid folks. ARPU is the rule now, and if it adds even 1 cent to the ARPU, it's coming in... the user will get use to it sooner or later.
backness
join:2005-07-08
K2P OW2

backness

Member

Re: It's the secondary that is the problem...

I agree Management accounting and the Internet meet and it keeps getting worse here in Canada.

What was the problem again? Was there something wrong with the way DNS servers worked in the past? Did I miss the post on here about why DNS needed to be "Improved"?

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

1 edit

FFH5

Premium Member

Don't mind DNS service; then kill ads with adblock plus w FF

If you don't see anything troublesome about hints for the correct domain when you mistype, then you can stay in the redirected DNS service. But if ads truly bug you then use the adblock plus add-on in Firefox or the IE7Pro add-on for Internet Explorer.

I use adblock plus and get no ads with my OpenDNS service.

OpenDNS with adblock ON

Adblock ON

OpenDNS with adblock OFF

Adblock OFF
FFH5

FFH5

Premium Member

Re: Don't mind DNS service; then kill ads with adblock plus w FF

Did the opt-out procedure. Took 1 day for them to accomplish request.

misiek
Premium Member
join:2000-12-25
Round Lake, IL

misiek

Premium Member

Slow opt-out page.

Based on the slowness of Comcast's page, can one assume that the people are trying to opt-out in large numbers?

(/sarcasm off)

ctg1701a
join:2008-08-07
Media, PA

ctg1701a

Member

Re: Slow opt-out page.

said by misiek:

Based on the slowness of Comcast's page, can one assume that the people are trying to opt-out in large numbers?

(/sarcasm off)
We are monitoring the page and it is responding normally. If you are having issues connecting to it please PM me.

misiek
Premium Member
join:2000-12-25
Round Lake, IL

misiek

Premium Member

Re: Slow opt-out page.

Thanks. I was able to access the opt-out page a few minutes ago without issues.

FreedomBuild
Well done is better than well said
Premium Member
join:2004-10-08
Rockford, IL

FreedomBuild to misiek

Premium Member

to misiek
I pre opted out the second I caught wind of it. Because I know their selected 'testing' area was pretty much all network. I have learned never to trust a thing Comcasts says or hints at

ctg1701a
join:2008-08-07
Media, PA

ctg1701a

Member

Re: Slow opt-out page.

said by FreedomBuild:

I pre opted out the second I caught wind of it. Because I know their selected 'testing' area was pretty much all network. I have learned never to trust a thing Comcasts says or hints at
This is why we deployed the opt-out nationwide and why you could opt-out at anytime.

I would say we have been very up front about this deployment so I hope that would earn some trust.
zed2608
Premium Member
join:2007-09-30
Cleveland, TN

zed2608

Premium Member

Re: Slow opt-out page.

in some ways i trust the chinise and there great firewall more then comcast

PapaMidnight
join:2009-01-13
Baltimore, MD

PapaMidnight

Member

Re: Slow opt-out page.

said by zed2608:

in some ways i trust the chinise and there great firewall more then comcast
For some reason, I actually laughed at that.
zed2608
Premium Member
join:2007-09-30
Cleveland, TN

zed2608

Premium Member

Re: Slow opt-out page.

the funny thing is im serious

FreedomBuild
Well done is better than well said
Premium Member
join:2004-10-08
Rockford, IL

1 edit

FreedomBuild to ctg1701a

Premium Member

to ctg1701a
read my review and get a sampling of the BS I have been going through with Comcast for the last year and half...Mind you I said sampling... never mind some of the personal coverstaions and correspondence I have had with 'certain Comcast officials' then examine their past track record with open blatant lying. Comcast to me, keeps walking and talking like a duck...

I rest my case on the 'limited' test area. Probably one of the other reasons I had noticed a major change in some of the tests I have ran.

Download speed has always been an issue for us in Rockford. IL

I must also stress that a half truth is a whole lie...

ctg1701a
join:2008-08-07
Media, PA

ctg1701a

Member

Re: Slow opt-out page.

said by FreedomBuild:

read my review and get a sampling of the BS I have been going through with Comcast for the last year and half...Mind you I said sampling... never mind some of the personal coverstaions and correspondence I have had with 'certain Comcast officials' then examine their past track record with open blatant lying. Comcast to me, keeps walking and talking like a duck...

I rest my case on the 'limited' test area. Probably one of the other reasons I had noticed a major change in some of the tests I have ran.

Download speed has always been an issue for us in Rockford. IL

I must also stress that a half truth is a whole lie...
I can understand your frustration and if you are continuing to have issues, please feel free to reach out to me or any of the Comcast representatives here.

FreedomBuild
Well done is better than well said
Premium Member
join:2004-10-08
Rockford, IL

FreedomBuild

Premium Member

Re: Slow opt-out page.

I have to laugh at this one..nothing personal...but when HAVEN'T I been having issues with Comcast service. It was when I had Insightbb.
jus10
join:2009-08-04
Gainesville, VA

jus10 to ctg1701a

Member

to ctg1701a
You've been more upfront than the whole RST packet debacle so I will give you that. However, I'm sure you and your management knew this move would be unpopular amongst the "power user" demographic. I give you credit and thank you for your list below of "opt-out" dns servers but I do want add my name to the "unhappy about this" list.

Debating on whether I'm going to get DNS working on my mini-home server. Don't think I'm in the mood tonight but maybe next weekend.

funchords
Hello
MVM
join:2001-03-11
Yarmouth Port, MA

1 recommendation

funchords to ctg1701a

MVM

to ctg1701a
said by ctg1701a:

I would say we have been very up front about this deployment so I hope that would earn some trust.
"Hey, buddy, I have a new super-sensitive car alarm that might go off a few times a night, but you can close your window or sleep in another room."

Helpful, Earned some trust? Yes
Fixed the problem? No

SlickEnW
Premium Member
join:2003-01-21
Seattle, WA

SlickEnW

Premium Member

I was wondering...

Why comcast was doing this. Guess I know. Time to opt out
b10010011
Whats a Posting tag?
join:2004-09-07
united state

b10010011

Member

Must I say it again?

It's easier than people think it is to run your own DNS server on your local machine or LAN.

Treewalk DNS server for Windows is free for personal use.
»treewalkdns.com/

*nix users can install Bind
»www.bind9.net/

Mac users?

ctg1701a
join:2008-08-07
Media, PA

ctg1701a

Member

Re: Must I say it again?

said by b10010011:

It's easier than people think it is to run your own DNS server on your local machine or LAN.

Mac users?
MAC users can also run BIND for caching. I would also take a look at unbound: »www.unbound.net/

There are many alternatives to run your own caching servers and you can even forward to our non-redirecting servers to utilize those caches there.

Here is a list we posted today for your reference:

»dns.comcast.net/dns-ip-a ··· ses.html

comcastuser
@comcast.net

comcastuser

Anon

Re: Must I say it again?

CTG: Thank you so much for posting that list. It only took a few seconds for me to update my computer to use the opted-out DNS servers. While I would argue that substantial changes to service like this ought to be opt-in rather than opt-out, I appreciate Comcast providing a way to opt-out.

PLEASE, inform Comcast's tech support personnel of the existence of this list. This morning, I spent more than an hour on the phone with several different Comcast tech support people because the opt out site wasn't sending me the expected confirmation email. Though all of the people I talked to seemed to genuinely want to help, none of them knew what to suggest. A "supervisor" even told me, "We haven't been trained on this". If any of the people I had talked to had been able to tell me, "Just switch your DNS settings to use this different server", I could have gone away satisfied instead of frusterated.

The confirmation email did finally show up, something like 8 hours after I filled out the opt-out form. And after I clicked the link, I was told it would take another two days for the opt-out to take effect! There's no need for that. Wouldn't it be much easier for all concerned if Comcast informed everyone of the existence of the list? You could put a link to it on the opt-out page itself.
Phillip
I Need A Nap
join:2004-12-21
Hatboro, PA

Phillip

Member

ISP

God, I remember back when I had an Internet Service Provider, they were called Bellatlantic.

And today, I have a Internet Service Portal, and its called Comcast.

•••

zalternate
join:2007-02-22
freedom land

zalternate

Member

DNS redirect by Comcast

As has been said before.
Hackers go to jail when caught redirecting your web page queries.
So why isn't the ISP going to jail for hacking?
Hey Comcast Executives, it's only a white collar crime and you get to go to this nice country club jail with minimum fencing for a few months. Free medical and 3 meals a day.

Anything like this must be opt in... Or at least declared Illegal. Since the ISP is controlling your Internet connection with re-directs to AD's disguised as a search engine page.
Otherwise, how do you really know you are at the normal web page you wanted? Other than confirming via a IP address.

••••••

swhx7
Premium Member
join:2006-07-23
Elbonia

swhx7

Premium Member

It's for NX domains, not 404s

You get a 404 when you've contacted the server (DNS worked) and it doesn't have the page. What this is doing is replacing NXDOMAIN answers from DNS, for nonexistent domains. Nothing to do with 404s.

Scatcatpdx
Fur It Up
join:2007-06-22
Portland, OR

Scatcatpdx

Member

Much Ado About Nothing (Again)

My browsers show ether the browsers message or redirect to Goggle. Why is this an issue except to Comcast in a bad light.
60529262 (banned)
join:2007-01-11
Chicago, IL

60529262 (banned)

Member

Re: Much Ado About Nothing (Again)

It's an issue because with this DNS interference your your browser will not show it's message nor redirect to Google. You'll get Comcast's ad-laden page instead.
raccettura0
join:2002-09-28
USA

raccettura0

Member

Submitted Opt Out Request... no response yet

I submitted an opt-out request, but so far haven't gotten the response/confirmation yet. Sigh.

••••
tmc8080
join:2004-04-24
Brooklyn, NY

tmc8080

Member

profiting off the lazy masses...

Wasn't what that 250gb cap was all about? Profitting off the lazy masses who wouldn't dare switch providers (if they have a choice in their markets). I promise you, if 1 million + subscribers called and had lines around the block to switch service... you can bet your a** that something would change.

ahulett
Premium Member
join:2003-02-02
Little Elm, TX

1 edit

1 recommendation

ahulett

Premium Member

At least we can opt-out...

I said it in another post. I'll say it here. If this were occurring on users' physical boxes without their consent, it'd be malware. The fact the change occurs in the cloud creates no difference. But, Comcast and other ISPs aren't interested in changing the behavior, and I'm unwilling to accept it in an opt-out only state. However, I understand Comcast's positioning, and from one person I had a quick dialog with, it appears they understand my position as well, and we respectfully agree to disagree.

Did you opt-out? I started a Facebook group just for the heck of having some form of camaraderie more than anything. It's here.

//A

The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own, and do not necessarily reflect those of Microsoft. Microsoft is a registered trademark or trademark in the United States and/or other countries.

kapil
The Kapil
join:2000-04-26
Chicago, IL

kapil

Member

God Damn It!

Fuck. I hate this shit. Stop fucking with stuff that isn't broken.

And why is this shit always opt-out? If you Comcast assholes think this is such a grand idea, make it opt-in and watch as the unwashed masses sign up in droves. Why do I have to opt out?

Just like with those credit card privacy notices....opt-out. Fuck you. Instead of paying lip service to my privacy, actually respect my privacy and fuck off. Leave me the fuck alone.

And what if I had scripts or systems that actually depended on a nxdomain response?

Comcast, may you burn in hell.

•••••
mscottc
join:2006-07-16
Jersey City, NJ

mscottc

Member

Not a Comcast supporter, but this is not so evil

I'm not so sure why people are so angry about this. If you don't like it, opt out of it. Those who aren't computer savvy enough to opt out immediately can often use the assistance in reaching their desired URL that this service provides. Those of us who know better should have no problem opting out. It took me all of about 2 minutes.

I'd like to think that more advertising revenue would help keep rates down, but that I know is a pipedream that isn't true. If you want to have a fight with Comcast, have it with them over their Cable TV rates which are totally obnoxious.
Seeley
join:2009-01-31
Eatontown, NJ

Seeley

Member

Comcast = Greed

There you again, Comcast. You can't help yourselves, can you?. Your arrogance and greed offend me.
jus10
join:2009-08-04
Gainesville, VA

jus10

Member

Well that didn't work

I have 6 emails in my inbox from Comcast saying my cable modem isn't registered with them so I'm going to have to call to opt out.

Wonderful. Phone tech support with Comcast. Just what I want to do. Sigh.

The scary part is I wonder what cable modem MAC they do have me registered with ...

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

jlivingood

Premium Member

Re: Well that didn't work

Don't know what the error could be -- PM your info to ctg1701a
to have him manually opt you out.
jus10
join:2009-08-04
Gainesville, VA

jus10

Member

Re: Well that didn't work

Thank you; PM sent.
djcrazy
Premium Member
join:2009-08-05
Minneapolis, MN

1 edit

djcrazy

Premium Member

opendns.com

Comcast DNS servers have always sucked in my area. I use open DNS instead. With IE7Pro for IE and Adblock Plus for Firefox, along with Spybot search and destroy, I rarely get bothered by ads and other nuisances
RiverMerger
join:2007-12-19
Hinsdale, IL

RiverMerger

Member

Re: opendns.com

You lost me when you said you still use IE anything.