Virgin Media - Cheekily sharing your WiFi with others !!!!!!

Posted 17th Jan 2018
Just a heads up to any Virgin Media customers, be aware that emails are being sent out by Vermin themselves signing you up to share your Home WiFi with others by default, unless you opt out.

Hey Vermin, you should pay us to share our Wifi, not assume we want to do you a favour.

Cheeky *******...
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  1. Laurel-Hardy's avatar
    My BT router has a public hotspot and have never noticed any problems with my connection. Since I can connect to other BT hotspots while out, I don't see the problem if Virgin works on a similar basis
  2. CrashOverride's avatar
    Not really sure what the problem is and why you're so angry about it. Assume it's exactly the same as BT did.

    You share your WiFi, and in return can use other people's WiFi
    You can turn it off if you want, but in turn don't get to share others

    Choice is completely yours. They've emailed you, and given you the opportunity to make the choice, defaulting you to what they think would be most useful to you.

    They don't benefit from you having your WiFi shared. In fact, it increases their overall traffic. What they can benefit from is a claim of wider WiFi coverage for users. (edited)
  3. clerkio's avatar
    It isn’t supposed to slow down your connection and gives you better access on the go, so I don’t see the problem
  4. deleted75953's avatar
    Sharpharp17/01/2018 17:16

    Thanks for your comment Richard Branson


    Don’t you look daft now, Branson doesn’t have anything to do with Virgin media and hasn’t fir years.

    On your your other point, you got a letter ages ago telling it was happening at the time you could opt out but would be unable to use their mobile WiFi but that’s changed now you can simply opt out.


    announced back in 2015, link is in the article it says it doesn’t work but it does.

    shkspr.mobi/blo…in/ (edited)
  5. philphil61's avatar
    I'm not saying I'm old................. because you are as young as you feel

    33084155-udB7g.jpg
    But I remember the times when we got letters sent to us customers telling us all this years ago... not long after the war

    And if my memory serves me well Virgin (oh geez it's been a long time since I've had one of those) stated it didn't affect your broadband speed

    Now I may be an old git, a bit of a fuddy-duddy, but with decades of life's learning I am wise enough to know that it's the modem type thingamajig (I think you young'uns call it a router) controls, via the settings sent to it from Virgin, how much speed you get, depending on what you pay. eg you pay for 75mb and you get 75mb or near it but if you up your speed to 100mb they just send info to the router to increase the speed


    And with that (and referring back to that historical letter) this process doesn't affect your own bandwidth - this additional bandwidth is set aside for local wifi sharing


    OK off now to get my commode emptied - that black pudding I had yesterday hasn't half played up with me bowels - they should have fried it but these young'uns don't know how to cook food properly - I think they just nuked it in that microwave thiingy.

    (edited)
  6. Sharpharp's avatar
    Author
    clerkio17/01/2018 17:15

    It isn’t supposed to slow down your connection and gives you better access …It isn’t supposed to slow down your connection and gives you better access on the go, so I don’t see the problem



    Thanks for your comment Richard Branson
  7. tinkerbellian's avatar
    If it's the same as BT , I actually find it quite useful , they say your own home connection gets preference over others , so you don't get slowed down. In return I get to use everyone else's BT for free wifi connections. So can't remember the last time I had to put my data allowance on. Especially useful if I'm waiting to pick the kids up from the station etc as I've worked out where I can get a good connection . Also easy to opt out though if you really object .
  8. bo0td's avatar
    eslick17/01/2018 17:43

    Don’t you look daft now, Branson doesn’t have anything to do with Virgin me …Don’t you look daft now, Branson doesn’t have anything to do with Virgin media and hasn’t fir years. On your your other point, you got a letter ages ago telling it was happening at the time you could opt out but would be unable to use their mobile WiFi.announced back in 2015, link is in the article it says it doesn’t work but it does.https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2016/12/virgin-media-are-hijacking-your-router-again/


    He makes the best baked beans, though.
  9. kester76's avatar
    It's not your WIFI it's true that you're using your electricity but it means you can connect to other people sh3 hotspots so I don't see a downside to this. The sh3 isn't a great unit anyway do it's probably best just to buy a decent router and run it in modem mode.
  10. deleted75953's avatar
    deleted24292517/01/2018 18:28

    Don't you look stupid, The global Virgin brand is paid for use of its …Don't you look stupid, The global Virgin brand is paid for use of its trademark so YES Dickie the billionaire does get paid.



    deleted24292517/01/2018 18:28

    Don't you look stupid, The global Virgin brand is paid for use of its …Don't you look stupid, The global Virgin brand is paid for use of its trademark so YES Dickie the billionaire does get paid.


    He gets cash yes but technically has nothing to do with virgin any more, he has no say it it’s operation, the name is there he gets paid for them using it and will do for 30 years from the sale date. the op response to the first poster sounded like a dig, my reply I was simply pointing out a fact he has nothing to do with Virgin which is true as well as being a sarcastic reply to a poor comment from the op.
  11. CrashOverride's avatar
    MIDURIX10 m ago

    So you are saying I could use that excuse in court? Interesting indeed.


    In order for other Virgin users to use your hotspot, they will need to sign in with their account details to verify they can use it (ie they have it enabled themselves)

    So if the "it wasn't me, must have been someone using my Virgin Wi-Fi" card is played, surely Virgin can go back over their own logs and identify it was indeed a visitor and, presumably, who it was too.
  12. Shengis's avatar
    Quid pro quo Clarice, quid pro quo.......
  13. Sharpharp's avatar
    Author
    eslick17/01/2018 17:43

    Don’t you look daft now, Branson doesn’t have anything to do with Virgin me …Don’t you look daft now, Branson doesn’t have anything to do with Virgin media and hasn’t fir years. On your your other point, you got a letter ages ago telling it was happening at the time you could opt out but would be unable to use their mobile WiFi but that’s changed now you can simply opt out.announced back in 2015, link is in the article it says it doesn’t work but it does.https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2016/12/virgin-media-are-hijacking-your-router-again/



    Eat humble pie fool, Branson still gets a cut..... don't u look daft x2
  14. deleted75953's avatar
    Chiptivo22 m ago

    Is it compulsory, or can it be disabled. The problem with this option is …Is it compulsory, or can it be disabled. The problem with this option is as far as "the authorities" are concerned, people sitting outside your house using your virgin assigned IP to access dodgy sites.When these places are raided, or the digital fingerprint checked, the access to potential nonce type servers will log your Virgin IP and your premises will be the focus of the search warrant, not the guy/girl sitting outside your house downloading a ton of illegal images.


    Have a look here separate connection which probably has its own ip. But simple way is just to disable it just log in and click opt out.


    engadget.com/201…rk/
  15. Chiptivo's avatar
    It's a seperate SSID, but I wouldn't be happy with someones elses traffic going through my router to be honest.
  16. tinkerbellian's avatar
    Chiptivo47 m ago

    Is it compulsory, or can it be disabled. The problem with this option is …Is it compulsory, or can it be disabled. The problem with this option is as far as "the authorities" are concerned, people sitting outside your house using your virgin assigned IP to access dodgy sites.When these places are raided, or the digital fingerprint checked, the access to potential nonce type servers will log your Virgin IP and your premises will be the focus of the search warrant, not the guy/girl sitting outside your house downloading a ton of illegal images.


    As far as I understand as all traffic via the BT hotspots go through a seperate channel so it's easy to differentiate between home use and that using the hotspot channel. This isnt new technology , so I don't think the police are going to be confused .
  17. MIDURIX's avatar
    MSK.17/01/2018 18:35

    Who is responsible if a stranger looks up BBC grade photos of children …Who is responsible if a stranger looks up BBC grade photos of children using your connection? I know you are, if you leave your connection open.


    So you are saying I could use that excuse in court? Interesting indeed.
  18. deleted75953's avatar
    freakstyler7 h, 58 m ago

    Won’t this just effect those using the latest (but not greatest) Superhub a …Won’t this just effect those using the latest (but not greatest) Superhub and possibly the SH2ac when in router mode? Just what SH3 users need, more stress on their already flaky hardware. Why can’t they just install more of their own manhole cover hotspots in cable areas? I suspect sticking Hubs into Modem mode and using a separate router would stop this happening should it be forced on you. Must admit I wouldn’t feel comfortable sharing my connection full stop.



    just disable it, took 2 seconds to do
  19. freakstyler's avatar
    Van19738 h, 35 m ago

    I just disabled the functionality a week or so ago. I have a lot of home …I just disabled the functionality a week or so ago. I have a lot of home automation devices connected to and operated by wifi. Over the Christmas period I was having a lot of problems with dropouts and devices (laptops and phones) being unable to connect to the network. I googled the problem and read that a potential cause could be channel interference - my main wifi network, my guest network and the 'open' virginmedia network were all sharing Channel 11! So I opted out of sharing the open network and disabled the Guest network. Don't know if this was the cause or not but my actions appear to have solved the problem for now!Anyway I have decided I'm going to get my own router (Netgear R7800 when next on offer at Amazon) and put the SH3 into modem mode! Thinking about it I doubt it was channel interference and guess that having three wireless networks (as well as 2.4 and 5GHz dual bands) was just too much work for the limited SH3 to handle(?).


    In my own brief flirtation with the SH3 it was pushed acting as a modem, I never did get to try the router side of things. In the two weeks I persisted with it, it needed a daily reboot and I eventually got fed up and downgraded back to the older Hub. The SH3 is not fit for purpose in my opinion.
  20. zohan's avatar
    only if you have the hub3 I think. got the hub2 went to sign up as I think it's good for virgin customers but wouldn't let me do it
  21. deleted242925's avatar
    eslick17/01/2018 17:43

    Don’t you look daft now, Branson doesn’t have anything to do with Virgin me …Don’t you look daft now, Branson doesn’t have anything to do with Virgin media and hasn’t fir years. On your your other point, you got a letter ages ago telling it was happening at the time you could opt out but would be unable to use their mobile WiFi but that’s changed now you can simply opt out.announced back in 2015, link is in the article it says it doesn’t work but it does.https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2016/12/virgin-media-are-hijacking-your-router-again/


    Don't you look stupid, The global Virgin brand is paid for use of its trademark so YES Dickie the billionaire does get paid.
  22. MSK.'s avatar
    Who is responsible if a stranger looks up BBC grade photos of children using your connection? I know you are, if you leave your connection open.
  23. deleted1172473's avatar
    I wonder if virgin would mind me using their pc's for my mining operation. I'm sure they wouldn't, i won't bother asking, they can just tell me if they don't.
  24. Skyblue22's avatar
    Are you sure you read the email right? I got a email from virgin media talking about Wi-Fi hotspots all it means is you download a app and you can connect to virgin media Wi-Fi out of the house as long as your in range of a virgin media hotspot
  25. Oneday77's avatar
    You could of course. Turn the WiFi off on your router and also change the admin password. Wire in one that has more teeth than PhilPhil and use that with your own SSID.
  26. landros1's avatar
    Can this be a security threat?
  27. Chiptivo's avatar
    Is it compulsory, or can it be disabled.
    The problem with this option is as far as "the authorities" are concerned, people sitting outside your house using your virgin assigned IP to access dodgy sites.

    When these places are raided, or the digital fingerprint checked, the access to potential nonce type servers will log your Virgin IP and your premises will be the focus of the search warrant, not the guy/girl sitting outside your house downloading a ton of illegal images.
  28. batista's avatar
    thanks sharpharp, opted out now, cheeky of virgin
  29. 118luke's avatar
    When i joined BT, i ditched the Homehub 5 that they gave me and put an Asus RT3200 instead.
    I did it mainly for performance reasons, but a nice side effect is no-more wifi sharing/security threats from the general public connecting through my router.

    BT/Virgin will try and re-assure you that its totally seperate and doesnt interfere with your home network. I'd rather not leave it to chance and instead just deny public access to my router.
  30. freakstyler's avatar
    Won’t this just effect those using the latest (but not greatest) Superhub and possibly the SH2ac when in router mode? Just what SH3 users need, more stress on their already flaky hardware. Why can’t they just install more of their own manhole cover hotspots in cable areas?

    I suspect sticking Hubs into Modem mode and using a separate router would stop this happening should it be forced on you. Must admit I wouldn’t feel comfortable sharing my connection full stop.
  31. Van1973's avatar
    I just disabled the functionality a week or so ago.

    I have a lot of home automation devices connected to and operated by wifi. Over the Christmas period I was having a lot of problems with dropouts and devices (laptops and phones) being unable to connect to the network. I googled the problem and read that a potential cause could be channel interference - my main wifi network, my guest network and the 'open' virginmedia network were all sharing Channel 11! So I opted out of sharing the open network and disabled the Guest network. Don't know if this was the cause or not but my actions appear to have solved the problem for now!

    Anyway I have decided I'm going to get my own router (Netgear R7800 when next on offer at Amazon) and put the SH3 into modem mode!

    Thinking about it I doubt it was channel interference and guess that having three wireless networks (as well as 2.4 and 5GHz dual bands) was just too much work for the limited SH3 to handle(?). (edited)
  32. ashmac's avatar
    This was being rolled out ages ago to give bl users WiFi wherever they go ,you can opt out if wanted but you can’t use the service if you did

    Aslo the hotspot has nothing to do with your connection it’s a separate internet connection
  33. deleted75953's avatar
    ashmac7 h, 9 m ago

    This was being rolled out ages ago to give bl users WiFi wherever they go …This was being rolled out ages ago to give bl users WiFi wherever they go ,you can opt out if wanted but you can’t use the service if you did Aslo the hotspot has nothing to do with your connection it’s a separate internet connection



    they changed the policy, you can disable it and still use the wifi service.
  34. deleted1471098's avatar
    Put your router in modem only mode and connect it to your own wireless router. It only works on their routers.
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