Note: This site is currently "Under construction". I'm migrating to a new version of my site building software. Lots of things are in a state of disrepair as a result (for example, footnote links aren't working). It's all part of the process of building in public. Most things should still be readable though.

Secrets of Your Cable Modem

Code

TODO: Figure out why this isn't working in MDX


Most devices that connect to your home internet have miniature web sites built into them. These sites provide an interface to basic info and status updates. If you've ever setup a WiFi router, you probably used the baked in web site to do the configuration. 

After having a new cable modem installed yesterday, I checked to see what the web interface offered. In my case, this was done by going to "<<link|http://192.168.100.1|http://192.168.100.1)". (*If you're connected through a Motorola SURFBoard Cable Modem, that like will probably work. Otherwise, it probably won't. A quick search for the model number of any device will tell you the address of its site if it has one.*>>

This is what shows up:

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I'm a little disappointed to see that "Initialize Baseline Privacy" is "Skipped". The way I understand it, that means that anyone on the street can snoop on each others regular web site traffic. This doesn't include banking sites or any other "secure" site. Still, it would be nice to have at least baseline privacy.

Most of the interface isn't helpful or even interesting unless you are a techie, but there is one nice feature. The ability to reboot/restart the cable modem without having to physically unplug it. Clicking on the "Configuration" link in the side bar brings up this page:

<</aws-20130210--0937-01b.png|img>>

Just click that "Restart Cable Modem" button to reboot the cable modem. This is especially useful if it's in another room. If it starts acting flaky, a round trip away is no longer necessary to try the default first piece of tech advice: "Have you tried turning it off and on again?"

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