AfterDawn: Tech news

EFF details evidence of Comcast traffic management

Written by Rich Fiscus @ 29 Nov 2007 8:55 User comments (13)

EFF details evidence of Comcast traffic management

Consumer rights activixts at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) have released a report detailing evidence they've amassed against Comcast over the cable provider's "network management," which apparently manages BitTorrent connections right off their network.
According to the EFF report, Comcast's network management software isn't just prioritizing traffic. It's actually spoofing network traffic in order to fool BitTorrent clients that there's something fishy about the connection - which of course there is. It just appears to be something Comcast is intentionally doing, rather than network issues that would cause the clients to legitemately close connections.

Despite Comcast's claims to the EFF that they don't target any specific application, the type of traffic being reported would be exactly that - targeted attacks on connections for specific programs. Although they couldn't confirm with 100% certainty that the forged RST (reset connection) packets are coming from Comcast's equipment, it can be confirmed that the mysterious connection resets only occur when one or more of the ends of a BitTorrent connection is through a Comcast connection.



You can find the entire EFF report in PDF format on their website.


Previous Next  

13 user comments

130.11.2007 05:06
nobrainer
Inactive

its crunch time for p2p, if the usa follows the uk all isp's will have that traffic shaping and blocking p2p between certain hours for the benefit of their customers!


This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 30 Nov 2007 @ 5:08

230.11.2007 08:57

is their anything as Comcast subscribers we can do. Because I know comcast does it to me and it shuts my entire home network down unless I kill the bittorent application.

330.11.2007 12:32

Heh. i could give you all the evidance you need from comcast. you see monitering work both ways my friend if you just shut down my network i know from what ip address and were in the world it came from.

but about a year ago the topped the iceberg by scanning my computer files remotly. i called them up and asked them why the first time in years they admited it. i said it was fine and swithed to bright house
the next day. you do not search my computer without my permission.

I know why they did it but it had nuthing to do with my computer. i simply turned my UP/DOWN Caps on my cable modem off for a day. they'll cancle you contract now adays if you do that

430.11.2007 15:57

Well, they were gonna get caught. It's only a matter of time before the ignorant masses start to catch on, become informed, then fight back. Something tells me they're going to have to redesign their business model...

Originally posted by DXR88:
but about a year ago the topped the iceberg by scanning my computer files remotly.
If that's true, that's a lawsuit right there. That's a big invasion of privacy and can be fought with many anti-hacker laws.

530.11.2007 18:55

Throttle the consumer and they'll throttle you right back.

630.11.2007 19:48

So is there anything us Concast Users can do? I don't want them searching my computer's files. I guess I can switch to Verizon wireless but I think it is slower than what Concast offers.

730.11.2007 21:28

Quote:
c1c So is there anything us Concast Users can do? I don't want them searching my computer's files. I guess I can switch to Verizon wireless but I think it is slower than what Concast offers.


they won't unless you spook them. like turning your Down/Up Caps off.

Quote:
WierdName If that's true, that's a lawsuit right there. That's a big invasion of privacy and can be fought with many anti-hacker laws.
i would have if i didnt breech there contract. they were throttling me hard so i turned the Cap off on the modem. boy it was fun too i got like 50 mbyts a sec that day.

830.11.2007 21:45

Quote:
i would have if i didnt breech there contract. they were throttling me hard so i turned the Cap off on the modem. boy it was fun too i got like 50 mbyts a sec that day.
Wait... WHAT?! You can turn off your speed limit, even just until they cancel your contract?! That's awesome. Of course, if you didn't do that, you could have sued- it being a reasonable lawsuit and not the crap that goes on nowadays- and made enough money to pay for a constant T1 connection for quite awhile.

930.11.2007 21:57

Quote:
WierdName Wait... WHAT?! You can turn off your speed limit, even just until they cancel your contract?! That's awesome.
Yeah it was about a year ago there was a big flaw in cable modem's that allowed you to turn off cap limits.


Quote:
WierdName Of course, if you didn't do that, you could have sued- it being a reasonable lawsuit and not the crap that goes on nowadays- and made enough money to pay for a constant T1 connection for quite awhile.
true but i didn't want a counter lawsuit's

1030.11.2007 22:17

Quote:
true but i didn't want a counter lawsuit's
I was meaning if you hadn't turned off the cap. It would have been a fair lawsuit.

111.12.2007 15:48

Oh.... sorry didnt catch that

121.12.2007 16:27

Originally posted by DXR88:
Oh.... sorry didnt catch that
No problem.

1321.12.2007 21:35

Is it the season that all the organization bring out their reports with there numbers.

Comments have been disabled for this article.

Latest news

VLC hits milestone: over 5 billion downloads VLC hits milestone: over 5 billion downloads (16 Mar 2024 4:31)
VLC Media Player, the versatile video-software powerhouse, has achieved a remarkable feat: it has been downloaded over 5 billion times.
1 user comment
Sideloading apps to Android gets easier, as Google settles its lawsuit Sideloading apps to Android gets easier, as Google settles its lawsuit (19 Dec 2023 11:09)
Google settled its lawsuit in September 2023, and one of the settlement terms was that the way applications are installed on Android from outside the Google Play Store must become simpler. In the future, installing APK files will be easier.
8 user comments
Roomba Combo j7+ review - Clever trick allows robot vacuum finally to tackle home with rugs and carpets Roomba Combo j7+ review - Clever trick allows robot vacuum finally to tackle home with rugs and carpets (06 Jun 2023 9:19)
Roomba Combo j7+ is the very first Roomba model to combine robot vacuum with mopping features. And Roomba Combo j7+ does all that with a very clever trick, which tackles the problem with mopping and carpets. But is it any good? We found out.
Neato, the robot vacuum company, ends its operations Neato, the robot vacuum company, ends its operations (02 May 2023 3:38)
Neato Robotics has ceased its operations. American robot vacuum pioneer founded in 2005 has finally called it quits and company will cease its operations and sales. Only a skeleton crew will remain who will keep the servers running until 2028.
5 user comments
How to Send Messages to Yourself on WhatsApp How to Send Messages to Yourself on WhatsApp (20 Mar 2023 1:25)
The world's most popular messaging platform, Meta-owned WhatsApp has enabled sending messages to yourself. While at first, this might seem like an odd feature, it can be very useful in a lot of situations. ....
18 user comments

News archive