Virgin Use of your Router for Public Wifi Hotspot

[Deleted User]

kwikbreaks wrote: »

If they get to use your public IP then remember if you are unlucky enough to have a jihadi or kiddy fiddler using your connection it will be your door that gets kicked in and your computers that get bagged up and taken away.

The likelihood of either of these scenarios is precisely nil.

However, anyone even unnecessarily concerned has the option to disable their router as a Hotspot..

mark31_2

Lets go back to the begining. Virgin have only just decided to do this - I've been a customer for years - nor did they annouunce it before they did it. They are switching this facility on in my home whether I like it or not. I have to opt out and then it can take several days for them to switch it off. Does this not strike anyone as the wrong way to go about things?

[Deleted User]

mark31 wrote: »

Lets go back to the begining. Virgin have only just decided to do this - I've been a customer for years - nor did they annouunce it before they did it. They are switching this facility on in my home whether I like it or not. I have to opt out and then it can take several days for them to switch it off. Does this not strike anyone as the wrong way to go about things?

No, not really.

kwikbreaks

Moneyineptitude wrote: »

The likelihood of either of these scenarios is precisely nil.

Certainly it is for me as my Fon signal is unusable from outside my property. I don't know if the proposed VM system will give guest users their own public IP or not but if it doesn't then the risk is indeed still very low but it isn't zero and the costs if it should happen are high.

When I was on cable some years back they were talking about adding hotspots to their street cabinets. I'm guessing that they decided that would cost too much and decided to adopt the BT model. SFAIK BT don't ask for permission and this feature is automatically enabled however I think the option to turn it off is in the home hub gui which is how VM should be doing it imo

AndyPK

mark31 wrote: »

Lets go back to the begining. Virgin have only just decided to do this

I had a letter in February about it

mark31_2

Interesting. Makes me feel even less in control of a device in my home. My letter arrived yesterday. They are probably rolling it out by area though.

kwikbreaks

It wouldn't put me off returning to VM should Plusnet not want to offer a decent discount when my current retention deal with them ends. I'd check out how a guest user was configured and either get VM to disable it or put the hub in modem mode if I didn't like what I saw. I may do that anyway if the current hub isn't a big improvement on the original.

[Deleted User]

kwikbreaks wrote: »

I'd check out how a guest user was configured and either get VM to disable it

The OP has already disabled the Hotspot.

It wasn't even enabled without his permission, that's why Virgin wrote informing him he could opt out.

AndyPK

No one would opt in if they did that.
And therefore customers would not get free wifi when out and about.

kwikbreaks

From the VM info it looks to be all sweetness and light...

https://my.virginmedia.com/my-app/what-is-virgin-media-wifi.html

Of course they may screw up and it won't be...