PRISM upgrades at time warner cable?

[Lifted]

Everything flies with the exception of http/https traffic. Latency is normal and i can pull from dell's ftp at a full 16mb, but it takes a minute to load 10% of the dell website before it times out. Forget speedtest.net. I always get 25mb to speedtest servers on my 16mb line. They obviously optimistic the routing to those sites. In fact, speedtest.net is the only site that completely loads at the moment.

Can anyone explain how only http and https traffic could be so slow if TWC isn't shaping or snooping on certain protocols/ports?

 

[Phoenix86]

 

[Vic Vega]

There is a reason all Google services are defaulting to https now...

 

[Leros]

My TWC has been slow as well. I can no longer stream HD Netflix or any HD content. It's only been a problem for a few days.

 

[Zeze]

There is a reason all Google services are defaulting to https now...

Does that matter at all? Spying is done at the root- ISP. HTTPS won't do anything?

 

[Leros]

Does that matter at all? Spying is done at the root- ISP. HTTPS won't do anything?

HTTPS is encrypted from the user's browser all the way to the server. It stays encrypted as it travels through the internet including through the ISP. Anybody snooping would just see encrypted data.

Snooping on HTTPS data still has tons value. They can still see which users are connected to which servers. They can see how much traffic is going between them. However, they can't read the data. So, for example... they can tell that a user visits a terrorist website from 8pm to 11pm every day, but they can't tell what the user uploaded or downloaded from that website.

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

Does that matter at all? Spying is done at the root- ISP. HTTPS won't do anything?

HTTPS encrypts the packets end to end. Now there are many weaknesses with it (say if the cert used to signed is obtained by the feds or insufficiently encrypted traffic using out of date protocols like md5), but that's not too important as the NSA stores this data for like 3-5 years. So even though it might be hard to decrypt today it could be a 5 minute job in that time period depending on what it is.

Follow the rule of the internet: Nothing online is private. Once it hits the internet, assume it's stored and saved somewhere.

 

[Zeze]

<3 AT. Thanks for teaching me.

 

[Juddog]

Everything flies with the exception of http/https traffic. Latency is normal and i can pull from dell's ftp at a full 16mb, but it takes a minute to load 10% of the dell website before it times out. Forget speedtest.net. I always get 25mb to speedtest servers on my 16mb line. They obviously optimistic the routing to those sites. In fact, speedtest.net is the only site that completely loads at the moment.

Can anyone explain how only http and https traffic could be so slow if TWC isn't shaping or snooping on certain protocols/ports?

Sniffing traffic just requires an ethernet card in promiscuous mode and a managed router to mirror data to it - it in no way affects the speed / latency of the original traffic.

TWC uses "speed boost" to artificially inflate the results of users which go to speedtest.net, which basically means the traffic is typically twice as fast for the first 30 seconds of the transfer.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Sniffing traffic just requires an ethernet card in promiscuous mode and a managed router to mirror data to it - it in no way affects the speed / latency of the original traffic.

TWC uses "speed boost" to artificially inflate the results of users which go to speedtest.net, which basically means the traffic is typically twice as fast for the first 30 seconds of the transfer.

It's the SSL decryption process that may slow things down. Then again they don't really need to do it live either, chances are no computer can do it real time, it just sits there and goes into a queue that the NSA processes separately.

 

[zanejohnson]

HTTPS is encrypted from the user's browser all the way to the server. It stays encrypted as it travels through the internet including through the ISP. Anybody snooping would just see encrypted data.

Snooping on HTTPS data still has tons value. They can still see which users are connected to which servers. They can see how much traffic is going between them. However, they can't read the data. So, for example... they can tell that a user visits a terrorist website from 8pm to 11pm every day, but they can't tell what the user uploaded or downloaded from that website.

you are both wrong..

imagine if you could have an exact copy of ALL data...

all you'd need to do then is emulate facebook, and you catalog by a time increment, and by "user"

 

[A Casual Fitz]

TWC has been crawling here lately.

 

[Hugo Drax]

Everything flies with the exception of http/https traffic. Latency is normal and i can pull from dell's ftp at a full 16mb, but it takes a minute to load 10% of the dell website before it times out. Forget speedtest.net. I always get 25mb to speedtest servers on my 16mb line. They obviously optimistic the routing to those sites. In fact, speedtest.net is the only site that completely loads at the moment.

Can anyone explain how only http and https traffic could be so slow if TWC isn't shaping or snooping on certain protocols/ports?

The HTTPS takes longer because they have to hold your TCP connection while they break the encryption and then once that happens they have to encrypt/recrypt all the traffic between you and the host.

Cracking SSL is time consuming so it makes your connection take much longer.

 

[momeNt]

I'd avoid having any home security monitoring through any Telco. They want to put cameras in your home and microphone panels just to give a backdoor to the government.

If you are going to monitor your home, do not let any Telco do the installation or management. There are somewhat semi-private options available that will protect your privacy.

 

[Doppel]

I'd avoid having any home security monitoring through any Telco. They want to put cameras in your home and microphone panels just to give a backdoor to the government.

If you are going to monitor your home, do not let any Telco do the installation or management. There are somewhat semi-private options available that will protect your privacy.

I consider myself the resident dropcam whore so I recommend going with that product.

 

[Red Squirrel]

That does make me wonder, what stops the alphabet agencies from going to ANY home monitoring company to eavesdrop on you through your security system? Seems the best bet is to have a fully self monitored system these days, especially with prism and the government's agenda of total control and surveillance.

I have a monitored security system but it's only stuff like motion sensors, though there is also a 2 way radio on the main panel, so they could theoretically listen to anything happening near it. I've always been weary of the camera systems that are "cloud" based or wireless though. Can you really trust their security? I rather buy a bunch of IP cams, a POE switch and manage them myself.

 

[Kaido]

Utah ISP breaks silence over government server installed on its network:

http://www.engadget.com/2013/07/22/utah-isp-government/

When the government comes knocking on your door, you kind of have to cooperate with them or face the consequences. That's the situation Pete Ashdown, CEO of Utah ISP XMission, was faced with in 2010 after receiving a warrant under the Foreign Intelligence Service Act (FISA). The warrant, coming in at just three or four pages, was perfectly clear: install a rack-mount server on your network to track every last bit going in and out from one of your customers, and don't say anything to anyone about this. Ashdown's lawyer said the request was indeed legit, and the box stayed there for a little over half a year. So why talk about it now? Because Pete, like the rest of us, wants a bit of transparency, even if there's a risk the G-Men will come "come back and haunt" him.