I am probably the last person to discover that Comcast has decided to allow anyone connect to my home cable modem... for free.
I should have read the entire hundreds of pages of legal agreement but I was too lazy. I have now read, and understand how the system works. The Q & A explains why cars sometime park in the street, near my house...with the person sitting at the wheel. I thought they were just using their cell phones, but now realize they were using my wifi hotspot signal. No harm, but uncomfortable to know that anyone nearby can tie into my signal. Since I have hi-speed, it would be possible for a nearby neighbor to connect for free.
The way the system is supposed to work, is that anyone with a medium to hi speed connection, can connect to anywhere there is a xfinity hotspot, just by signing in with their Comcast password. That means that people like me, who never paid attention to the XFINITYWiFi signal... are sharing their connection. Also... anyone...Comcast customer or not, can use the signal for an hour at a time, by signing up for the "free" account.
If this is as extensive as I think, it should be easy to drive around any neighborhood and find a free connection.
Since I haven't seen this discussed anywhere on this forum, I assume that I'm the last to know, and the OP should drop off the list. Just a sign of losing track of the newer technology.
The Comcast WIFI FAQ is here:
XFINITY WiFi - FAQs
I should have read the entire hundreds of pages of legal agreement but I was too lazy. I have now read, and understand how the system works. The Q & A explains why cars sometime park in the street, near my house...with the person sitting at the wheel. I thought they were just using their cell phones, but now realize they were using my wifi hotspot signal. No harm, but uncomfortable to know that anyone nearby can tie into my signal. Since I have hi-speed, it would be possible for a nearby neighbor to connect for free.
The way the system is supposed to work, is that anyone with a medium to hi speed connection, can connect to anywhere there is a xfinity hotspot, just by signing in with their Comcast password. That means that people like me, who never paid attention to the XFINITYWiFi signal... are sharing their connection. Also... anyone...Comcast customer or not, can use the signal for an hour at a time, by signing up for the "free" account.
If this is as extensive as I think, it should be easy to drive around any neighborhood and find a free connection.
Since I haven't seen this discussed anywhere on this forum, I assume that I'm the last to know, and the OP should drop off the list. Just a sign of losing track of the newer technology.
The Comcast WIFI FAQ is here:
XFINITY WiFi - FAQs