Cisco Shoved "Cloud Connect" Router Administration Down Their Customers Throats

**ZemaTalon** · 07-11-2012, 02:41 PM

Here are the facts. Cisco has been automatically updating the firmware of its high-end consumer Linksys routers: E2700, E3500, or E4500 over the last few days. That's annoying, but as anyone who uses firmware-based equipment knows, it happens. In particular, these models all shipped with the “Automatic Firmware Update” option turned “on” by default. I happened to know about it because I use the Linksys E4500 in my own office.

This wasn't just your usual firmware update to close a security hole or two and add some minor features. No, this also introduced the Cisco Cloud Service. Here's where Cisco made its first mistake. After the invisible update, to get to your router, you had no choice but to set up a Cisco Cloud Service account.

No one, but no one, goes to their router unless they have a network problem. This is Not when you want to discover that you can't address the problem, until you've set up an entirely new account over the Internet. Really smooth move Cisco!

Then, Cisco used some really lame language in its Connect Cloud license.

When you use the Service, we may keep track of certain information related to your use of the Service, including but not limited to the status and health of your network and networked products; which apps relating to the Service you are using; which features you are using within the Service infrastructure; network traffic (e.g., megabytes per hour); internet history; how frequently you encounter errors on the Service system and other related information (“Other Information”)
Oh yeah, like I want Cisco following my every footstep on the Web. Cisco has backed off this clause. It's no longer in the license. But, why was it in their in the first place?

But in the Cisco Connect Cloud terms of servic (ToS), you'll still find this beauty:

As a condition of your use of the Service, you agree that your use of the Service in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement is permitted under and will comply with the applicable laws of the country where you use the Service. You agree not to use or permit the use of the Service: (i) to invade another's privacy; (ii) for obscene, pornographic, or offensive purposes; (iii) to infringe another's rights, including but not limited to any intellectual property rights; (iv) to upload, email or otherwise transmit or make available any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, spam, junk mail or any other form of solicitation; (v) to transmit or otherwise make available any code or virus, or perform any activity, that could harm or interfere with any device, software, network or service (including this Service); or (vi) to violate, or encourage any conduct that would violate any applicable law or regulation or give rise to civil or criminal liability.

Read the entire article at ZDNet.

Steve Gibson was talking about this today, and said that while they have responded to the resulting outrage by providing a firmware rollback, they have only offered it to those who complain. Meaning that they still get their way with probably the majority of their customers.

**Grogan** · 07-11-2012, 02:53 PM

Very well... I refuse to purchase any of those routers again. They are overpriced anyway... a cheap assed Asus router with DD-WRT does more than those so called "high end" routers anyway.

I have bought a few of those E3500's for people who think that a router is no good unless it's expensive. (~$130)

For most uses I'm still sticking with the old reliable Linksys Linux routers. (I don't care about wireless N... most people have 512K Internet, "lite" ADSL service, or 5M ADSL, "full" service, around here anyway)