http://m.slashdot.org/story/211197

Sony Leaks Reveal Hollywood Is Trying To Break DNS

from the scorched-net-policy dept.

schwit1 sends this report from The Verge:Most anti-piracy tools take one of two paths: they either target the server that's sharing the files (pulling videos off YouTube or taking down sites like The Pirate Bay) or they make it harder to find (delisting offshore sites that share infringing content). But leaked documents reveal a frightening line of attack that's currently being considered by the MPAA: What if you simply erased any record that the site was there in the first place? To do that, the MPAA's lawyers would target the Domain Name System that directs traffic across the internet.

The tactic was first proposed as part of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in 2011, but three years after the law failed in Congress, the MPAA has been looking for legal justification for the practice in existing law and working with ISPs like Comcast to examine how a system might work technically. If a takedown notice could blacklist a site from every available DNS provider, the URL would be effectively erased from the internet. No one's ever tried to issue a takedown notice like that, but this latest memo suggests the MPAA is looking into it as a potentially powerful new tool in the fight against piracy.

Class Says Comcast Piggybacks on Homes to Set Up Public Network

FROM: http://www.courthousenews.com/2014/12/08/class-says-comcast-piggybacks-on-homes-to-set-up-public-network.htm


Class Says Comcast Piggybacks on Homes to Set Up Public Network


SAN FRANCISCO (CN) - A federal class action accuses Comcast of surreptitiously making its residential customers bear the cost of using their wireless routers to set up a secondary public wi-fi network.
Lead plaintiff Toyer Grear sued Comcast on Dec. 4.
He claims that Comcast saw its millions of residential customers as an opportunity to compete with major cellular carriers such as AT&T and Verizon. Though Comcast does not have cellular towers, its customers' households "could be used as infrastructure for a national wi-fi network," the complaint states.
So Comcast supplied its residential customers with new wireless routers equipped to broadcast their home wi-fi signals and additional wi-fi signals for the public, selectively activating the routers to broadcast the secondary public network (the "Xfinity wifi hotspot") across the country, with the goal of enabling 8 million hotspots by the end of 2014, according to the lawsuit.
"Public" in this case does not mean "free," but that access is available to anyone who pays to use a particular wi-fi hotspot.
Grear claims that Comcast does not request customers' authorization to use their residential equipment and networks for public use.
"Indeed, Comcast's contract with its customers is so vague that it is unclear as to whether Comcast even addresses this practice at all," the lawsuit claims.
In using its customers' home networks to build a national network, Comcast
"has externalized the costs of its national wi-fi network onto its customers," Grear says in the complaint.
He claims that the new routers use much more electricity than regular routers, and that this is "a cost borne by the unwitting customer."
Engineers at Speedify, a technology company that increases Internet connection speeds, ran tests on Comcast's new routers and determined that "Comcast will be pushing tens of millions of dollars per month of the electricity bills needed to run their nationwide public wi-fi network onto consumers," the complaint states.
Based on the results of this study, Grear claims, Comcast's residential customers can expect electricity cost increases as great as 30 to 40 percent.
In addition, Grear claims, the Xfinity hotspots slow down the speed of customers' home wi-fi networks, since these home networks are available for use by strangers.
They also expose Comcast's residential customers' data to increased privacy and security risks, according to the complaint.
Comcast declined to comment.
Grear seeks certification of a class of all households in the United States that have subscribed to Comcast's Xfinity Internet Service, and a subclass of all California households that have subscribed to the service.
He also seeks declaratory judgment, an injunction, restitution and damages for violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the Comprehensive Computer Data Access and Fraud Act and California's Unfair Competition Law.He is represented by Gillian Wade and Sara Avila, with Milstein Adelman, of Santa Monica.

Netflix’s Many-Pronged Plan to Eliminate Video Playback Problems

Netflix's Many-Pronged Plan to Eliminate Video Playback Problems Posted: 14 May 2014 07:46 AM PDT For all of Netflix's complaints about Internet service providers harming video performance, one of the company's top technology experts is confident that the streaming company can solve most of its customers' problems. David Fullagar, Netflix's director of content delivery architecture, spoke about the company's plans Monday at the Content Delivery Summit in New York. He described the hardware Netflix uses in its Open Connect content delivery network (CDN), noting that the company has a technological advantage over traditional CDNs because it's always delivering content to devices running Netflix's own software rather than using a hodgepodge of products built by other companies. The best-known parts of Open Connect are probably the storage boxes that Internet service providers can take into their own networks to bring content closer to consumers. ISPs can also peer with Netflix, exchanging traffic directly without hosting Netflix equipment. But these aren't the only ways Netflix's Open Connect technology can deliver good quality. Netflix used to use third-party CDNs such as Akamai, but it has moved most of its traffic over to Open Connect in the past couple of years. Outside the US, 100 percent of Netflix traffic is distributed using Open Connect equipment. The percentage is in the "high 90s" in the US, with plans to hit 100 percent this summer. Even if the storage boxes aren't inside an ISP's network, they're not too far away. They could even be in the same data centers, the Internet exchange points where Netflix transit providers connect to ISPs. Fullagar was asked by an audience member how Netflix works with ISPs who offer competing products. "From a quality point of view we don't need to be that close to the end user for the sort of video we serve," Fullagar said. "Having extremely low latency is nice" because it allows videos to start playing faster. However, "what we're most interested in is a good, uncongested link, and that doesn't necessarily have to be very low latency." Netflix's peering with ISPs has been controversial because some of the Internet providers have demanded payment in exchange for accepting Netflix traffic. Netflix gave in to Verizon and Comcast, agreeing to pay both companies, but it has claimed that the Federal Communications Commission should force the ISPs to provide free peering. Netflix has sent its traffic through congested links when its business disputes have gone unresolved, deteriorating quality despite the other steps Netflix takes to improve it. (Comcast and analyst Dan Rayburn accused Netflix of purposely sending traffic through congested links.) When asked how much Netflix can affect streaming performance given that it controls the server end of the connection as well as the user's software, Fullagar said, "I think we're on the tip of the iceberg of being able to do quite a lot there." Netflix's access to information about each customer's device and Internet connection will fuel some as-yet-unrevealed strategies for improving quality, he said. "We have extra information beyond just, hey this is someone wanting this file," he said. "At connection time we know the sort of client they are, whether it's a Wii or a PS4 or a streaming stick. We know the network they're on, we know a bunch of historical information about latency and quality of service we've had to those networks. We know whether they're connected on a device that's wired or wireless. There's a bunch of hints that we have there." The company has started some "experiments that are working out really well, and in the future we'll talk more about that." Netflix itself has equipment at about 20 Internet exchange points in North America and Europe and has "tens if not hundreds of embedded caches in ISP networks," Fullagar said. The Network Team Netflix's Open Connect division has about 40 people, Fullagar said. About 20 are software engineers who either build software for Netflix servers or work on the company's management software, which runs on Amazon's cloud network and performs functions such as load balancing. Another 10 Open Connect employees are network architects, and another 10 are in operations. Netflix stores video on two types of boxes that it designed, one that's heavy on HDDs and another that's all SSDs. Netflix built them in part because it couldn't find the right mix of compute and storage capabilities in products from hardware vendors. The HDD unit is a 4U-sized chassis that holds 216TB on 36 drives of 6TB each. It has 64GB RAM, a 10 Gigabit NIC, and some SSD for frequently accessed content. The smaller, 1U, SSD-only unit contains 14 drives of a terabyte each, 256GB of RAM and a 40 Gigabit NIC. About 75 percent of the cost of both the HDD and SSD boxes is taken up by storage. Each unit uses Intel CPUs. Netflix refreshes hardware annually to improve performance. At its biggest locations, Netflix keeps multiple copies of its entire video library in case of failure. That's more than a petabyte of video files for its North American catalog. The company relies heavily on open source software, including FreeBSD and the Nginx Web server, as well as several management applications the company wrote itself. Netflix distributes multiple terabits per second and accounts for an astonishing one-third of North American Internet traffic at peak times, i.e. the traditional TV "prime time" each evening. During off-peak hours in the middle of the night, Netflix fills disks with the videos its algorithms say people are most likely to watch the next day. This dramatically reduces network utilization during peak hours. The management software Netflix runs on Amazon Web Services handles distribution of content, analyzes network performance, and connects users to the proper video sources. Netflix wrote its own adaptive bitrate algorithms to react to changes in throughput, and a CDN selection algorithm to adapt to changing network conditions such as overloaded links, overloaded servers, and errors, the company said. When Netflix used multiple third-party CDNs, connections would fail over from one to another in case of error. Netflix still uses the same failover technology, but with "multiple hierarchies" within Open Connect instead of multiple CDNs, Fullagar said. Although Netflix is moving all its data onto Open Connect hardware, that doesn't automatically reduce the controversial role its transit providers Level 3 and Cogent have played in carrying traffic. Level 3 and Cogent have warred with ISPs over whether they should have to pay in order to send Netflix traffic onto their networks. As a result, interconnections between these transit providers and ISPs have gotten congested, reducing the quality of Netflix and other Web services that travel over the links. The role of transit providers is only reduced when Netflix signs direct interconnection agreements with ISPs, as it has done Verizon and Comcast, a Netflix spokesperson said. In the absence of such agreements, Netflix data passes through the company's own CDN and then through a transit provider before hitting an ISP's network. The payment controversies don't necessarily affect the working relationship between the technical teams of Netflix and ISPs, though. "Engineering people at companies, whether large or small, operate independently of commercial interests," Fullagar said. "In the UK, one of our biggest competitors is one of our best networking partners." Source: Ars Technica

Comcast to pay $800,000 to settle FCC broadband probe - CNET Mobile

http://m.cnet.com/news/comcast-to-pay-$800000-to-settle-fcc-broadband-probe/57462351

Comcast Now Lets You Use 300GB of Bandwidth a Month [VIDEO]

http://mashable.com/2012/05/17/comcast-bandwidth-caps/

Sony: Internet video service on hold due to Comcast data cap

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2012/05/sony-warns-comcast-cap-will-hamper-video-competition.ars

Netflix CEO Hates Comcast Data Caps - Forbes

http://www.forbes.com/sites/benzingainsights/2012/04/17/netflix-ceo-hates-comcast-data-caps/

Comcast says no to adding Netflix

Cable giant Comcast said it won't add video streaming from Netflix to its Xfinity lineup, a potential hitch in Netflix's plan to partner with national cable providers.

From New York Times:

Comcast Declines to Offer Netflix to Its Customers

Netflix may have hit a snag as it negotiates with cable operators.

Comcast, the country’s largest cable company, says it has no interest in offering Netflix to its Xfinity subscribers regardless of whether it’s in the form of an on-demand service or a billing partnership.

“We have no plans to offer access to Netflix to our customers through our Xfinity TV service, no matter what device,” the trade publication Fierce Cable quoted a Comcast spokeswoman, Alana Davis, as saying on Wednesday.

Reuters first reported on Wednesday that Netflix had reached out to major cable companies to discuss joining forces. But without Comcast, the reach of those partnerships would be limited.

Previously seen as a threat to cable companies, Netflix is now becoming more like a premium cable channel. A deal with the cable companies could make the service available as part of the monthly cable bill and help Netflix instantly increase its subscriber base.

But Comcast already offers its 22.3 million Xfinity subscribers a Netflix-like streaming service in Streampix, a recently launched offering that lets customers stream 75,000 television shows and movies on multiple devices in and outside the home.

The service starts at $4.99 a month. It is also available as part of some high-end cable packages. Netflix’s streaming starts at $7.99 a month.

Comcast’s satellite and phone company competitors have also launched Netflix-like services, which could lessen the appeal of a partnership with Netflix, which is based in Los Gatos, Calif., according to media analysts.

Dish Network and Blockbuster have a Web streaming service in the works. Verizon, the parent company of the Verizon FiOS fiberoptic network, has teamed up with Redbox on a Web streaming joint venture.

Comcast & Time Warner have agreed to sell their wireless licenses

From USA Today:

NEW YORK – Cable companies Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks are giving up on their dreams of creating their own wireless network, opting instead to resell Verizon Wireless service.

The companies said Friday that they have agreed to sell their wireless licenses — which they haven't been using — to Verizon Wireless for $3.6 billion.

The deal "amounts to a partnership between formerly mortal enemies," said analyst Craig Moffett at Sanford Bernstein. The cable companies compete with Verizon Communications Inc., Verizon Wireless' parent company, for phone and cable-TV customers. Now, Verizon Wireless stores will be selling cable service.

Cable companies have long had ambitions to open a second front against AT&T and Verizon by setting up their own wireless networks. In the meantime, some of them have partnered with Sprint Nextel and Clearwire to offer wireless service.

Lately, there had been speculation that the cable companies would try for a deeper beachhead in wireless by investing in ailing No. 3 and 4 carriers Sprint or T-Mobile USA. That talk had gained currency as it's become clear that AT&T's deal to buy T-Mobile USA is firmly opposed by regulators.

The link-up with No. 1 carrier Verizon Wireless and the sale of the spectrum appears to preclude a deal between a cable consortium and one of the weaker players in wireless. Instead, the biggest cellphone company will strengthen its hand, if the spectrum sale is approved by regulators.

"Pity poor T-Mobile. Verizon just ran off with the last pretty girl in the bar," Moffett said.

U.S.-listed shares of Deutsche Telekom AG, the parent of T-Mobile USA, were down 53 cents, or 4.2%, at $12.25 in midday trading. Sprint shares were down 3 cents, or 1.1%, at $2.67.

"It's really hard for a cable company to expect to compete in a highly competitive wireless market," said Time Warner Cable spokesman Alex Dudley. He pointed to Cox Communications, another cable company, which this year shut down its plans to build out a wireless network.

"We got a good price for the spectrum," Dudley said. "An arrangement like this makes a lot of sense."

The cable companies paid $2.2 billion for the spectrum in 2006, so they're getting a 64% gain on a five-year investment. The spectrum covers about 85% of the country's population, and would have been sufficient to start up an independent wireless network.

Shares of Philadelphia-based Comcast rose 97 cents, or 4.3%, to $23.53. New York-based Time Warner Cable shares rose $1.90, or 3.1%, to $62.82. Orlando, Fla.-basedBright House Networks is privately held.

Time Warner Cable currently resells access to Clearwire's wireless data network as "4G" service. Dudley said it could continue to provide service to existing subscribers, but the arrangement with Verizon Wireless is exclusive, so it will stop selling to new subscribers.

Neil Smit, the head of Comcast's cable operations, said its Clearwire service, marketed as "Xfinity 2Go," will be shut down within six months. It has about 30,000 customers.

Clearwire shares were unchanged at $2.03.

Comcast, the country's largest cable company, owned the majority of the spectrum holding company, and will get $2.3 billion from the sale. Time Warner Cable, the second-largest cable company, will get $1.1 billion. Bright House, the sixth-largest, will get $189 million.

Verizon Wireless CEO Dan Mead said the company will combine the spectrum with some of its own unused holdings and launch service using the latest wireless data technology, dubbed LTE for Long-Term Evolution. The acquisition roughly doubles the number of airwaves Verizon Wireless would have available for LTE.

Mead said he expected the deal to close in the middle of next year, but didn't say when the spectrum would be put to use.

Moffett, the analyst, said the Federal Communications Commission would probably rather see the spectrum go to T-Mobile USA. One of the reasons its German parent company wants to sell it to AT&T is that T-Mobile USA doesn't have a lot of room on the airwaves, and can't keep up with Verizon and AT&T when it comes to expanding wireless data capacity.

But Deutsche Telekom is unwilling to plow more money into the U.S., so an outright purchase of the cable-company spectrum has not been in the cards.

The sale to Verizon does solve one problem for the FCC, Moffett said: that the cable spectrum holdings have not been put to use yet.

Under the agreement, the cable companies and Verizon Wireless will market each others' services. Billing will be separate, but the cable companies have the option to start selling Verizon Wireless service under their own brand in four years. Cox had a similar arrangement with Sprint, but gave it up last month, saying it was too small to compete with the big cellphone companies.

Verizon Communications, the New York-based phone company that owns 55% of Verizon Wireless, runs its own, competing cable-TV service called FiOS in some areas. In the rest of its local-phone territory, it resells satellite TV service from DirecTV Group Inc. based in El Segundo, Calif.

Comcast profits up. Video customers down.

• Big media's profits defy gloomy outlook, for now
• Comcast profit up on Web subscribers, NBCU ad sales

Comcast lost 238,000 basic video customers in the quarter, but added 144,000 Internet and 193,000 phone subscribers. Its chief cable rival, Time Warner Cable lost 128,000 video customers during the quarter.

Apple to Consider a Bid for Hulu

From Bloomberg:

Apple Inc. (AAPL), with $76.2 billion in cash and securities on its books, is considering making a bid for the Hulu online video service, two people with knowledge of the auction said.

Apple, the world’s second-most-valuable company, is in early talks that may lead to an offer for Hulu, said the people, who weren’t authorized to speak publicly.

Hulu would give Apple a new subscription service and represent a possible challenge to Netflix Inc. (NFLX) Hulu’s media- company owners, Walt Disney Co. (DIS), News Corp. (NWSA) and Comcast Corp. (CMCSA)’s NBC Universal, are offering suitors a five-year extension of program rights, including two years of exclusive access, people familiar with the matter said earlier this week.

“Part of the ecosystem of Apple’s future is to include more video,” said Scott Sutherland, Wedbush Securities Inc. analyst in San Francisco who recommends buying the stock. “It’s something they are focused on.”

Read the rest of the article HERE

Comcast Bans Seattle Man From Internet for His Cloudy Ways | Wired.com

http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/07/seattle-comcast

Google, Microsoft are among potential Hulu buyers

Talks have begun with potential buyers of Hulu, and Walt Disney CEO Robert Iger says the site's current owners are "committed to selling." The company, which is on course to reach more than 1 million users faster than initially predicted, could go for more than $2 billion. If Hulu is sold, its current owners, which include Disney, Comcast's NBCUniversal and News Corp., would continue to supply content for the site, but it is not clear for how long.

Bloomberg: Disney’s Iger Says Hulu’s Owners Are ‘Committed to Selling’   

The Wall Street Journal (tiered subscription model)

Reuters:  Hulu to hit 1 million paid users by summer's end

Comcast Hounded By Collections Agency

From Slashdot:

"According to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Comcast is being taken to court for non-payment by a bill collection agency it used to collect past-due payments from customers. The suit alleges that Comcast agreed to pay $5 for each account it closed and that for each account the collection agency handled Comcast would pay 33% of the collected funds. The suit is seeking $314,210 for account cancellations and estimates Comcast owes them $50,000 for delinquent funds collected."