UPC Broadband - lack of privacy

beer enigma

Just throwing this one open....

My broadband just went down, so I phoned UPC & they seemingly connected into my router.

We got the connection working, but the guy at UPC then proceeded to tell me he could see my three computers connected & named them :eek:.

I have WPA running...do they have a 'backdoor' ????

Extremely worrying !!

Faolchu

they use the admin consoul to access the router via its external IP. all ISPs have thsi feature it allows the to test connectivity and carry out support if you're having problems. a lot of IT support comoanies also have this feature for their clients.

teh WPA you use is for encrypting the data traffic between your wireless transmitter on your router and the wirless network cards on your PCs and laptops etc.

bk

As Faolchu says, not unusual.

They can also monitor and record all information sent across your broadband connection, unless it is encrypted (ssl, https, secure VPN, etc.).

This is true of all ISP's, not just UPC.

Privacy and anonymity don't really exist on the net.

If you want to hide the numbers and names of PC's connected to the UPC router, then you can do so by adding your own wireless router to the UPC router and connecting everything else to that. Then UPC will only be able to see this router and not what is attached to it.

Of course that won't stop them seeing all the information being sent and received on your connection.

beer enigma

bk wrote: »

As Faolchu says, not unusual.

They can also monitor and record all information sent across your broadband connection, unless it is encrypted (ssl, https, secure VPN, etc.).

This is true of all ISP's, not just UPC.

Privacy and anonymity don't really exist on the net.

If you want to hide the numbers and names of PC's connected to the UPC router, then you can do so by adding your own wireless router to the UPC router and connecting everything else to that. Then UPC will only be able to see this router and not what is attached to it.

Of course that won't stop them seeing all the information being sent and received on your connection.

Thanks - my only concern is that I run a business from home & hold confidential info on one of the pc's - not too worried about them watching my traffic as its only news sites etc...

If I connect a seperate router to my UPC router and plug my pc's into the new router, does this take my pc's 'off limits' to them ?

paulm17781

Andip wrote: »

f I connect a seperate router to my UPC router and plug my pc's into the new router, does this take my pc's 'off limits' to them ?

Yes it will. That said, they can see the PCs, I doubt they can access them. Use a separate router to be safe.

bk

Andip wrote: »

If I connect a seperate router to my UPC router and plug my pc's into the new router, does this take my pc's 'off limits' to them ?

Oh, they can only see the names and IP addresses of your PC's attached to their router, they can't see what is actually on your pc's

At least not without seriously breaking the law.

However you might want to make sure that your not sharing any directories with sensitive info in them. As paulm17781 says, a separate router with a firewall enabled, should improve your privacy.

beer enigma

bk wrote: »

Oh, they can only see the names and IP addresses of your PC's attached to their router, they can't see what is actually on your pc's

At least not without seriously breaking the law.

However you might want to make sure that your not sharing any directories with sensitive info in them. As paulm17781 says, a separate router with a firewall enabled, should improve your privacy.

Cool, probably a stupid question, but as the UPC (Cisco) router is a cable modem, I p[resume I can just buy a wireless router & plug it into the cable one - and if so, can I get an 'n' or n1' wireless as the cable one is only 'g' i think ?

bk

Andip wrote: »

Cool, probably a stupid question, but as the UPC (Cisco) router is a cable modem, I p[resume I can just buy a wireless router & plug it into the cable one - and if so, can I get an 'n' or n1' wireless as the cable one is only 'g' i think ?

Yes and you should disable the wireless and DNS server on the cisco as they won't be needed.

BTW If your getting a n router and plan on using a mix of g and n devices at the same time, I recommend getting a dual band, dual radio model (dual radio is the important bit, they are all dual band). Dual radio ones are more expensive, but they also preform much better.

beer enigma

bk wrote: »

Yes and you should disable the wireless and DNS server on the cisco as they won't be needed.

BTW If your getting a n router and plan on using a mix of g and n devices at the same time, I recommend getting a dual band, dual radio model (dual radio is the important bit, they are all dual band). Dual radio ones are more expensive, but they also preform much better.

Thanks bk - much appreciated

eamonpendergast

The only thing that they can see is the Comp name, the MAC address and the IP assigned.

You can see as much yourself on the router config page. A MAC address decoder can sometimes tell you the make of the comp (that and a default comp name).

A 2nd router will allow anything behind the router to remain invisable.

SeanSD

This is very interesting.
I am thinking of switching to UPC from Eircom.
I have a DSL Router that my phone line connects to. If I disable the phone line (DSL in the Router) and connect a UPC router to the existing one then everything would stay the same???

Do I need to change the IP on the Existing router or the UPC router as both cant have 192.168.1.1
I could set the Netgear router to 192.168.1.2

Also.
Every device on my home setup has its own IP address. I would really like to keep my netgear router in place and just use the UPC router to connect to the web.

Paulw

SeanSD wrote: »

This is very interesting.
I am thinking of switching to UPC from Eircom.
I have a DSL Router that my phone line connects to. If I disable the phone line (DSL in the Router) and connect a UPC router to the existing one then everything would stay the same???

Do I need to change the IP on the Existing router or the UPC router as both cant have 192.168.1.1
I could set the Netgear router to 192.168.1.2

Also.
Every device on my home setup has its own IP address. I would really like to keep my netgear router in place and just use the UPC router to connect to the web.

You won't need to change your IP addresses. The 192.168 block is private.

I'm not sure if your specific DSL router (Eircom one) will work as a router when not connected via DSL.

But, in theory, it could work.