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Danger in Locking Down a Time Waster Modem?

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  • Danger in Locking Down a Time Waster Modem?

    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?
    Sorry, my cow died so I don't need your bull

  • #2
    Now they can't access it remotely. So that is an issue to them.

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    • #3
      That I could understand, but they never once mentioned remote access. Security was the thing they kept harping on. The previous company I had internet with only accessed my modem remotely if *I* called *them* with a problem, and then I logged in and we worked through the problems together. Or I reset it to factory settings and they did the remote access thing, but as soon as it was done I changed the password to something more secure. I get that maybe their typical user isn't savvy enough to do these things, but trying to withhold the password when I ask for it so that I can manage my own network and then leaving my network vulnerable with such a bogus password is next to criminal.

      TW didn't complain about not being able to access the modem, they complained about me damaging equipment by changing the password. It sounds like complete hooey to me, but since I'm not a pro, I figured I'd ask.
      Sorry, my cow died so I don't need your bull

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      • #4
        Why don't they have a password setup just for wireless access? With our modem we have a username and pw that's for the techs that no one else gets because it has full control. There is also a wireless username pw that has limited control, including changing the network pw.

        eta: And changing a pw on anything doesn't cause "damage".
        https://www.youtube.com/user/HedgeTV
        Great YouTube channel check it out!

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        • #5
          They do have a password for wireless setup, but in order to change it, you have to access the modem/wireless router combo. It's crazy, but the only way in is through the modem setup page in my browser, and they didn't want me to access it. They wanted me to tell them what I wanted my new wireless password to be, meaning that I wouldn't be able to aggressively monitor it to keep control of my kids (as in changing it when I want to make sure they're all off NOW). I don't have the time or inclination to wait through a 15 minute tech call two or more times a day to change it. It takes less than a minute for me to login, change, and apply the password change to throw the kids off the web immediately and keep them off all night while allowing hubby and I to continue to be online.

          I think I wouldn't have been so upset if it had been a legitimate password protecting my router. The idea that I could have been locked out of my network at any time really chapped my hide. The hyperbole about me damaging the equipment just by changing the password was icing on the cake.
          Sorry, my cow died so I don't need your bull

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          • #6
            Simple solution: disable the wireless A/P portion of the router and they plug your own separate router into it. That way you have full control of your network without relying on access to the ISP's gear. Then you can set the Wifi security up the way you like. Some routers even allow you to set up multiple SSIDs so you have the kids connect to one that you can disable while connecting your own gear to another.
            There's no such thing as a stupid question... just stupid people.

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            • #7
              I like those ideas (especially the SSIDs; I hadn't thought of those), but I was hoping not to have to go buy another router.

              *toddles off to open a new window and research using SSIDs*
              Sorry, my cow died so I don't need your bull

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              • #8
                Quoth EvilEmpryss View Post
                TW didn't complain about not being able to access the modem, they complained about me damaging equipment by changing the password. It sounds like complete hooey to me, but since I'm not a pro, I figured I'd ask.
                There's virtually nothing you can do to a modem/router than can't be undone by pushing the reset button - which you already know how to do. I've reset so many that I can't remember any of the default logins/passwords. Google is my friend.

                Providers are stubborn when it comes to their equipment, sometimes justifiably so, most often they're just being tools. Oh, the conversations I've had with Roger's and their service "techs."

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                • #9
                  In answer to an earlier question: yes, xbox 360 has built-in parental controls (tho I am unsure if it reliably applies to anything but games) -- look under Settings, it should be the menu farthest to the right.

                  I think the "charge you for problems" thing is just their way of CYOA in case something you do prevents them from following their tech support scripts.
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