seems like a few friends of mine are getting free broadband from the cable company by just hooking up a cable modem to their tv signal .anyone know how this works? is it possible that all you need is the modem and the disc that comes with it? if any one can fill me in it would be apreceiated.:rock

I have heard about this to. A friend of mine just bought got ahold of a used digital cable box and now gets all channels for free.

I think the line is already set up for digiatl cable and internet ready. All you need is your own modem.

Thought about canceling my broadband service and hooking up spare modem.

I have a friend that installs cable in my area for Mediacom. I will have to ask him about this and will keep everyone posted.

Have you seen them actually using the free connection? Because here its almost impossible to get it free.

I might be wrong, but the cable company is set up just like a network in an office or home. You are using their gateway to the internet and all users get their own dedicated IP. In other words, if you connect your modem to one of the cable lines, they can detect that.

I might be wrong though.

I dont see how that would work since he does not have his own IP addy nor user name

i just spoke to them briefly but it seems alot of people are getting it and they have no reason to lie to me we have been friends for 20 years.:rock

Well, in a sense Stealth you are not fully correct. DSL is the service where you actually need to have a username and a password to connect. The PPPOE then verifys you and assigns your static IP address. Most cable subscribers are set-up via DHCP. This means that you are assigned a IP address that looses its lease after a period of time.

I can seee if the cable company makes everything digital and the incoming line is active, you can possibly steal service. Otherwise, there needs to be a valid incoming source before you can get the service. If its there...you can exploit it. Its almost just like WiFi.

BTW $40 a month seems like a better deal than $50,000 in fines and 5 years in jail. IMO

everyone does have cable service. but how would the know? just curious

If its true, than the net admins at the cable company should be shot.

Cable access works on hardware MAC addressing. Each modem/digital cable box has a globally uniquie ID that must be registered with the cable company in order for information to be passed to it. While you may have the digital signal in your house right now, you shouldn't be able to just buy any DOCSIS compliant cable modem and get service. The CMTS at the headend of the cable network will see your MAC address and deny access because it isn't in the DB of register users.

If it is working, its only a fluke, and if it is working, the cable company can very easily find you. Modern cable systems are fully addressable and bi-directional, so don't think that no one will know you are stealing service.

I agree.

Originally posted by tccoggs
The CMTS at the headend of the cable network will see your MAC address and deny access because it isn't in the DB of register users.
This is not true. At least not with my service.

most do not use mac addressing any more (iirc)

FYI....DSL is a physical change to your phone line...at the central office they must move your line from a POTS over to link through an ADSL router in the office...if this change isnt done then you would have no opportunity for service....now there are instances where the connections are left in by accident....

im only talking about cable broadband. i understand that dsl is different

most cable connections are going to have an inline filter mounted in the NID box outside your home to block out the particular band that the cable internet operates on unless you are paying for it and they remove the filter. depeneding on how they are setup, they may need to specifically grant access to you access, or they may just run all of their subnets on a first come first serve basis where they keep everyline enacted and just trust the filters to keep people from hooking up devices. unless they are retarded, or still a few years behind in their network infrastructure, i would say that it's unlikely anyone who is missing the filter can just hook right in.

So, i would say the chances of you being able to do the same are pretty slim. Does it mean your friends are liars? no.. but if they are telling the truth they are quite lucky, however the cable company can easily catch up to them in time.

(speaking of which we were getting free cable for about 6 months and just had it turned off :()

I think in canada its possible, my friend has it and said that all you have to do is avoid the ISP's email server!

:fact

I donno about free cable internet, but I know you can get free cable TV from your cable interent line...:yesnod Five of my friends has that, just split your internet-cable line and hook it up to your VCR and change the channels from there, you'll be surprise...:yesnod It also depends on your area, couple of them has over 60 channels, but normally you should get at least the basic package which has about 40 channels...

Now don't tell anyone I said this...:D

:)

Originally posted by valentinik
...but I know you can get free cable TV from your cable interent line...:yesnod Five of my friends has that, just split your internet-cable line and hook it up to your VCR and change the channels from there, you'll be surprise:)

This can only happen if the installer forgot to put the filter on the line blocking everything but the internet access.

Certain people, if they were so inclined, could find this filter in the box in which it was installed, pull it off, take it upstairs, punch it, allowing the filtered channels through, re-install it onto the line from which it was pulled, and the next installer who goes digging in the box to connect or disconnect somebody else's cable would be none the wiser. I don't who these certain people would be, but they are going to hell.

Well, If your nieghbors have cable tv, you can too................

Get yourself 100ft of RG6 coax, a splitter, some F connectors and an ice chopper.

Get up at about 3am and start making a small slit in the lawn from your house to your nieghbors house. Drop in the coax, cut and split his line, and bingo.

When the cable guys comes to check out the service a year later, don't answer the door......................

Worked for us in college

Originally posted by EarlThePearl
This can only happen if the installer forgot to put the filter on the line blocking everything but the internet access.

Certain people, if they were so inclined, could find this filter in the box in which it was installed, pull it off, take it upstairs, punch it, allowing the filtered channels through, re-install it onto the line from which it was pulled, and the next installer who goes digging in the box to connect or disconnect somebody else's cable would be none the wiser. I don't who these certain people would be, but they are going to hell.


Need to know more about this, sounds quite enticing. Where is the little box? I know that when I added my cable modem they did nothing to my line at home, it was done at the cable company.(I guess they actually did something up there) Anyway, I'm moving soon and am interested in this technology you speak of.

TCCOGGS, my friend went out and found where the cable line comes in to his house and simply screwed it back on. It worked fine, and he said they would only come check it once every few months, and when they did they'd just unplug it again. He said they'd leave a brochure at his door each time listing prices. I told him to just get a big dog back there and a fence and his problem would be solved.

In my neighborhood the filters are right on the distribution points on the line at the pole.

Plainly visible from the street.

All ya gotta have is the balls to throw up a ladder and take em off.

If you have cable internet you can put in a splitter and get free cable tv though.

Originally posted by tccoggs
In my neighborhood the filters are right on the distribution points on the line at the pole.

Plainly visible from the street.

All ya gotta have is the balls to throw up a ladder and take em off.


My new neighborhood has underground utilities:( . Maybe I should just subscibe to cable internet and see if the TV works too.

Just out of curiosity, who is your cable provider? I know adelphia just change the way there modems are provisioned. So you can buy a cable modem(docsis approved) from any store come home and plug it in, call adelphia, set up billing and it will work. Maybe they f--ked up when there made the program and any modem will work when plugged in to active cable.

I agree with some of the wiser ones... There may be a slim chance that you can get internet service off you cable tv, but I wouldn't recommend doing it. I can see passively receiving a TV signal, like I have to admit, I may have done in one of my past lives when I lived in a apartment, and all the wires for the other apartments went through my ceiling. I wouldn't want to risk using a cable connection to send and receive inforation over a stolen cable, which might be traced to me, and receive rather large fines.

Don't see how your fooling the TFTP?

Originally posted by R1ZOOM
My new neighborhood has underground utilities:( . Maybe I should just subscibe to cable internet and see if the TV works too.



If you get a "friendly" installer, it might just work.;)

[QUOTE]Originally posted by valentinik
[B]:fact

I donno about free cable internet, but I know you can get free cable TV from your cable interent line...:yesnod Five of my friends has that, just split your internet-cable line and hook it up to your VCR and change the channels from there, you'll be surprise...:yesnod It also depends on your area, couple of them has over 60 channels, but normally you should get at least the basic package which has about 40 channels...

Now don't tell anyone I said this...:D

You are correct the basic cable is what you can get free if you have a broadband internet connection.

IN my area most of the cable companies are smarter than that. They charge you for basic cable when you sign up for interweb connectivity.

guys i dont think you wanna scam the cable company, i work for them and some of the guys in my office track illegals. they offer you to pay for the cable if they find you if you say no they prosecute. its kinda like doing wheelies without a damper on the 1 its possible but you are taking a big risk my friend

just a word

Yes sooner or later most people stealing cable will get caught, whether it's through signal outputs or just routine inspection of systems and lines. One of my old nieghbors got caught.

if you pay for cable but have a box for those few extra chanels how do you get caught. not that i have one, i am asking for a friend.

I'm piggybacking off a LAN and I get speeds of 10 megabytes per second!!

I've also got 100 mbps speed, but only use that connection when using dedicated servers

problem is when using something like kazaa no one else has got such fast speeds!!!:2bitchsla

Comcast in VA/MD/DC definitely.. definitely monitors the MAC address of you cable modem. I've tried switching mine out with a best buy one. And guess what.. I had to call and have a network admin allow me to connect..

Where I am they use the modem's MAC address to authenticate you on their network...for BrightHouse/TimeWarner Road Runner service.