Bought VPN, ISP sends new modem because of "virus"

Hey,
uhm, the ISP we have here called Rogers
called me and said I have a virus the moment I signed up for a VPN service,
which I got to see if I could get some privacy, after hearing how all of us are tracked like those fish going extinct.

The modem that I received looks like a knockoff
of the one I have:
it is made in China, as opposed to Vietnam.
It looks very cheap,
was brought by some random guy in a white van, who wouldn’t say
or present any identification

  • it came in a paper box, that looks almost as good as the Chinatown knockoff stuff we grew to love.
  • when I asked the Level1 tech on the phone, “how is changing the modem going to fix a virus on my computer”, as in, wouldn’t the virus just call home? He laughed nervously and said, lets try this, "It will give you a new IP
    . Is this OK? Should I be worried?

Do ya think this is a bit weird? My friend works at a local internationally-acclaimed whistleblower lab, I figure I take the router there to have the firmware/hardware inspected.

Can anyone comment? I had many many viruses in the past, and my ISP never called. Heck at some point we had installed Windows XP to see what would happen (short story, don’t) and they never called to see if we were OK.

Is this OK? Should I be worried? I am a pretty huge idiot, and while I only paid the Nigerian prince tax once, this is a bit fishy…I don’t know, then again, I am sure a struggling publicly traded company wouldn’t do something idiotic like this? Would they? Aww man.

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if the old one works… I would keep using it.

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Why would you open the door to someone that doesen’t introduce themselves or shows any kind of proof that they work for the company they say they work for?

Yes, if you have someone that can help you out find what that thing really is by all means do that!

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Switch to Telus? /s


So I assume you’re on the grey-trapezoid tower with the single light and two ethernet ports? If so, log into it and see if “Bridge Mode” is an option.

If it is, I suggest you buy a router if you’re looking for some privacy.

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bridge mode the old modem with pfsense and old pc with 2 nics for cheapest setup.

probably being watched by someone, suspicious new modem, mybe rooted with logger/spyware/crypto/miner/etc.

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You shouldnt let unvetted new devices into your home. It may be a good idea to let a 3rd party inspect the device. If the whistleblower lab is something as good as CitizenLab, that would be an excellent place to send this.

Then again, the most benign explanation could just be a lazy contractor. My take is that, I dont even like to use the ISP provided modem and try to find an alternative modem. Their devices are cheap and does the bare minimum functionality at the cost of performance.

Keep us posted. This is curious.

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Neither this guy nor that device would have crossed my threshold.

Don’t plug it in, I don’t trust that guy works for the isp.


Refusing ID is the big thing for me.

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Have you called the ISP back and double-checked whether it was them who called you and sent the device? Seems like that would much constrain the possible explanations of what is going on.

If it wasn’t the ISP, then there is clearly a scam going on and they would like to know it.

I’m actually on a Chinese ISP in Canada and using ExpressVPN to bypass stuff. I graciously told the Chinese techs for the Canadian branch office I wanted bridge mode, and surprisingly they complied… but only because the spyware is upstream of their fiber node, where their fiber meets Shaw’s fiber, or at the FTTH point. (but ExpressVPN takes care of most of that at the cost you’re using a DDoS source point.)

This seems like you did get one of those Chinese ISPs in Canada subcontracted to give you a modem and claiming they were Rogers. It’s normal for them to do the work, not allow you to ask questions, (cause communist party) and leave.

Find your own Arris DOCSIS 3.1 8200 series modem and use that. Also try VERY HARD for local support rather than offshore support. Considering what’s happening, I’m not surprised call center scams have gone up as offshore call centers shut down for the double mutant.

Oh and finally, switch to TekSavvy at the same time as getting the Arris modem.

https://www.surfboard.com/products/cable-modems/sb8200/

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I really appreciate 4G in Europe with 30mb D 30mb U Ping ~18 €20 a month no contract other than don’t forget to top up and TP-Link routers.
Though, fixed line get me a whole 1mb down in my area.
Use what you got, VPN everything and add a little Onion to it.

TekSavvy’s internet is surprisingly good and easy to convince ppl to switch over, their VoIP however is absolute trash and I would never recommend them.