7 replies to this topic

[Nvyseal]

Recently Charter Communication internet users have been having problems with DNS issues. Seems the story is unraveling as Charter has started to do a Deep Packet Inspection on its users.

A few weeks I, along with several others in the Southern California area were having DNS issues. See this Post I switched my DNS numbers over to "opendns servers and have resolved my problem

208.67.222.222 - Primary
208.67.220.220 - Secondary

Today, i was doing my daily cruz of the internet and ran accross a post from Hack a Day...

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Charter Communications seems to be pulling some sort of crap with their DNS servers. While working on a new project our friend Billy Hoffman, discovered that Charter was reporting absolutely every domain as resolving. They do offer a solution by providing an opt-out cookie, which isn't useful at all if you're not using a web browser... and I'm guessing most of Charter's subscribers aren't looking for a bastardized version of the net. We've seen recently that messing with DNS like this can actually open up new security holes.

This afternoon i happen to bump into another page on Arstechnica

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Charter is testing a new DPI product that scans customers' online traffic to deduce their desires, then uses that information to show them highly-targeted ads. On an FAQ page about the new program, Charter refers to it as an "enhancement to your web browsing experience." Judging by the early responses online, we're not sure that most users will agree.

If you happen to be one of those users, Charter does provide a way to opt-out of the "enhancement," but it requires filling out a form and having a special cookie placed on your machine. Should you clear your cookies or switch browsers, you will get the "enhanced" service once again until you fill out the form a second time. If Charter seriously believes that this represents an enhancement to the user experience, it should make the program opt-in and watch as the users flood in, no?

Upon further reading, The Consumerist is also reporting on this and had this to say...

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Charter, which serves nearly six million customers, is requiring users who want to keep their activity private to submit their personal information to Charter via an unencrypted form and download a privacy cookie that must be downloaded again each time a user clears his web cache or uses a different browser. The program itself, an implementation of "deep packet inspection," is more worrying to us. Deep packet inspection allows an ISP to monitor not only its users searches and visited websites, but also the type of activity (e.g., email or peer-to-peer), which could be used for traffic shaping and threatens net neutrality.

Which brings us back a full circle to DSL Reports

In another forum, seems a lot of their members are quite unhappy. and the clincher, If you dont want targeted ads for a service your already paying good money for Charter Says...

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apparently you can opt out for good for 10 dollars a month and dont have to use cookies

Charter Communications "Enhancement" Page

[m.oreilly]

well heck. you live in the big city...aren't there any other isps around to use? you might even get faster service using directv for internet access/tv, etc...
edit: opendns...that really do it for ya? cool. i'll have to give that a gander as well.

[banj0]

I've been using OpenDNS since Nvy's post and everything is going really well. The only weird thing so far was Western Union's site thinking I lived in India. Other than that, smooth sailing and fast resolves.

[m.oreilly]

banj0, on May 13 2008, 06:54 PM, said:

...The only weird thing so far was Western Union's site thinking I lived in India...

ha, they were wondering where you got them mclaughlin lics...(wow, he's 66!).

[banj0]

He's 66? Holy cow. I wonder how old DiMeola is. Off to check...

54 years old. And those guys still shred like crazy.

[m.oreilly]

banj0, on May 13 2008, 08:41 PM, said:

,,,I wonder how old DiMeola is. Off to check...

54 years old. And those guys still shred like crazy.

http://www.return2forever.com/index.cfm?pk...urce=newsletter

[Nvyseal]

the plot thickens...

Cable TV, phone and Internet service provider Charter Communications drew concern Friday from two congressmen and a privacy advocate over its plan to experiment with tracking its customers' Web use in collaboration with an online advertising firm. In response to the announcement, Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) asked Charter President and Chief Executive Neil Smit to put the plan on hold until the three can confer.

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Markey, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, is concerned about Charter's subscribers' privacy.

Collecting data about the Web habits of subscribers without their prior consent is "raises substantial questions related to Section 631" of the Communications Act, he wrote in a letter to Smit.

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Jeff Chester of the consumer rights organization Center for Digital Democracy criticized the plan and said it would be the first of its kind among major Internet service providers.

"Charter has moved into the front lines in the battle over ensuring privacy online," Chester said. "There is a huge concern about Web sites and search engine companies tracking what people do."

Newsfactor