Re: Comcast Cable Setup Security Issue

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Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2004 10:31:49 -0700
To: security-basics@securityfocus.com

I completely agree that this is almost criminal. The main reason they
require firewalls to be turned off and computers to be plugged
directly into the modem is not because it affects the setup, but
because the technicians do not have the training or knowledge to be
able to troubleshoot with them enabled.

I have dealt with Comcast support, and SBC DSL support for relatives
and they both will not even attempt to troubleshoot issues with a
router connected. I just lie to them and tell them it's directly
connected and I have always been able to get things sorted out.

There will come a time when dealing with network saturation is more
expensive than training their support in networking. Until that time,
broadband networks will continue to be vulnerable to saturation
because of worms.

-b

On Sun, 18 Jul 2004 21:13:43 -0500, Gandalf The White
<gandalf@digital.net> wrote:
> Greetings and Salutations:
>
> I am beginning to get a feel for why Comcast is at the top of the list for
> zombie spam boxes.
>
> I just set up an account for a friend who had a connection on the Comcast
> cable network.
>
> The instructions on the included CD-ROM (as soon as the CD started up) was
> to turn off all Anti-Virus and Firewall software on the computer. I called
> up Comcast tech support and told them that I was I was nervous about doing
> this, but I was assured that my computer would *only* be talking to the
> Comcast activation server. Lets just ignore that the computer would be
> talking to all the other machines on my local cable segment also.
>
> I had a router with firewall in between the computer and the Comcast network
> so I went ahead and deactivated the anti-virus and firewall software on the
> computer.
>
> I got half way through the activation and all of the sudden the process
> dies. Claimed I could not reach the HTTPS server or that I had not
> activated within the time allowed. I tried everything to start up the
> process again with no success.
>
> Called Comcast tech support. The tech (he was very efficient and nice) told
> me to DISCONNECT THE COMPUTER FROM THE ROUTER AND PLUG THE COMPUTER DIRECTLY
> INTO THE CABLE MODEM. This made me EXTREMELY nervous. I now have a
> computer (that was patched and up to date of course) ... BUT ... The
> antivirus and personal firewall software was PURPOSEFULLY turned off. By
> Comcast instructions. He walked me through connecting to the Comcast
> website and finishing up the activation steps. I tried (in the middle of
> his instructions) to ask if I could hook back into my router for a modicum
> of protection and was told no, I had to finish the setup.
>
> When I finished the setup (again, he was very nice and pleasant) I rebooted,
> hooked the computer back to the router/firewall, verified my antivirus and
> firewall were working and indeed everything worked fine.
>
> Being a computer / security professional I was (of course) thinking about
> all the very bad things that could happen to this computer while following
> Comcast's instructions.
>
> I know (and I think it is almost criminal) that many cable companied hook
> PC's up to a cable modem *all the time* without antivirus / firewall /
> updates / any kind of protection. But you would think that an installation
> would not require you to take away any kind of protection that a computer
> has. I can see some overzealous PC owner deleting the anti-virus and
> firewall software just to get their cable modem working.
>
> Ken
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------
> Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards for they are subtle and
> quick to anger.
> Ken Hollis - Gandalf The White - gandalf@digital.net - O- TINLC
> WWW Page - http://digital.net/~gandalf/
> Trace E-Mail forgery - http://digital.net/~gandalf/spamfaq.html
> Trolls crossposts - http://digital.net/~gandalf/trollfaq.html
>
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---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ethical Hacking at the InfoSec Institute. Mention this ad and get $545 off
any course! All of our class sizes are guaranteed to be 10 students or less
to facilitate one-on-one interaction with one of our expert instructors.
Attend a course taught by an expert instructor with years of in-the-field
pen testing experience in our state of the art hacking lab. Master the skills
of an Ethical Hacker to better assess the security of your organization.
Visit us at:
http://www.infosecinstitute.com/courses/ethical_hacking_training.html
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