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Comcast Turns Millions Of Routers Into Motion Sensors - The Same WiFi Signals Can ID You With 99.5% Accuracy

mullet

mullet

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Comcast Turns Millions Of Routers Into Motion Sensors - The Same WiFi Signals Can ID You With 99.5% Accuracy​

On Tuesday, Comcast unveiled Xfinity Shield, a home security platform built entirely around the WiFi network. Its centerpiece, WiFi Motion, turns the leased gateway into a motion detector at no extra charge. According to Comcast, a typical customer has roughly 36 devices connected to their WiFi.

WiFi Motion works because a human body moving through a room disturbs the signal field between the gateway and stationary connected devices, like a printer or a game console. While the feature is opt-in and - according to Comcast's rollout materials - does not track phones or reach through WiFi extenders, those limitations are choices Comcast made in software, not limitations of the technology itself.

Comcast says WiFi Motion works "without recording video, capturing images or identifying individuals."

The company is not shy about identification as a product. The $15-a-month tier, Xfinity Shield Select, adds AI-powered cameras that identify people, pets, packages and vehicles. The free tier's restraint is a line drawn one product SKU away.

The company's own terms spell out where the data can go. According to the fine print that drew criticism when the feature first appeared last year, Comcast "may disclose information generated by your WiFi Motion to third parties without further notice" in connection with law enforcement investigations. Users pointed out at the time that the only complete opt-out is returning the Xfinity router.
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Ah man I totally forgot about this tech.
I wonder if there are any good open source projects to set this up at home.
It would be great as something to replace motion sensors for light switches. If it works as well as they claim it does it would be a huge improvement. You wouldn't have to worry about turning off the lights on someone taking an extra long dump or shower, and you could just instantly turn the lights off when no one is in there.
 
zandor said:
Why? I'm stuck with Comcast around here if I want decent speed, but I run my own modem, router, etc.
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In my case, using the Comcast gateway was the "free" option to avoid their 1.2tb data cap. Otherwise it's an additional $30 a month to get unlimited data.

Currently using their gateway in bridge mode. (I assume it's still spying regardless.)
 
Kardonxt said:
In my case, using the Comcast gateway was the "free" option to avoid their 1.2tb data cap. Otherwise it's an additional $30 a month to get unlimited data.

Currently using their gateway in bridge mode. (I assume it's still spying regardless.)
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Ah ok. I'm familiar with that one. Thought about building a faraday cage for the Comcast Gateway? I have. I'd probably just pay the $30 and keep using my gear, but it is cheaper to get the package and put the Gateway in bridge mode. So far I've been ok with the 1.2TB cap, so I'm on the cheap path.
 
zandor said:
Ah ok. I'm familiar with that one. Thought about building a faraday cage for the Comcast Gateway? I have. I'd probably just pay the $30 and keep using my gear, but it is cheaper to get the package and put the Gateway in bridge mode. So far I've been ok with the 1.2TB cap, so I'm on the cheap path.
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I actually was thinking about a ghetto faraday cage when reading the article lol.

The 1.2tb wasn't a problem for a long time, but 300gb AAA game launches add up quick when you have multiple gamers in the house.
 
tenor.com%2Fm%2Fw9ekh0-LB8MAAAAC%2Fblink-excuse-me.gif
 
sfsuphysics said:
Lemme guess, always on is the default option? Because there is zero way this is a useful level of security. This is about mapping out your house and collecting data about where you are at certain times of the day
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It sounds like you have to opt in to use it. Otherwise, it will pretend it's not active.
 
Ah, the good old ATI Radeon Sound Blaster. I'm so tired of AI slop, but that's actually pretty funny after seeing folks complain about Creative sound card and Radeon GPU drivers for 20+ years. Imagine that combo - the ultimate FU to system builder enthusiasts, lol.
 
Lateralus said:
Ah, the good old ATI Radeon Sound Blaster.
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Would have been the ultimate counter to nForce back in the day. The best thing XBox ever did to PC gamers was give us nForce.

My gaming setup in 2003 and later was nForce2 + ATI. It was already a FU to Intel + Creative (which I had for years prior).
 
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Lateralus said:
Ah, the good old ATI Radeon Sound Blaster. I'm so tired of AI slop, but that's actually pretty funny after seeing folks complain about Creative sound card and Radeon GPU drivers for 20+ years. Imagine that combo - the ultimate FU to system builder enthusiasts, lol.
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Would've had front panel all in wonder ports
 
This isn't all that freaky. It's opt-in, for a start. And Comcast can be compelled to hand over motion data if police or courts demand it, but it can't snoop on you as there's no precise location tracking or imagery. Your modem won't say "oh, you went to the kitchen for a midnight snack again."

Privacy is a major concern these days, but sometimes a feature can just be nice to have.
 
Aurelius said:
This isn't all that freaky. It's opt-in, for a start. And Comcast can be compelled to hand over motion data if police or courts demand it, but it can't snoop on you as there's no precise location tracking or imagery. Your modem won't say "oh, you went to the kitchen for a midnight snack again."

Privacy is a major concern these days, but sometimes a feature can just be nice to have.
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If you have three or more access points you could easily track someone in arbitrary space, relative to the position of those nodes, as long as they aren't all in a line. If you add GPS you could get their exact location on earth, give or take a few feet. I doubt comcast's mesh routers have gps though.
 
Nobu said:
If you have three or more access points you could easily track someone in arbitrary space, relative to the position of those nodes, as long as they aren't all in a line. If you add GPS you could get their exact location on earth, give or take a few feet. I doubt comcast's mesh routers have gps though.
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True, but there's no indication Comcast is doing that. It just appears to detect whether or not there was significant movement during specified hours. The company wouldn't even gain anything by tracking movement.
 
Kardonxt said:
In my case, using the Comcast gateway was the "free" option to avoid their 1.2tb data cap. Otherwise it's an additional $30 a month to get unlimited data.

Currently using their gateway in bridge mode. (I assume it's still spying regardless.)
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Unless Comcast are dicks, I'm certain you can replace their modem/router with your own docsis 3.1 modem. Unless you're one of the few on docsis 4.0? You can keep their modem as a souvenir. FIOS gave me a free router but it's sitting in my closet unplugged, where it belongs.
 
Side note: while I'm not alarmed about Comcast, I will say that I use a mesh Wi-Fi network instead of the one built into my modem. The 100Mbps speed boost and extended coverage were worth it.
 
Yeah, modem, protectli, pfsense, openvpn, ubiquiti AP's and never look back. And block ubiquiti BS telemetry. But hey, most people don't have anything to hide amiright?
 
zandor said:
Why? I'm stuck with Comcast around here if I want decent speed, but I run my own modem, router, etc.
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Kardonxt said:
In my case, using the Comcast gateway was the "free" option to avoid their 1.2tb data cap. Otherwise it's an additional $30 a month to get unlimited data.

Currently using their gateway in bridge mode. (I assume it's still spying regardless.)
Click to expand...

There's not a data cap any longer from what I've seen with the current plans but there are also no supported DOCSIS 4.0 cable modems that can do symmetric 1+ GbE speeds that their newer networks support. So I'm stuck with the XB10 in bridge mode.
 
DukenukemX said:
Unless Comcast are dicks, I'm certain you can replace their modem/router with your own docsis 3.1 modem. Unless you're one of the few on docsis 4.0? You can keep their modem as a souvenir. FIOS gave me a free router but it's sitting in my closet unplugged, where it belongs.
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Just to confirm, Comcast are most definitely dicks. Among the greasiest of greasy-bastard companies I’ve (had to) use.

They do let you use your own modem tough, so there’s that anyways.
 
Come on guys, it's opt in. .....

Or as mnewxcv said it will pretend to not be active..... Or maybe it won't be active, but some future software update will "accidentally" turn it to default on, and only you don't have access because you didn't pay unlike the rest of the surveillance data brokers.
 
Lateralus said:
Ah, the good old ATI Radeon Sound Blaster. I'm so tired of AI slop, but that's actually pretty funny after seeing folks complain about Creative sound card and Radeon GPU drivers for 20+ years. Imagine that combo - the ultimate FU to system builder enthusiasts, lol.
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I kind of like the RJ45 plugs in the top and bottom of the phone. In an age where a headphone jack "doesnt fit"
 
sfsuphysics said:
I kind of like the RJ45 plugs in the top and bottom of the phone. In an age where a headphone jack "doesnt fit"
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So much 6-month-old AI glitchiness there. The top cable just vanishes into thin air. I also like the CAT6 CABLE cable/power jack. Where can I get one of those?
 
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