digg

Join DiggAbout

Discover and share the best of the web!
Learn more about Digg by taking the tour.

Dear Comcast, The Million Dollar Question:

fsckin.com — Is You Is Or Is You Ain't Blocking My Torrents?

Bury
show profanity settings
expand all
  • estaticd, on 10/27/2007, -7/+204Comcast is a peice of *****, this torrent filtering bullsh!t just proves it again.
    • lastdeadmouse, on 10/25/2007, -14/+5word.
      • skunkman62, on 10/25/2007, -5/+2up
      • Twisty, on 10/25/2007, -3/+2sideways
      • Iwantawii, on 11/03/2007, -0/+2How come when you ask somebody if they want to do something, if they say that they're either "down" for it or "yeah i'm up for it" it means the same damn thing?
      • ThndrShk2k, on 11/03/2007, -1/+1"word."
        No, sentence.
    • 77boy84, on 10/26/2007, -46/+2Yeah! How dare comcast try to stop piracy!
      ***** them!

      Yeah, some people don't use torrents for pirating games, but so many ***** people use it for the wrong reasons, and force comcast to throttle your connections.

      Don't blame them, blame the people that don't feel like buying their *****.
      • jcaino, on 10/25/2007, -1/+18they could do a LOT to stop the endless spread of virus, spam, server attacks from all the infected boxes on their network, but do they? nope. they're in bed with the MPAA/RIAA guys. The movies is obvious...but bear in mind they have their Rhapsody music service as well.
        • B1663r, on 10/26/2007, -25/+1Pirated software IS the main vector of virus, which makes your computer part of a bot net which is used either for spam relay or DDOS attacks...

          So comcast IS doing something about that, now arnt they?
          • PathDaemon, on 10/25/2007, -0/+18Yeah, no it's not.
          • GawtMilk, on 10/25/2007, -6/+1Uh, it really is. Most every keygen I've downloaded has a trojan or virus. They don't take over my system, but I do get a popup from Norton when I run the .EXE. Yes, even the ones that work. I've noticed this from CORE, DIAMOND and other "name brand" crack teams..
          • SteveMax, on 10/25/2007, -0/+1"u cant hack me i got norton"? Right...

            BTW, Norton sells software that is cracked by groups like these. It's pretty easy for them to use such a tactic to scare people from cracks.
          • ThndrShk2k, on 10/25/2007, -0/+1The main vector of virii and malicious code is not piracy. It's actually exploits in browser code. Why do you think many people who use the internet for email and occasional browsing have a gazillions of spyware, adware, and virus files on their computers?
            Because they all are pirates during the night, when they have no clue what a 'bittorrent' is, thinking it's some kind of localized violent sea movement? Um... no.
          • astrotrain, on 10/25/2007, -0/+1Yeah sure like they are trying to Stop Spam... and Claim they are a 'Fibre' network.... the only fibre they have is whats shooting out of their butts after Koshi cereal.
        • mrsteveman1, on 10/26/2007, -0/+12For the idiots in the room, what jcaino probably means is that Comcast could have used their obviously excessive time and money to detect machines that are part of a botnet, and notified the owner of the problem, but they are instead wasting massive effort and money trying to block an entire protocol at the request of the MPAA and RIAA, this has nothing to do with bandwidth, which they have plenty of even through they refuse to update their own network to save profits.

          Which one do you suppose will have a bigger effect on malware, blocking bittorrent, or detecting botnets?
        • B1663r, on 10/25/2007, -9/+1mrsteveman1,

          well considering that the storm worm downloaded the main payload package via bittorrents, and that is the most recent serious attack, I would have to conclude that blocking bittorrent is indeed the best strategy.
          • mrsteveman1, on 10/25/2007, -1/+10you know damn well thats not why they are doing it, you're the only one even considering that crap.

            Lets block IP itself too, cause thats how the MAJORITY of worm traffic gets sent
          • B1663r, on 10/25/2007, -8/+1I know they are doing it to curb malevolent traffic of all kinds. That it will also stop botnet attacks is just the gravy.
          • mrFREEZE, on 10/25/2007, -0/+4I see one of Comcast's PR employees is here trying to put a positive spin on this.
      • knightboat, on 11/03/2007, -0/+16If a company has a problem with the way a customer is using their service, the options are to change the terms of service, warn the customer of their wrongdoing, and if nothing else works, disconnect them. Inconveniencing all of your customers due to the actions of a few and leaving everyone in the dark on the shady practices is not the proper solution.
        • B1663r, on 10/25/2007, -9/+1It is not the actions of a few people... Most of the people using torrents are using it to pirate software, music or video. Sure some people are using torrents for legitimate reasons. Are you really going to insist that most people using torrents are using it for legitimate reasons???
        • knightboat, on 10/25/2007, -0/+7By "few," I mean in relation to users on the Internet, not in relation to legal torrent users.

          Regardless of the legality or legitimacy of the files transferred by torrent users on their service, how could anyone with a basic grasp of logic or reason accept and condone Comcast's actions to inconvenience everyone using their service due to the actions of a few?
        • B1663r, on 10/25/2007, -7/+1Well if by few you mean most. The raw number of users is irrelevant. What is relevant is the amount of traffic. So you have this one protocol that has a few users consuming most of the traffic, and it is typically illegal traffic at that, then they are helping and improving the service to the majority of users who who don't use the protocol ever, if they block it.
          • mrsteveman1, on 10/25/2007, -0/+6You really are a moron. Blocking an entire protocol because of what it can be used for is highly improper because it DOES NOT fall under the category of traffic shaping.
      • chyya, on 11/03/2007, -4/+1shut up douche
      • MasteRR, on 10/25/2007, -0/+1Piracy or not, it is not the ISP's job to filter the traffic. If the filter pirated content they are no longer an ISP and are now a content publisher and are no longer protected by copyright law's safe haven which means Comcast themselves could then be sued for what their customers download. How cool would that be? Kinda makes you think letting it through would have been a better choice. (Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, so this could be incorrect).

        And torrents are not inherently illegal. I have 10 torrents queued up in deluge at this moment and all of them are 100% legit and legal. Linux distros, video podcasts, and game demos ftw!
    • cr0m300, on 10/25/2007, -2/+12They've been such a good service, and the writer seems to agree with me. They're really fast and have a pretty reliable service....

      But this kind of crap is inexcusable. It's such a dick move to try something like this. It's always a shame when a good company delivering a good service or product has to up and do something like this.
    • miketrin, on 10/25/2007, -1/+6Actually the city you live in is the piece of ***** for locking in comcast and not offering competition with other cable providers. I live in an area that has time warner and everest. If one sucks I can switch to another. Too bad dsl isn't an option.

      I had comcast once..... once.
    • rpg405, on 10/25/2007, -0/+6I use Comcast. I routinely use BitTorrent for downloading Linux ISO's along with some multimedia. I've found that by switching the port BitTorrent uses to one very high, (mine is 54321, for example) and forcibly enabling encryption, I can achieve pre-blockage level of service. See if this works in your area also. I wouldn't call this being blocked ;) http://garrettp.homeip.net/~garrett/holycowconnect ...
      • cizzop, on 10/25/2007, -0/+1I also use a port in the 50k's and have never noticed this seeding problem. I have no problem seeding whatsoever. My up speeds are always pushed to the max that i set in utorrent. I also have encryption enabled but not forced. Maybe this is the key... try using a high port #. Also, I live in Philadelphia.
    • canthraxp, on 10/25/2007, -2/+5"And since I moved to Linux one significant change has happened: I haven’t felt any need to pirate software, so there’s no need for me to upload since I’m not using any trackers that require a positive ratio."

      Same happened to me. Back in windows I was all "HARR" and "YARR" around bitorrent, almost like when you're looking at an empty desktop you say "OMG I N33d APPS!", in ubuntu, the only torrents I've downloaded so far:
      -Gutsy LiveCD
      -Throwdown (Venom & Tears)

      Although I miss the salty windows seas and the rum, I actually like software "libre".
    • ElephantHunter, on 10/25/2007, -1/+0You need to realize that technical support is not a good way to get Comcast to fix the issue. As your conversation shows, you didn't accomplish anything but waste your time and annoy the techs.

      Switch your ISP if P2P matters so much. This makes your complaint look legit and shows up on Comcast's sales charts. If you seriously do not have another ISP and can not live without a home internet connection, then Comcast has little incentive to right it's wrongs.

      Besides, ISPs have good reason to filter P2P traffic. Regardless of the legality of one's P2P usage, it's no secret that peer file sharing is a grossly inefficient bandwidth hog: http://cc.uoregon.edu/cnews/fall2002/p2p.html
    • oinkyboinky, on 10/25/2007, -0/+0i before e except after c :(
    • nakani, on 10/25/2007, -0/+3Unfortunately it's hard for customers to switch, since there is nearly a monopoly on broadband internet access. This will never change as long as the government plays such a heavy role in regulation of the industry. It's never good for society when you don't have a choice.
    • kurttrail, on 10/25/2007, -0/+6Actually Comcast might have invalidated their ISP protection against lawsuits over contributory copyright infringement by blocking some but not all pirated traffic.

      They better hope that the RIAA doesn't figure that out!
      • dinostabOMG, on 10/25/2007, -0/+2you're right but i'd expect adegree of cahoots there.
    • CandidateZero, on 10/25/2007, -0/+2And, Comcast is complaining about the bandwidth P2P traffic consumes when they're the ones selling that very bandwidth for consumption. It's a contract between consumer and corporation retroactively amended by the latter without mutual consent.

      Besides that, Comcast has no right whatsoever to complain about "excessive" bandwidth consumption. Let's not forget about that 200 billion tax dollar thievery committed by these bastards: http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/2007/pulpit_200 ...
      • CandidateZero, on 10/25/2007, -0/+1Link broke. Google "cringely" and "billion" for the article.
    • bluetrevian, on 10/25/2007, -0/+1I would digg this twice if I could, but...

      Really?! I love my Comcast service and couldn't be happier with the speeds. I mean... on principle the community should act to make sure that this is changed, but Comcast is the next best thing to FiOS... for now.
      • Dragular, on 10/25/2007, -0/+1Really?! I would think that an ISP that starts blocking things it deems unnecessary would stop qualifying as "the next best thing," I mean, all the bandwidth in the world doesn't matter if you're stuck in a playpen. This is the key for me:
        Wayne> If Comcast filtered all p2p traffic, there would be a huge uproar.
        Shaun > Not really since the comcast is owned & managed by comcast, and thus are able to re-allocate traffic in however means they wish.

        This is why we fuggin' NEED Net Neutrality, or an extremely elevated level of competition. I'm living in rural Alabama and, unfortunately, Comcast is the only game in town for my entire area (well, save for my town... Charter here, but there's not much of a difference).
    • retrovertigo, on 10/25/2007, -1/+0Wah wah! Poor baby. Comcast is a piece of ***** for blocking you from using software that is primarily used to download illegal software, movies, and video! I'm an IT person and I know there are SOME files available from torrents that are free, public domain, etc., but let's get real - torrents are primarily used to download pirated software.
      • CandidateZero, on 10/25/2007, -0/+1The issue here is data discrimination. It is not an ISP's place to say what a paying customer can and cannot do with his or her purchased bandwidth, period.

        Comcast's actions here smack of a tiered internet.
    • ZBrannigan, on 10/25/2007, -0/+1Here in sweden, the ISP:s crack under the pressure of the bittorenttrackers:
      http://digg.com/tech_news/AllOfMP3_no_longer_block ...
  • ClassicQ, on 10/27/2007, -5/+56Typically pathetic customer service / tech support. Avoid the issue with redirects, running the conversation around in circles.

    If Comcast is proud of their acclaimed noble stance regarding p2p; [Shaun > ... We both know that the majority of P2P users do not use it for legit purposes and that is what Comcast is probably helping to counteract.], stop beating around the bush and publicly declare it, which will also announce their stand on Net Neutrality. I'd assume initially the impact will be slight, only suffering the consequences a few defections to other providers. But bad word of mouth will have a longterm impact on Comcast's reputation; which once tarnished is near impossible to recover from. Continuing to drag their feet on the subject will have the same effect, the issue has already begun to crossed over from “geek” news to the mainstream media with the AP report.

    The issue really is their lack of infrastructure and over extension, marketing and selling what they can't provide in all areas. Comcast is certainly “earning” their share of bad press of late, with the recent flood of customer service horror stories , as well as with this issue.

    My sympathy goes out to all Comcast Subscribers.
    • BLish, on 10/25/2007, -25/+2"P2P users do not use it for legit purposes"

      so basically hacking and stealing songs, movies, software and video games. and this is technically illegal.

      and because Comcast is blocking something illegal you people are upset ... because..... ?

      /digg me down. i know.. the truth hurts.
      • knightboat, on 10/25/2007, -1/+5I wouldn't find the blocking so ridiculously offensive if the methods used didn't involve using forged TCP reset packets.

        The illegal actions of a few don't make it reasonable to manipulate and forge the data being sent to and from a customer. But you already knew that, you're just being contrary for the sake of it.
        • B1663r, on 10/25/2007, -11/+2It is not the illegal actions of a few. Most of the people using torrents are using it for copyright violations...
        • BLish, on 10/25/2007, -12/+1which is why i think all torrent sites should be blocked by all ISPs. as well as all torrent track.
        • knightboat, on 10/25/2007, -0/+8Once again, B1663r, "few" is being used in relation to overall Internet users, not the pirate users in relation to legal users. I'm bothered that I even have to extrapolate on that.

          BLish, you seem to have no knowledge at all of the ISP's position as a service provider or their common carrier status. I would figure you could put the pieces together from the acronym itself: Internet Service Provider. They are not Internet Service Moderators.
        • notthemama, on 10/25/2007, -0/+9B1663r: how would you know? Did you go do a survey? Or did you simply pull the "most" out of your ass?
          BLish: so if they start blocking torrent sites, where do they stop? What about sites that happen to share ISP's with torrent sites? What about those that use ips directly? What abou t other ways to get to them? Idiot.
        • B1663r, on 10/25/2007, -9/+2Being idiotic is insisting that people are maxing out their comcast Internet connections downloading Linux cd install images.
        • mrFREEZE, on 10/25/2007, -1/+7People often seed LEGAL video (podcasts, home movies, etc, etc,) and other large (legal) files through bittorrent. There's more legal uses for it, you're just being a troll and/or a jackass.
        • BLish, on 10/25/2007, -4/+2"mrFreeze -- People often seed LEGAL video (podcasts, home movies, etc, etc,) and other large (legal) files through bittorrent. There's more legal uses for it, you're just being a troll and/or a jackass."

          then why did people freak the hell out in just the past few days when OiNK got raided and shut down? did you pay attention to most of the comments in the threads? if i was a fed seeking proof about OiNK... just the comments alone left by diggers in that thread coulda been used against them... especially those bragging about their levels and what not.

          just pay for your f'n music, software, and videos people! quit stealing it!

          just because everyone else is doing it, does not make it legal in the least bit.
        • dinostabOMG, on 10/25/2007, -1/+3RTFA: he was trying to help support a legal linux distro
      • seventoes, on 10/25/2007, -2/+8...we're upset because even those of us who use bittorrent for legit purposes are being effected.
        • BLish, on 10/25/2007, -5/+1what type of "legit purposes" are you referring to? because if it was legit... i'm almost sure they would not be using bittorrent sites to get it.
          • Serapthi, on 10/25/2007, -0/+2BLish, you sound exactly like the dude in the article. Just wonderin', are you a comcast service rep?
          • yodaj007, on 10/25/2007, -0/+1I use bittorrent to download linux distros occasionally. I use it to download anime that is not yet covered by American copyright laws (www.animesuki.com). Don't ***** tell me that all bittorrent usage is illegal, *****.
      • yodaj007, on 10/25/2007, -0/+2Again, you assume there aren't legitimate uses for bittorrent. Let me copy my other reply to your asinine comments:
        I use bittorrent to download linux distros occasionally. I use it to download anime that is not yet covered by American copyright laws (www.animesuki.com). Don't ***** tell me that all bittorrent usage is illegal, *****.
      • jjbiggle, on 11/07/2007, -0/+0This has nothing to do with Comcast caring about the morality of what their customers are downloading. Comcast like many other large ISPs are offering increased bandwidth capacities 10mbs+. Many techie types are taking full advantage of this. Comcast's backbone simply can't handle load, possibly leading to increased outages on servers, switches, amplifiers, etc. If Comcast really cared about what users were doing they would actively put a stop to users accessing objectionable material (i.e. child porn). Furthermore, I am sure a lot more of Comcast's users are using other P2P platforms such as limewire, kazaa, and warez, of which they are not baulking about. What users do with their "promised" bandwidth is their business. Comcast needs to put their money where their mouth is, into their infrastructure. Don’t offer 10mbps speed if you can’t handle it.
    • nonnald, on 10/25/2007, -0/+16tarnished reputation or not, it's many consumers only option for broadband internet
    • merdiesel, on 10/27/2007, -0/+4I am just waiting for FiOS to come to my area... as soon as it does, I'm telling comcast to go ***** themselves.
  • defconoi, on 10/25/2007, -1/+9wayne have you tried blocking rst's?
    if that seems to work I would send that fw log to comcast as proof and ask for a re-imbursement, I work for cableone and if I seen something like that on our network I would definately see about issuing a credit and lifting that ban, thats fuqn retarded
    • ja1217, on 10/27/2007, -0/+10Blocking RST's won't necessarily help. From what I understand, not only do you receive RST packets supposedly from the person you are connected to, but RST packets are also sent to the person you are trying to connect to. So unless both of you are dropping RST packets, it won't make a difference.

      It also seems that they have completely (or nearly completely) blocked torrents where I'm at (Lancaster, Pennsylvania - yes, home of the Amish). I've been running a tcpdump for a while now and have been receiving a ridiculous amount of TCP packets with the RST flag. Before I've had it to this when I've only been seeding, which was annoying, but not as bad as not being able to download anything.

      Ironic that this was also the day that I gave a presentation on BitTorrrent for my networks class explaining how great it is (as well as its few downsides).
    • DigDugDigger, on 10/25/2007, -0/+6I've started blocking RST's and I am able to seed... my connection becomes so slow its unusable but it allows me to seed at full speed. Just takes a little longer... but here's the command I ran in OSX's Terminal to block RST's on port 50000 (change 50000 to your torrent port):

      sudo ipfw add deny tcp from any to any 50000 in tcpflags rst
    • aceiii222, on 10/25/2007, -0/+1CableOne effing sux!! I had service with them in AL for about 6 months and had soooo many problems with providing my own cable modem. They treat anyone who sounds younger like children and just some customer no-service. Clark Howard has even had some complaints about them.
  • defconoi, on 10/25/2007, -9/+5did you also know isp's can simply cut you off being connected to a tracker with illegal content? Most isp's now just need an ip log and they will dmca shutdown your internet access
    • estaticd, on 10/25/2007, -2/+57An ISP can terminate your service at any time for any reason, or no reason at all.

      Illegal content is not the issue. The issue I have is that completely Legal content (including the Bible) is being blocked just the same as illegal content.

      If Comcast can't determine the good from the bad traffic, they shouldn't block everybody.
      • Okari, on 10/26/2007, -2/+92So you're the other person downloading the Bible? Seed it damn it!
        • Kardall, on 10/25/2007, -1/+15Shhh, don't tell people this. The religious groups will have a hayday and get their way to make all copies of the bible available on P2P... oh wait...

          *Goes to download the KJV*
      • MetricLobster, on 10/25/2007, -0/+1He cant he has Comcast >_>
    • stmiller, on 10/25/2007, -1/+11But how can they determine it is a tracker with 'illegal content'? To Comcast's filters, any bittorrent traffic patterns look the same (are the same).
      • B1663r, on 10/25/2007, -9/+2Fine then, you are the legitimate bittorrent user. Is the other one around here somewhere?
        • MarkOfTheDead, on 10/25/2007, -0/+7Sorry it took me 5 minutes I was blastin a duke.
          Yeah, I'm grabbin gutsy gibbon off a torrent, cuttin Ubuntu a break.
        • B1663r, on 10/25/2007, -13/+1Well Ubuntu is also illegal. You have to go with a distro that paid the patent fees or you are still breakin the law...

          Sad but true.

          So nope, still can't find that other legal bittorrent user.
        • notthemama, on 10/25/2007, -0/+8the Knoppmyth install cd for Mythtv is illegal? Sorry, it's quite legal.
          The patent fee ***** has been proven false. They lost that patent ***** claim. At least, I assume you're talking about SCO. You really need to keep up with the news.
        • B1663r, on 10/25/2007, -6/+1nothemama,

          The myth distro illegally uses the mp3 patents (and others as well Im certain of it) and the EU vs Microsoft settlement the other day revalidated software patent claims, so yes, the Knoppmyth install cd is indeed illegal.
          • mrsteveman1, on 10/25/2007, -1/+6You have absolutely nothing to add to the discussion and are wasting everyones time
          • yodaj007, on 10/25/2007, -1/+1Stop your trolling.
    • mrsteveman1, on 10/25/2007, -1/+4Because you said so? You have no idea what you are talking about.
    • stacky, on 10/25/2007, -2/+1Dear Viacom, the $1 million cents question...
  • NjoysMacs, on 10/25/2007, -0/+10that sounds like many run ins i've had with most popular company's tech support/customer service. I work in retail and customer service and I know that when someone doesn't know why something is done, they hide behind the policy. It's an easy solution for what you don't understand.
  • SmackMyMac, on 10/27/2007, -3/+100In the words of Eric Cartman:

    Suck my balls Comcast...Suck...My...Balls...
    • gamer31, on 10/25/2007, -2/+9I just realized I missed the new episode of South Park, Thanks.
      • RST1123, on 10/25/2007, -1/+2Me too :(
      • skunkman62, on 10/25/2007, -1/+3it might be the episode that my utorrent just started downloading. sorry i cant afford tivo so i bt tv shows.
      • mahadevi, on 10/25/2007, -1/+4you can always get on bit torrent and download it! :-P
    • yodaj007, on 10/25/2007, -0/+1That was the best episode ever. "The terrorists have... attacked our imaginations."
  • Racerx52, on 10/25/2007, -1/+11I have yet to have trouble with comcast and my torrenting.
    Although it never uses all my bandwidth, it is a decent speed
    • IphtashuFitz, on 10/25/2007, -0/+4Consider yourself lucky. For the last few months I had the exact same experience as outlined in this article. After downloading a torrent any peering/uploading would effectively drop to zero. As of this evening my peering/uploading is back at the same level it used to be months ago.
  • projectmayhem83, on 10/26/2007, -0/+37Is you is or is you ain't my constituency?
    • navitatl, on 10/25/2007, -0/+1Haha, you beat me to it.
    • FurtThePirate, on 10/25/2007, -1/+4You Forgot To Capitalize Every Word In Your Sentence
  • Macshiba, on 10/25/2007, -17/+3Doing fine for me after putting on Encryption. Uploading at about 60-100kb/sec. If you guys are having trouble, learn what DHT is, and disable it. It'll help you a lot.
    • Mononuclear, on 10/25/2007, -2/+8Encryption does nothing and DHT has nothing to do with it either.

      I use comcast and have no problem with torrents.We will see how long it lasts. This isn't a global comcast thing. Just like the bandwidth caps, it only applies in certain areas. Not everyone who uses comcast will experience these things. Just because yours works doesn't mean they aren't doing it. Or that somehow you have a magic fix for it (which has been proven over and over again to not be a fix).
      • Macshiba, on 10/25/2007, -10/+1Actually, Encryption does a lot. If I don't have it enabled I can't seed at all. Also, disabling DHT makes torrents work for me while using TorrentLeech's tracker, so maybe it doesn't work for everyone, but I have no problems at all. You're the lucky one with no problems. When your problems come, Encryption will be needed. I'm a ***** Tech, I know what I'm talking about.
  • JamaicaJames, on 10/25/2007, -0/+32Come on Comcast! We ain't one at a timin here, we're MASS communicatin'!
  • ydt89, on 10/25/2007, -3/+11My torrents are just fine... I use comcast and am uploading 90kb/s right now..
    • mesadude, on 10/26/2007, -3/+5How in the world are you getting 90kb/sec upload from Comcast? I get 38kb/sec if I'm lucky...what plan are you on?
      • Macshiba, on 10/25/2007, -2/+5Not every Comcast member has the same speeds. It's mostly depending on your area. I upload at 70-100KB/sec, and my actual speedtest for download is 25000+ and upload is 1500.
        • coollettuce, on 10/25/2007, -1/+1AHHH, people need to learn the difference between bits and bytes.
          1500 kilobits = 187.5 kilobytes
          Comcast also has the powerboost which basically doubles your speed for the first 40mb just to ***** up speed tests and make people think they have better internet than they actually do.
          I have the 8/768kbps and I get around 100KBps up with forced encryption, and that's perfect for what I pay for.
          768 kilobits = 96 kilobytes
      • MasteRR, on 10/26/2007, -1/+2There is a big difference between bits and bytes. Do some math.
    • manageMyRights, on 10/25/2007, -2/+1You must not upload/download much or you would quickly hit the 90Gb a month upload + download limit.
      • JamaicaJames, on 11/10/2007, -0/+1*****, i consider myself a massive downloader and I've never hit 90 GB in a month. Or maybe I have, but it seems like a huge number. I mean, average TV shows are 175-250 MB. Movies are about 1 GB unless its a straight DVD rip...*****, how much are you guys stealing?????
  • thegazelle26, on 10/25/2007, -8/+2"Is this, or is this not, the lord of the rings"
  • rejoined, on 10/26/2007, -2/+17"Dear Comcast,
    I like your commercials. They’re funny."

    Good article, but wow he finds those stupid, dumbass, annoying, craptastic, one-every-minute-in-some-other-channel comcast commercials funny, he gotta be on dope, when he's watching tv.
  • Hoxie, on 10/26/2007, -17/+2on an unrelated note:
    IS THIS OR AINT THIS SPARTAAAAAA!?!?!
    • jamminman, on 10/26/2007, -1/+5Is You Or Aint You Sucking At Internet?
  • TheLastFreeMan, on 10/25/2007, -1/+2So.. are they or aren't they???
  • eerbin13, on 10/26/2007, -10/+5I just wanted to say nice "O Brother Where Art Thou?" reference. Is you is or is you ain't my constituency?!?!
  • DangerCollie, on 10/27/2007, -1/+39This is bad timing for Comcast. Their subscriber numbers are down, now they get caught dicking their power users on bandwidth. Tier your service but don't start throttling applications with no notice, deny it when you get caught, then throw out a lame ass excuse when your detractors have the proof.
    This is not the way to boost your subscriber numbers. It is, however, a near guarantee that internet power users will go elsewhere. Today it's Bittorrent, tomorrow it's WoW servers or YouTube or whatever else takes the top bandwidth spot. When you undermine subscriber trust by being stupid it's hard territory to earn back.
    • mrsteveman1, on 10/25/2007, -0/+1It's not the bandwidth thats a problem, its the massive number of tiny packets that get sent with bittorrent.

      That said, I don't believe it's actually causing a problem anyway, they just decided to block torrents because some content company convinced them to do it.
  • kkDonut, on 10/25/2007, -1/+3*StarWarsLaserSound*
  • willk281, on 10/25/2007, -15/+9im in ur internetz blocking ur torrentz
  • burgerboy06, on 10/25/2007, -2/+3Cox throttles too.
    • Jobarra, on 10/25/2007, -1/+1That just sounds dirty :P
    • Munkey106, on 10/25/2007, -1/+2Not for me. I get on average 600k/s download, though sometimes it hits up to 1.3MB/s download. I'm in Louisiana by the way.
    • mentor972, on 10/27/2007, -0/+4Not my cox. They go full force.
    • MagicCake, on 10/27/2007, -0/+2What makes you think we want to hear about your Cox getting throttled? Eww, man.
    • mrsteveman1, on 10/25/2007, -0/+1Coxthrottler
    • ChromaVita, on 10/25/2007, -0/+1I prefer ***** Pushups.
    • Typhuse, on 10/25/2007, -0/+1Cox blocks ports mainly. Port 80 and 25 are blocked due to some worms and keeping traffic down on residential networks.
      I suppose traffic isn't being kept down with torrents giving and taking more than any HTTP server could do on a residential network.
  • cultist667, on 10/25/2007, -5/+4Its *****.
  • Lynxplus, on 10/25/2007, -1/+26If only FIOS was available where I live I would switch without even thinking.
  • unabonger, on 10/25/2007, -3/+17all ur bandwidth r belong to us
  • gudnbluts, on 10/25/2007, -0/+3Telecom here in NZ did that (maybe still do), not only for uploads either. Downloading became snail-pace slow

    I couldn't be arsed to fight it, so I switched to a better ISP.
  • spalVl, on 10/25/2007, -1/+7Dugg cause this guy tied up Comcast tech support for 1.5 hours causing longer hold times for other customers. That is Com-*****-tastic .
    Just stop cut the traffic shaping ***** and announce it Comcast to make this go away.
  • screwloose45, on 10/25/2007, -1/+9Wayne> Did Harry get me to level 2 support?

    Shaun > You are speaking to the department supervisor.
  • jamminman, on 10/27/2007, -2/+32I almost jumped out of my chair when I read that the guy said, "Comcast is able to do whatever they wish on their network." I would have liked to point out that Comcast is 1. a publicly traded company, and 2. advertises unlimited bandwidth and access to the internet... sooo... no, they cannot do whatever they wish on their network. ugh I can't stand Comcast. *calls Verizon (not much better but what can I do)*
    • B1663r, on 10/26/2007, -4/+7I am looking on their website right now and they make no claims to unlimited downloads or uploads. Well, they claim their service is "always on" and that they provide. But I don't see anything claiming unlimited downloads.

      Could it be that you (and everyone else who has ever claimed it) are just full of *****?
      • izzie2, on 10/25/2007, -0/+83 years ago was when I was "guaranteed" unlimited access.Haven't heard of it lately though.
        • astrotrain, on 10/26/2007, -1/+2Thats how they suckerd a lot of us from running to join their service, along with such things as "Hurry, You can get our High Speed Fibre connection to your house for $24.95 for three months". Of course they are liying about the Fibre (just sounded big and important to them), and they fail to reveal the full price of the service after the 3 months, which they are not obligated to call you to when it expires.

          Just one day it secretly expires and then your paying them $44.95 a month, thats of course after you have a hole in your wall where the "professional" cable guy decided to feed the coax cable in. Oh and of course your rented cable modem and NICs (yeah they charge you on everything they can rent you) from Comcast.

          Comcast is so sneaky, they even charge a rental fee on the freakin REMOTE for their TV boxes. Its a $2.00 charge to rent the remote, and a $4.00 - $5.00 for the box itself. I am shocked they did try to rent the batteries that came with the remote, or their cable splitter on the side of the house.

      • ThugThrasher, on 10/25/2007, -0/+3Well, if they claim it's "always on" then they're lying, too.
        Because I know that I, for one, don't have my internet all the time. Hell, I'm lucky if my internet is on without an interruption of at LEAST 5 minutes for an hour during peak hours.
        And I call them, but until I manage to get in touch with a person BEFORE my internet comes back on, they claim it's not their problem.
        • calamnet, on 10/25/2007, -0/+1Sounds like you should have a Tech come out. Their 800 operators can't check anything. The only thing they can check is whether or not they can see your modem. They couldn't tell you if that modem is working correctly or not. A couple apartments ago, the line coming into the apartment complex was shoving in a signal 3 times higher than normal and fried 3 of the modems they gave me causing somewhat the same problems you are talking about. They put 3 splitters on my line and hadn't had a problem after that.
    • ripple123, on 10/26/2007, -1/+1Hell they probably cant even call it the internet, if their blocking or hobbling particular applications of the internet.
    • mrsteveman1, on 10/26/2007, -1/+1They are however a common carrier, if they can block an entire protocol they dont deserve that status
    • moush, on 10/25/2007, -0/+1When you sign contracts, you agree to things, common sense. Of course they can do what they want, it's a service.
  • signal15, on 10/27/2007, -0/+7I can't wait to move so I don't have to use Comcast anymore. It's Comcrapstick!
    • astrotrain, on 10/25/2007, -0/+1Yes, most of us are under the same Comcast Umbrella...
  • chrisp9446, on 10/25/2007, -0/+2I don't know if it's a local Comcast problem or what...I have no problems with torrents whatsoever (Houston)...
  • antdude, on 10/25/2007, -0/+4http://duggmirror.com//tech_news/Dear_Comcast_The_ ... since it is slow.
    • nestcrw, on 10/26/2007, -0/+2zomg! they're lyke blocking digg! /sarcasm
  • drpleau, on 10/25/2007, -1/+2Comcast is going down the tubes fast. Only company I have had internet problems with losing connection consistently. And now with VERIZON offering FIOS, you can get fast speeds for the same price. I've never heard anything good about Comcast the last 10 years. It's always been about them and never the customer, and it has finally hit the fan. Goodnight Comcast, and ...well thats it, no good luck for you.
    • astrotrain, on 10/25/2007, -0/+1Yeah Comcast will be history, FiOS is the same price as Cable, and faster and more reliable. Comcast your sharing your connection over Coax Cable (30+ year technology), FiOS you get direct connect (no sharing) back to the Verizon station.

      Comcast is trying to tread water now by suckering people into these "3 months", "12 months" ect deals, but they fail to inform the user the full price of the service after that "xx month" deal, and that the user will be having all sorts of issues with their internet service.

      The only thing that Comcast is using for a flotation device is that FiOS is not available in all areas yet, but they are. Once FiOS hits the remote areas, and people get wind of the same price for better service and speed....Comcast your battleship will be sunk.

  • natedigity, on 10/25/2007, -2/+2i hate that ***** when they ***** beat around the bush all day long.

    just answer the ***** question before you go home and download some movie that just hit theatres.
  • lookbehindu, on 10/25/2007, -0/+4all i have to say is i read the whole thing instead of working on my paper. :D
  • xDeadPixel, on 10/25/2007, -0/+1http://duggmirror.com/tech_news/Dear_Comcast_The_M ...
  • natedigity, on 10/25/2007, -6/+2just answer the question before you go home and download some movie that just hit theatres *****.
  • gossipninja, on 10/25/2007, -0/+9i had comcast and they are bastards, i got shaved off a few years ago due to their "abuse" policy, where unlimited downloads arent unlimited. Keep in mind at That time, over 30 gigs was too much, so full speed (3mbps) for 24 hours straight was too much (yeah 24/7 always on, unlimited downloads my ass). I have no problem with comcast running their network however they see fit, but if the are gonna have a bandwidth cap, state it. If they wanna block torrents due to piracy, state it. If they wanna be asshats and not allow certain protocols or services they should tell the customers. Obviously they dont because people will go "hmm comcast doesnt allow certain things" even if it is somethig like torrent or usenet that many dont care about (joe consumer) they might switch to a different service( if available) because they want to use the internet HOWEVER they see fit.
  • hellotyler, on 10/25/2007, -0/+1If you block RST flags on both sides of the connection this shaping does not happen at all, but it's a pain to get people who should not necessarily need to block these flags to actually do it. Comcast was originally shaping me to all hell, last night I had an outage so I reconnected the modem and traffic shaping has drastically decreased. I think they are starting to understand that they will lose MANY valuable customers if they try to treat their customers this way...
  • nannou, on 10/25/2007, -0/+1Dugg. for the Louis Jordan reference in the description, and article.
  • jdavid, on 10/25/2007, -0/+1speakeasy rules. their new asdl2 is 15 down and 2 up.
  • rabidjade, on 10/25/2007, -9/+1Most ISP's are taking a liability risk by leaving the illegal torrenting wide open on their networks. It was bound to happen people, get over it, buy the software/content you are stealing and move on. For those who claim to use torrents for legal activity, the .01% of legal content on bittorrent can be had through other means such as http, ftp, ect.
    • manageMyRights, on 10/25/2007, -0/+5You should really read up on what a "COMMON CARRIER" is. The ISP's made sure to protect themselves from this a long time ago, the same way the phone company isn't responsible for a large drug deal or terrorist attack planned using the phones.

      You're also missing the point of P2P. If i tried to get a linux distro. via FTP I would be costing that FTP server lots of money. With p2p the costs are paid by the downloaders.
    • Travelsonic, on 10/25/2007, -1/+1"...for those who claim to use torrents for legal activity, the .01% of legal content on bittorrent can be had through other means such as http, ftp, ect."

      0.01%

      I'll believe you didn't pull that number out of your ass/have no idea wat it really is when my ***** turns purple and starts smelling like rainbow sherbert.


      Also, look up the diferences between theft and copyrght infringement, look at what is ging on, and get back to us before trying to make yourself look smart again.
  • benroy, on 10/26/2007, -0/+4bottom line, how does this affect my acquisition of porn?
    • SlipstreamLucas, on 10/25/2007, -0/+2you might have to go back to hiding in your neighbors roof looking through the fan vent into the shower again very soon...
  • czeman, on 10/25/2007, -0/+8If it's dirty, Concast is probably doing it.
  • 10scott10, on 10/27/2007, -0/+9directly from their website
    "Do you block access to peer-to-peer applications like BitTorrent?
    No. We do not block access to any Web site or applications, including BitTorrent. Our customers use the Internet for downloading and uploading files, watching movies and videos, streaming music, sharing digital photos, accessing numerous peer-to-peer sites, VOIP applications like Vonage, and thousands of other applications online. "

    blatant lies.
    directly from their FAQs.
    maybe they shoudl deicde to update it with their "delaying" shtick
    • astrotrain, on 10/25/2007, -0/+1I'm surprised the Comcrap rep knew what you were talking about.

      I asked them one time why they did not allow Perl scripts from running on their server, they told me they did not know what Perl
      is nor scripts. Then told me they spoke to their supervisor who told them to tell me to go look it up on a search engine.
  • Smokedup, on 10/25/2007, -2/+4I work for comcast tech support and yes they do. We dont make the rules, we are just told.
  • scottwed, on 10/27/2007, -0/+12I believe Comcast is reseting my connection to Google. I've been having this odd intermittent problem reaching my homepage (google.com) in the evenings for couple of months now. The problem can last well over an hour (I know this because my wife keeps me updated every 5 minutes, until the problem goes away, or she gives up in frustration)

    Yesterday, I probed deeper...
    DNS resolution of google.com resolved three IP addresses. The first one (64.233.167.99) kept failing in Firefox with a connection reset. The other two worked just fine. The first IP worked just fine when I checked it over VPN back to my work machine.

    I decided to grab a packet trace. I'm handshaking just fine with the problem IP, then I request my page (www.google.com/ig). I then receive two reset packets from Google (WTF!), followed by the ACK from Google's server, followed by two more reset packets. I can't come up with any other explanation for multiple reset packets across the same source and destination port, other than my conversation is being hijacked.

    I've noticed that YouTube shows up as a gadget in google.com/ig (but it's not on my logged-in google.com/ig page). Anyone else know if Comcast is blocking Google and or YouTube during peak load?
    • tweakmaster, on 10/26/2007, -0/+2I, too have been experiencing this regularly for at least a month or so, possibly longer. This is the first I've heard anyone else reference it, however.
    • trombonist15, on 10/26/2007, -0/+2Yeah.... i've noticed it too. I've wondered what was going on...
    • antivirus6613, on 10/26/2007, -0/+2I also have the same problem. I think if this continues im going to contact tech support and see what ***** they tell me.
      • scottwed, on 10/26/2007, -0/+1I'd love to hear what they tell you. I did the online tech support chat thing, the tech didn't spend 5 minutes on the problem. He just wanted my traceroute and generated a ticket. Haven't heard a peep from Comcast since. I'm guessing they know what the cause is and don't want to discuss it.

  • beauc, on 10/25/2007, -0/+5I barely even use BT, but it pisses me off that they lie about it.
  • stark23x, on 10/25/2007, -0/+3Well, I know for a fact Comcast is blocking seeding in my area. I've seen my entire connection go down after starting a seed. Reset the modem and BANG, everything is fine. Start a seed...dead.

    Forcing encryption on my client (uTorrent) seems to be temporarily beating Comcast's techniques. I don't know how long that will last, though.
  • dark, on 10/27/2007, -0/+5I had comcast for the past year, about 6 months ago they started kicking me off whenever I had Bittorrent on for more than ten minutes. It happened only with bittorrent.

    I switched to local ISP that uses fiber, faster and no problems since.

    Comcast filters out bittorrent for sure.
    • jhshukla, on 10/25/2007, -0/+1same problem here. and around same time as you. I complained (didn't mention torrents), and now apparently it's working fine. probably because FiOS is also available.
      • astrotrain, on 10/25/2007, -0/+1FiOS is the way to go... direct connection instead of shared connection with your neighbors.
  • Schralpy, on 10/25/2007, -3/+1I can't believe not a soul has mentioned that episode from Tom and Jerry that has the 'Is you is...' Where has our culture gone?!?!? hehehe. Seriously though I'm with Cartman down there. F the runaround he got too.
    • harajukukei, on 10/25/2007, -0/+2is you is or is you aint my baby?
  • MarkusGarvey, on 10/25/2007, -1/+3i have been having a problem with my vpn tunnels lately....
    • scottwed, on 10/26/2007, -0/+1I didn't assign any significance to your comment, but tonight all my working Hamachi connections are getting killed as soon as I restart the service. Google is fried again on multiple IPs
  • Fetching more discussions...
    Show 51 - 90 of 90 discussions
  •  

    Login or register to add a comment

    Create a new account or login to join in the conversation on Digg. You'll also be able to Digg stories to help promote things you like.


© Digg Inc. 2008 — Content posted by Digg users is dedicated to the public domain.
DIGG, DIGG IT, DUGG, DIGG THIS, Digg graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts, and other service names are the trademarks of Digg Inc.