US Internet Providers Hijacking Users' Search Queries

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According to this article, almost a dozen ISPs have been accused of hijacking search traffic in the United States. What makes this case even more bizarre is the fact that the hijacking only targets searches for certain well-known brand names.

Searches made by millions of internet users are being hijacked and redirected by some internet service providers in the US. Patents filed by Paxfire, the company involved in the hijacking, suggest that it may be part of a larger plan to allow ISPs to generate revenue by tracking the sites their customers visit. It may also be illegal.
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I bet Time Warner is on that list. Scum bags. I can't wait to be rid of them in a week.
 
When I use Chrome or IE9 and try using the address bar as my search bar. I ALWAYS get redirected to a suddenlink search page. I have tried over and over to disable the redirect for my account via suddenlink, but it never works.

I try and treat the internet with "no priviacy implyed" line of thinking. Their are no real "wiretapping" type laws for the internet, and anyone can pretty much spy on you and its completely legal. The laws that are in place can be skirted by saying, best for the customer, or best buisness practices, etc, etc.
 
MrValentine said:
When I use Chrome or IE9 and try using the address bar as my search bar. I ALWAYS get redirected to a suddenlink search page. I have tried over and over to disable the redirect for my account via suddenlink, but it never works.

I try and treat the internet with "no priviacy implyed" line of thinking. Their are no real "wiretapping" type laws for the internet, and anyone can pretty much spy on you and its completely legal. The laws that are in place can be skirted by saying, best for the customer, or best buisness practices, etc, etc.
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Go in your network adapter's TCP/IP settings and change the DNS servers from automatic to 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 to stop using your ISP's DNS server.

8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 is Google's DNS servers.
 
Not the least bit surprising. I'm more surprised that it took this long for this to be found out.
 
Azhar said:
Go in your network adapter's TCP/IP settings and change the DNS servers from automatic to 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 to stop using your ISP's DNS server.

8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 is Google's DNS servers.
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awww fuck!!! why the hell didnt I think of that!!!! damn I feel stupid now!!!
 
Is there anyone surprised at all that companies would do something like this?
 
Yes, change your DNS to Google's because they never snoop traffic or anything like that...
 
Unless the Government does it of course.... Then no one seems to give a shit.

"It may also be illegal. "
 
Eisenblut said:
Yes, change your DNS to Google's because they never snoop traffic or anything like that...
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The point is he doesn't want to use his ISP's redirected search engine. Using Google's DNS allows you to use your browser's URL field to search using bona fide Google or anything else you set your browser default to - snoop conspiracy notwithstanding. He'd be getting the results he wants.
 
While Google may keep tabs on everything we do online they only do it for profit. All of the other organizations do it for the simple pleasure of screwing us. Google hasn't appeared to start selling information on our activities to people who want to screw us yet and they very well might not ever. These other folks in question want to lynch us all.

Still.... I'm not comfortable with how much Google know about me and my fellow man.
 
Eisenblut said:
Yes, change your DNS to Google's because they never snoop traffic or anything like that...
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I switched to google's DNS servers because I get redirected to a google search when I mistype a URL, rather than getting redirected to the awful, slow, useless, ad-infested search page that TWC uses.
 
Peteman100 said:
What will that do for me?
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Whenever your internet goes to a new IP address, this will update your OpenDNS account and apply any of the additional options you have enabled(such as filtering, shortcuts, and so on) for the new address. If you haven't yet made an account, try it. It's free and there are plenty of helpful tweaks.
 
Hello, MrValentine – My name is Ashley, and I’m with Suddenlink. I’m sorry you’re having issues with the Opt Out function of our Redirect service. I assure you that the policy regarding the Suddenlink Redirect page is only to redirect in the case of unfound search terms or URL’s. Please try this link to see if you are able to Opt Out: http://search.suddenlink.net/prefs.php . Also, please keep in mind that if you delete your cookies, you may have to set your opt out settings again. If you continue to experience issues with this service, please contact me directly at: ashley-AT-suddenlink-DOT-com.
 
SuddenlinkAshley said:
Hello, MrValentine – My name is Ashley, and I’m with Suddenlink. I’m sorry you’re having issues with the Opt Out function of our Redirect service. I assure you that the policy regarding the Suddenlink Redirect page is only to redirect in the case of unfound search terms or URL’s. Please try this link to see if you are able to Opt Out: http://search.suddenlink.net/prefs.php . Also, please keep in mind that if you delete your cookies, you may have to set your opt out settings again. If you continue to experience issues with this service, please contact me directly at: ashley-AT-suddenlink-DOT-com.
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Please read the forum rules... And I'm quoting a helpful section for you.

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=760666
FOR VENDORS & MFGs!!!!!!!!!!

We welcome computer hardware vendors and manufacturers in our forums. We simply ask that they contact us before posting so we can do a few checks.

First we like to make sure that the persons are in fact who they say they are, have the proper affiliations, and also have the authority to be interacting with our forum members. We also like to identify those people with the proper titles, such as “Official Company X Rep,” etc. Obviously this lends a tremendous amount of credibility to the person making the post, and to our forums alike. We do not allow companies to come in and “advertise,” but we encourage them to be active in helping their customers with issues and helping inform consumers about their product lines when they are being discussed. Public forums are a very dynamic medium for a private company but are certainly one that can be leveraged if managed properly.

Please contact [email protected] with any questions about getting authorized to post in our forums.
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