So, I got Time Waster Internet about six months ago. While the speeds have been reliably high, I've been getting increasingly unhappy with the rest of their service (including a modem problem they were telling me was my imagination until I insisted they get a tech out here and it happened in front of him). Anywho, my kids have half a dozen different devices that can access the internet, trying to manage parental controls on all of them is too time consuming (and some of them I haven't got a clue about the controls -- does the Xbox even have any?). Because my kids are being sneaky little twits about getting on the internet when they shouldn't, I wanted to change the network password to lock them out.
So I go to log into my router and realize I don't have the username and password for it. It was Hubby that was home when they set the thing up or I would have had it from the start, but no big; I figure I call them and they give me the info from my file or we reset it and they give me the default.
Oh no. Not so simple.
I get twenty questions played over why I want the password. Why do I want the router password? Why not use parental controls? How many devices am I trying to lock out? Am I trying to lock out any adults? Was my network password hacked? Did I not know that the modem/router passwords were controlled by TW? Apparently, TW doesn't want its users having the router passwords because they're afraid we'll go in and change the settings. I was told repeatedly that they didn't want the password changed for "Security Reasons" and that I would be charged for any damage that resulted from the modem's password being changed!
I finally escalated to someone who agreed to give me the password. That's when the poo-poo hit the propeller.
The oh-so-secure router password they didn't want me to change was "password".
So they want me to leave my router vulnerable to the most juvenile of hackers by having the password stay "password", and threatened me with fines if I change it. Sorry, but that's not going to work for me and I've already changed the password to something more secure. Now I'm considering changing providers if they're going to insist they can fine me for keeping my network secure.
My questions to you tech guys: What damage?
I admit to not being a network guru, but I'm no noob, either. What damage could possibly result from me having the power to access my router and change the network access password? I'm looking at the settings now, and the vast majority of them are greyed out anyway -- even logged in I don't have the ability to change them. I also just realized that my firewall wasn't up. Is there anything I could do to my setup that wouldn't be fixed by resetting the modem to factory settings?
So I go to log into my router and realize I don't have the username and password for it. It was Hubby that was home when they set the thing up or I would have had it from the start, but no big; I figure I call them and they give me the info from my file or we reset it and they give me the default.
Oh no. Not so simple.
I get twenty questions played over why I want the password. Why do I want the router password? Why not use parental controls? How many devices am I trying to lock out? Am I trying to lock out any adults? Was my network password hacked? Did I not know that the modem/router passwords were controlled by TW? Apparently, TW doesn't want its users having the router passwords because they're afraid we'll go in and change the settings. I was told repeatedly that they didn't want the password changed for "Security Reasons" and that I would be charged for any damage that resulted from the modem's password being changed!

I finally escalated to someone who agreed to give me the password. That's when the poo-poo hit the propeller.
The oh-so-secure router password they didn't want me to change was "password".

So they want me to leave my router vulnerable to the most juvenile of hackers by having the password stay "password", and threatened me with fines if I change it. Sorry, but that's not going to work for me and I've already changed the password to something more secure. Now I'm considering changing providers if they're going to insist they can fine me for keeping my network secure.
My questions to you tech guys: What damage?
I admit to not being a network guru, but I'm no noob, either. What damage could possibly result from me having the power to access my router and change the network access password? I'm looking at the settings now, and the vast majority of them are greyed out anyway -- even logged in I don't have the ability to change them. I also just realized that my firewall wasn't up. Is there anything I could do to my setup that wouldn't be fixed by resetting the modem to factory settings?
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