Breaking the internet (hotels, guestnet style)

Tue Dec 8 19:00:33 UTC 2009

On Dec 8, 2009, at 7:25 AM, Andrew Cox wrote:

> Owen DeLong wrote:
>>
>> On Dec 8, 2009, at 1:18 AM, Andrew Cox wrote:
>>
>>
>>> Sounds like a great idea in theory but would require OS support or  
>>> a dual-hotspot setup that provided for both options until support  
>>> was expected.
>>> Until such time it's simply unworkable.
>>>
>>> That and as mentioned in my previous post, the setup we have *just  
>>> works* for users who don't have the permissions to change off of a  
>>> static IP and use DHCP on their laptops.
>>>
>> And it just breaks for those of us who actually expect "internet  
>> access" to mean
>> access to the internet, not just the web.
>>
> I never said that the *just works* method stopped users from being  
> able to use the internet. In fact catching users with bad IP address  
> settings works just as well as sending them a DHCP address.

I expect my connections to my mail server to actually reach my mail  
server.  I use TLS
and SMTP AUTH as well as IMAP/SSL.  Many of the "just works" settings  
in question
break these things badly.

Stop doing man in the middle attacks on my mail, or, expect me to be a  
support headache.
It's just that simple.
>> I make a habbit of calling support and pushing the issue hard  
>> through multiple
>> layers until I finally get a management denial, then, demand  
>> refunds of my
>> connectivity charges every time I encounter this at a hotel.
>>
>> I figure that the reason you guys deploy what "just works" as you  
>> put it is because
>> it lowers your support costs, so, I do what I can to increase the  
>> support costs of
>> delivering a broken internet.
>>
> We're in no way in the business of providing half-baked services and  
> likewise, I call up support for other providers if I end up with  
> just web access.

Good... As long as you're not MITM my stuff, then, I won't be calling  
your support people.
Perhaps I misunderstood your explanation of what you do to port 25  
traffic that "just works".

Owen

>> I encourage others to do the same.
>>
>> Owen
>>
>