A user for cable operator Wide Open West writes in: "Just thought you'd like to know, that I'm suspicious of my ISP, Wide Open West. I'm in the Chicagoland area, and it sure looks like they're allowing NebuAD to infect their network (sorry - my personal interpretation...I'm quite peeved about this) and altering pages to include their tracking cookies. To my knowledge I received no forewarning that they'd be trying this stunt."

Users in our Wide Open West forum confirm the deal. When we recently spoke to NebuAD's CEO about the new user-tracking network technology, he insisted that ISPs would plainly alert customers if they began using the service. However, the most WOW customers seemed to have gotten was a quietly modified terms and condition page revised in January that references NebuAD.A revised FAQ also now makes a brief mention of the service, and at least explains how users can opt out by setting a cookie (which you must reset every time you delete them). The company defines their use of deep-packet inspection hardware to track their users for profit as such:Can WOW users confirm whether they actually received any substantive warning from the provider -- either via e-mail or an alert in their bills? While NebuAD's CEO told us they've struck deals with "multiple dozens" of ISPs, few if any have been very vocal about their use of the technology.