Forum Discussion

MC72's avatar
MC72
New Contributor II
7 months ago

Cox Hot Spot running off my modem

Cox is using my Cox rented modem/router as a hot spot for anyone who parks by my house.  I went to Privacy Preferences and Disabled Hotspot but it still shows up.  It is an unprotected network using ...
  • MC72's avatar
    MC72
    7 months ago

    Thanks but I know that the homeless is using my box.  He comes in his car every night around 8pm and leaves at 8:30am the next day.  He just parks by our house.   For the last 3 nights, I have been unplugging the modem at 8pm every night (the cable and electricity) and now you can not hook up to the hot spot.   Finally last night he did not come.   

    I basically just wrote this post so that others will know of this problem.  Just to be clear to the people telling me to change my password - of course I did that. This homeless man is not using my secure network.  He is using the second network - the open hotspot that COX is running off my modem.  I called Cox twice - no help.  They told me that all the COX supplied boxes run this and there is no way of turning it off.

    Anyway, the solution is that I am buying my own modem - I don't care how much it costs - then I won't be running a hotspot for the riff raff.   And this man is most decidedly not a "gentleman" - He pollutes  - I have to pick up all his disgusting trash: toilet paper, clothing, food and about 20 cigarette butts every day.   I can't open my windows because all the smoke comes in.  

    I was never told of this "service" running on my subscription and my electricity - this was a replacement box just given with no paperwork when I cancelled my cable.   

    Anyway I am getting a my own modem/router. 

    Thanks 

     

       

  • MC72's avatar
    MC72
    New Contributor II
    7 months ago

    Thanks - but this does not solve COX using my router as a hotspot.  All of these security measures had already been taken.    My network was secure.  This hotspot is something built into the router supplied by COX that I rent.   I was never told of this.  When I saw this open access hotspot - I assumed it was a neighbor.  I had no idea it was my router.   Cox is supplying this to strangers (in my case the homeless person living outside my house that the police will do nothing about) using my monthly fees and my electricity payments. I imagine one day they will be a class action lawsuit against this - it is not right.

    • CurtB's avatar
      CurtB
      Valued Contributor III
      7 months ago

      If your network was secure, a homeless guy wouldn't be using it as a hotspot.  How do you know he's accessing your Wi-Fi?  Have you changed your Wi-Fi password recently?  Change it to a new, strong password and reboot your router.  See if the connection you believe is the homeless guy comes back.  Don't forget to write down your new password (offline) and store it in a secure location.  If you forget it, you'll have to reset to factory settings.

      If you've taken all available security measures, your network should be secure.  Contact cox.help@cox.com for assistance.  Include your full name, the service address and a link to this discussion.

  • Anesti33's avatar
    Anesti33
    Contributor
    7 months ago

    In this thread we're discussing Cox-provided Panoramic WiFi equipment, whereas your support link gives advice to customers who own and manage their own equipment.

    Thankfully the modem/router rentals take this security responsibility out of our hands and allows Cox to manage it.

    If you follow the news you would see that customer-owned routers are a weak link and very likely to be compromised, joined to botnets, and abused by threat actors, and the owners will never find out because of poor monitoring and logging.

    Cox's hotspot service is a logical idea because most customers' connections have tons of bandwidth and resources to spare. Why not rent out that excess capacity to neighbors?