Posts tagged scams
Comcast Using DNS for Ad Redirection
Feb 10th
So at home we have a Comcast Cable Internet connection. Lately I have been getting redirected to a “Comcast Search Page”. Now you’re probably thinking “Well that because you mistyped a URL”. Actually it’s not. About 25% of the time that I do a search term on Google.com the Comcast Search page comes up. And on this page it does have search results but it also has tons and tons of ads on it BEFORE the acutal search results. Why would Comcast do this? Profit! Everytime you get that page the advertisers have to pay a fee for that page impression. But let’s face it the real reason they did this is to take advantage of the average computer user 
like your grandmother who has no idea what to click on and what not to. This is a very shady and low thing to do to your customers Comcast. I have personally removed Comcast’s DNS servers from my router (I usually do before this BS just because they suck so much) and I now use OpenDNS.org and Google.com for my DNS servers. If you want to know how to do this so that Comcast doesn’t make money off your back check out OpenDNS.org.
What is to stop them from redirecting the websites that they feel are unfit for their customers? When will there be some regulation on what ISP’s can do to the traffic that is going through their networks? This is crazy that I have to use a third party DNS provider so that I do not get bombarded with ads and scams for a service that I PAY FOR! What ever happened to net neutrality? I just hope this doesn’t fall upon deaf ears.
StarTech.com making cheap made in china parts expensive
Feb 3rd
If working in retail has taught me anything it is that presentation is everything. For example we carry a brand called “Sabrent” and a more known brand called “Vantec”. I am going to use a PCI SATA/eSATA card as an example. The generic “Sabrent” brand costs about $14.99 where the “Vantec” that has 1 LESS port costs about $24.99. Why is that? Well one they both have the SAME chipset. Secondly the packaging looks better on the Vantec brand. Because of this a consumer feels better and is under the assumption that they are getting a better quality when in fact its the same thing.
What got me to write this article was that a friend of mien was trying to tell me that StarTech.com is the best thing since sliced bread. Well below I have the SAME EXACT product from StarTech.com and from NewEgg.com. Both have the same chipset and even have the same PCB. I took these screenshots at 3:30pm on 2/3/2010 CST. Have a look for yourself.
If you have shopped at NewEgg.com you would know that Rosewill is NewEgg’s “house” brand (think of BestBuy’s Dynex or CompUSA’s Ultra). They are basically cheaply made products from China that they buy for next to nothing and then slap their label on them. What does this have to do with StarTech.com? Everything! That is their WHOLE business. All they do is buy up cheap products from China and brand them to hell. They make very pretty packaging for the product and even printed CD’s. When you buy from them all you are paying for is markup. If you have been online for more than a month you probably have heard of eBay or NewEgg. I don’t get the hype about StarTech.com but I guess I just know better and now you do too.
