Windows 10: privacy

Hello
Can Comcast- ISP - see my router' password and key within the gateway or should I use my own router after bridging theirs?
TY
Peter

:)

 

privacy

If Somebody hacking a lumia phone, what is the best thing we can fix it?

 

privacy

Have you considered... Linux? Linux is customizable to a much greater degree than Windows, and is much easier to deal with. You can choose what desktop environment you want, what distribution you want, and basically everything else within your distro
and DE. Also, Linux won't gather ANY of your personal data... at all. If you're paranoid, THIS is the choice for you. If you want to give it a shot, I recommend Ubuntu for a first-time Linux user; check out
this page. There are also many other choices for security and privacy: Tails is the one I would recommend specifically if privacy
is an issue. Check it out
here.

 

While I can't answer specific to Comcast my supplier in Canada, Rogers, can reset my box (modem / router) and if reset then they would know default router password and default wireless password. They want to total control from the mother ship should a customer call with issue. Can't imagine Comcast doesn't have the same capabilities. (Rogers is partnering with Comcast to use their IPTV so I imagine my box will change again in 2018)

I placed mine in Bridge mode and use my own router.

Would be interested to see what other say.

 

Yes the technicians have access to your Leased Gateway if they need to troubleshoot something. They are not going to risk their jobs by gaining the Passphrase, since their headend already tracks everything that you are doing through their system to the outside.

 

Since it is's possible, I think if is wise too get a router involved for privacy.
There are some bad guys out there, techy or not.
TY
Peter
Happy New Year to the good guys.

 

The ISP has the ability to control only what is on the WAN side of the router which means they can send commands to reset the router to default factory settings and they can send commands to turn features on/off and to set bandwidth speed limits. They cannot access the LAN side to change your passwords or gain access to your local network unless you turn off the NAT translation firewall, set a specific IP address on your LAN side to "DMZ", or have ports open - and any of those actions allows anyone to get into the LAN side of your network, not just the ISP. I don't know of any modem/router that has NAT translation turned off by default when reset to factory default settings.

Yes, I know NAT translation is redundant - Network Address Translation translation *Tongue

 

Thank you for your help. I wrote a long email on a tablet but when submitted it said it cannot take that type of entry -confused?
Anyway, I am used to using and ethernet cable to my desktop from the ISP gateway's router. Other devices run off the WiFi I set up within this router.
I used to use my router after bridging their router but it is old and slow.
I got my wife a Chromebook as she is not OK with Windows and we are taking it on vacation.
I am confused about set ups.
Can I use a wireless router, and after obtaining ac power, contact the router with the Chromebook without a cable or adapter, or should I get those to run directly to the Chromebook. I do not know if either would work although the cable should be more secure, I think.
Thank you
Peter
Would compatible chips be standard these days or would trial and error be the way to go -adapter/Chromebook/router?

 

Sorry Peter, just having a little problem understanding question(s). If you have a Chromebook and it is wireless you can connect it to your broadband supplied router. Obviously you need wireless password (or Key or Pass Phrase, what ever we want to call it.)

If you are using modern wireless protocols, not WEP, and a strong wireless password it is secure. Yes a cable is more secure but unless you have the NSA sitting outside your house with their resources a secured wireless network is secure. I've read a wireless password should be more than fourteen characters.

Really not following chips comment. I like to run behind my own router. That said and as the gentlemen have commented the ability / likelihood of your supplier penetrating your home network is very low.

A chrome book will connect to your suppliers router and your old router (not using WEP protocol) or you new router. Lots of devices are shipping without a "Wired" port so that is can or cannot be a purchase criteria.

We haven't discussed but each router is capable of connecting wirelessly at different speeds to your devices. They also connect a different speeds on a wire. Some are 100 Mbps wired, some 1000 Mbps. If you router has 1000Mbps wired ports your computer port must also be 1000 to take advantage.

Now to wireless. A lot of older routers and computers have "G'" radios, newer devices have "N" radios and newest devices have "AC" radios. The speed increases with each release. Most if not all are backward compatible. A new Chromebook will likely have at least a "N" radio. You can also Google MIMO and have a read about antennas.

Then you have to determine what speed to you pay for from your supplier. If you have fiber to home, which I understand you can get in US cities and your router only supports a "G" radio you've defeated having fiber. Look up your suppliers router on google or ask then what radios it has. Likely "N" but a lot are coming with "AC" to support the connected house.

 

Thank you for that.
I guess what I need to know is how I set up my Chromebook traveling and if it is wise to have a router.
The newer Chromebooks do not have ethernet ports so an adapter is needed.
Do I just plug in ac power and then connect the adapter to the router by cable, or is cable not necessary?

 

When you are traveling, there is 99% chance you are going to connect to the internet via some else's WiFi - such as hotel, restaurant, library, wherever you happen to be. Hundreds of millions of people connect to these public type WiFi hotspots every day. The biggest step you can take for security is to have file sharing and network discovery turned off when connected to these hotspots. Windows is great because it has public and private network settings and you can turn off file sharing and network discovery on public networks and leave them turned on for your home network.

Whether you connect the Chromebook via Ethernet cable to your router, or just use WiFi is largely a moot point because chances are you are going to have to connect to the public WiFi hotspot anyway. Now, there some advantages to using a travel router - and if you use one, make sure it has WiFi bridging - meaning it will connect to the provider's WiFi hotspot and then repeat it to your LAN side, either on it's WiFi or via Ethernet. I have used this one in the past:
Hootoo HT-TM02 Tripmate Nano

The advantages are:
1. You can maintain network sharing on your LAN side just like at home. This is good for long trips with kids or other adults that want entertainment. It's USB powered so it can run off a computer or USB charger. You can plug a USB hard drive or flash drive into it and stream movies and such to WiFi devices like tablets or the Chromebook. I did this in our car during a long driving trip. I also did some trickery to share a cell phone's data connection through the travel router so anyone in the car could connect to the internet.

2. When at the hotel, it will connect to the hotel's WiFi, usually. This gives you internet capability on your LAN side and still maintains your LAN network streaming capability. That also puts another NAT firewall between your LAN side and the hotel's WiFi.

3. The travel router is better at connecting to weak WiFi signals. We were staying in cabins and the resort's WiFi was in the main lodge. The signal in the cabin was not strong enough to connect our computers to. I set up the router with the lodge's SSID and WiFi password, stuck it in a window, and went to the hot springs. When I came back, the router had managed to pull a connection from the lodge's WiFi and gave me internet in my cabin.

The downsides:

It takes time to set up. Connecting the router to the public WiFi hotspot is not easy because you first have to connect to the router to get into the setup webpage to enter their SSID and WiFi password and if they have the login webpage type security it doesn't always work without first connecting your computer via WiFi, gaining the connection, then spoofing your computer's MAC address with the router.

It is also another piece of gear you have to haul around with you and it does require power, either from the computer USB port or a charger.

On short overnight trips I don't bother with it but on our 3 week long vacation I was glad I had it.

 

All excellent points.

For the less technical I would just connect to services offered. You mentioned it is you and wife. I been in hotels and the only wireless is in common areas to get people out of their room. Then there are the coffee shops etc that NavyLCDR mentions, you won't be setting up your device. (and you don't have to carry router or cables)

Follow NavyLCDR recommendations, always tell Windows it is a Public Network and if asked don't allow discovery or sharing with other devices. It's better to connect to a Wifi network with a password then a truly "Open" hotspot.

If you want to really protect your communications you can look at VPN software. This builds a "virtual" tunnel that your communications travel through to keep away from any prying eyes in the hotel, coffee shop, airport etc.

 

The problem with the Chrome Books is that they are a dumb device that run on Chromium OS, which is just the Chromium/Chrome Web Browser. They would have to do the following to use a VPN. That stating, of course they would also be paying a monthly or yearly cost on the VPN. I pay $39.90 through SmartDNS, so that I can get through the BBC Walled Garden. Have not had any issues.

Set up a VPN on Chromebook.
If you haven't already, sign in to your Chromebook.Click the status area, where your account picture appears.Click Settings.In the "Internet connection" section, click Add connection.Click Add OpenVPN / L2TP.In the box that appears, fill in the information below. ...Click Connect.

 

How are wires connected if:

1- I have my own router at home,
2-I have my own router at a hotel with Ethernet,
I have a router at a hotel with no Ethernet

This is the last and thank you

 

1. The LAN (Computer) side of your internet modem or internet modem/router combination from the the ISP (Internet Service Provide) will connect to the WAN side of your router and your computers will connect to the LAN side of your router.

2. The Ethernet connection from the hotel will connect to the WAN side of your router, and your computers will connect to the LAN side.

3. Your router must have WiFi bridging capability. Your router will connect to the hotel's WiFi. Your computers will connect to the LAN side of your router.