# Many wireless routers automatically set up a non-password protected 'guest access'? Really? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 6, 2014, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-wireless-routers-automatically-set-up-a-non-password-protected-guest-access-really/706473 "2014-12-06T03:41:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2014, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-wireless-routers-automatically-set-up-a-non-password-protected-guest-access-really/706473/21 "2014-12-06T21:28:08Z")
> [@ZenBeam](#): > > It sounds though like internet access is not supposed to be available without entering a password: > > Quote: > Can I set up a different wireless security mode for the Guest network? > > No. _The security mode of the Guest network cannot be changed or disabled and will always require guests to enter a password through a web browser_. The prompt will appear after the device is connected to the network and opens a web browser to connect to the Internet. This is to prevent unauthorized Internet access. > and > > Quote: > Why can’t I connect to the Internet even if my computer is already connected to the Guest network? > > You may have not provided the Guest access password in your web browser. This is required to access the Internet through the Guest network. Without entering the password, your computer or device is only connected to the Guest network without access to the Internet. _The password has to be entered on a web browser every time a computer connects to the Guest network_. (all emphases above are mine (for clarity)) None of this was the case for me - when I logged on to my guest network, I was able to connect to any site I wished. And that is consistent with the way that my machine displayed the “newKarl-guest” network in the window that lists all available networks and their security status. Of the five or six available, it was the only one that was not password protected (as indicated by a closed padlock on my Mac). ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-wireless-routers-automatically-set-up-a-non-password-protected-guest-access-really/706473/22 "2014-12-07T17:21:08Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > are these “guests” wireless printers that set themselves up through your own computer or your cell phone? I have a lot of stuff that looks like this on my network but I’m not sure. Is there any way to find out for sure? ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-wireless-routers-automatically-set-up-a-non-password-protected-guest-access-really/706473/23 "2014-12-07T17:54:56Z")
Can the guest network be renamed? Using the names “Loading…” or “FBI Surveillance Van 35-b” might deter usage… ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-wireless-routers-automatically-set-up-a-non-password-protected-guest-access-really/706473/24 "2014-12-07T20:23:50Z")
I have a unsecured ‘guest’ account however if you log on to it all you get is a ‘web page’ (locally stored) which asks you for the guest account password. So you still can’t get anywhere w/o a password, just a different format of it. ---
**Author:** ![Terry\_Kennedy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c57346/32.png) [@Terry\_Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terry_Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2014, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-wireless-routers-automatically-set-up-a-non-password-protected-guest-access-really/706473/25 "2014-12-08T08:09:23Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Xfinity/Comcast (and other ISPs assumedly) does this with many new business and home installs over the last several years. The Comcast router will have a third leg invisible to the homeowner that offers Wi-Fi pass through access to “guests” that are part of the ISP network, in this case you have to have a Comcast account. Thus if you have an applicable ISP account you can log on to any available open, active Wi-Fi router in range of your mobile device or PC. I ran into this at a site I do consulting for. They had Time Warner business Internet service and I called TWC to get them to turn off the WiFi and put the box in bridge mode. They did that. A week later, I was doing work at the site, and festooned in the wiring closet was a coax splitter, a second router (with wall wart), a power-over-Ethernet injector (with wall wart), and an access point. I carefully disconnected all of that and gave it to my site contact, with an explanation that **if** TWC asked about it, it was unwanted and they could take it back if they wanted. By the way, this was two floors underground in a concrete sub-basement, so it wouldn’t do anybody any good anyway. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2014, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-wireless-routers-automatically-set-up-a-non-password-protected-guest-access-really/706473/26 "2014-12-08T14:24:33Z")
I’m waiting for the lawsuits when this ISP practice causes someone technical or legal problems. It won’t be fun for the person who gets raided and has their computers and phones confiscated and searched for illegal porn or terroristic threats. People should read their contracts but how many have the legal let along technical prowess to understand any of it? Companies, at least, should be running this stuff through their lawyers and refusing the public access points. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2014, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-wireless-routers-automatically-set-up-a-non-password-protected-guest-access-really/706473/27 "2014-12-08T14:43:33Z")
I can’t imagine that a homeowner would be liable for anything someone did while connected to the guest wireless set up by Comcast, given that it’s a completely separate network. I’d think that Comcast would provide the address of the person who accessed the guest wireless and the police would go after that person directly. BTW, the guest wireless thing is a good idea on Comcast’s part. Most people have limited data plans on their mobile devices so they’d value being able to access guest wireless when they’re out and about. And if a sufficient number of Comcast customers have the guest wireless enabled, you could have fairly comprehensive coverage wherever you go. That would be a good incentive to sign up for Comcast internet at home rather than the service offered by the phone company. Cablevision in southern Connecticut has something similar and they also install access points at public places like the commuter train stations. ---
**Author:** ![Terry\_Kennedy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c57346/32.png) [@Terry\_Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terry_Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2014, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-wireless-routers-automatically-set-up-a-non-password-protected-guest-access-really/706473/28 "2014-12-08T14:46:58Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > I’m waiting for the lawsuits when this ISP practice causes someone technical or legal problems. It won’t be fun for the person who gets raided and has their computers and phones confiscated and searched for illegal porn or terroristic threats. People should read their contracts but how many have the legal let along technical prowess to understand any of it? > Companies, at least, should be running this stuff through their lawyers and refusing the public access points. In the few blocks within range of my home monitoring station, the apparently-public SSIDs are “xfinitywifi” and don’t share an exact MAC address with anything else within range. I have also seen “getVerizonFIOS” in the past, but it isn’t showing up today so I can’t tell if it shares a MAC address with a customer’s SSID. I’m sure there are ISPs that do this incorrectly, but around here they seem to be properly configured and isolated from customer networks. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-wireless-routers-automatically-set-up-a-non-password-protected-guest-access-really/706473/29 "2014-12-12T14:15:28Z")
Comcast is being sued over this. It’ll be interesting to see where this goes. [http://www.fastcolabs.com/3039682/comcast-was-sued-for-quietly-making-your-homes-internet-part-of-the-sharing-economy](http://www.fastcolabs.com/3039682/comcast-was-sued-for-quietly-making-your-homes-internet-part-of-the-sharing-economy) ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-wireless-routers-automatically-set-up-a-non-password-protected-guest-access-really/706473/30 "2014-12-12T14:35:45Z")
> [@ZenBeam](#): > > Could you effectively double your family’s bandwidth by having one person log onto the guest account instead of the normal account? You’d probably need to log into it using a different Comcast account. So while you could double your bandwidth, it would come at the cost of purchasing an additional account. You’d be better off just upgrading your existing account. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-wireless-routers-automatically-set-up-a-non-password-protected-guest-access-really/706473/31 "2014-12-12T14:50:36Z")
My (UK) ISP is BT. When I signed up, one of the selling points was the ability to log into their own ‘hotspots’ wherever another customer who also had the service was located. It was made clear to me how it worked and I had to explicitly agree to it. I have used it a few times: At an airport, I was able to use this free service instead of paying for the airport wifi, and when my wife was in hospital recently, her tablet connected free of charge there too. The hospital rakes in a substantial markup if you have to pay. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-wireless-routers-automatically-set-up-a-non-password-protected-guest-access-really/706473/32 "2014-12-12T15:44:34Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > You’d probably need to log into it using a different Comcast account. So while you could double your bandwidth, it would come at the cost of purchasing an additional account. You’d be better off just upgrading your existing account. Remember, like all public wifi hotspots, the link between your computer and the router is unencrypted and can be intercepted (unless you are encrypting your own transmissions by using a VPN or an https connection). Yes, you must give your Comcast login and password to get access into the network, but that is not the same as using a passkey to secure your wifi connection. So, just like when you connect to the internet at McDonalds, don’t do anything that you wouldn’t want your neighbors to see. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-wireless-routers-automatically-set-up-a-non-password-protected-guest-access-really/706473.md?page=1)