New Feature in iBurst (iBurst Browser Hijacking & more)

[ZombiePriest]

And so it begins.

Welcome to My Broadband Zombie Priest - On this forum we discuss all the ISP's and specials there are in south Africa....you might want to browse around

PS: your post proves *Exactly* what I said...

a) It Gets someone upset so bad that they phone the call centre, think of legal implications (good luck with that though, hehe) and trying to fix it by changing browser settings / files through the sheer iteration of it

b) ONE email is good enough.

Thank you, kind sir.

a) Agreed. Although I can understand this is not malware, it is still browser hijacking.

b) ONE email is certainly good enough.

Would anyone be interested in a script that automatically emails the iBurst helpdesk if they are 'redirected'?

 

[Keeper]

lol

 

[Keeper]

but jannie that is not the point.... do you think the average person knows that / cares ?

I honestly did not think you would be working on things like this, spamming your own customers every 100 clicks, but instead work on more innovative or cheaper offers instead.

thought you wanted to make a positive difference for iburst users

 

[ZombiePriest]

Thank you for the reply, Sir (and that after hours!).

If nothing dubious was installed on my side, I can accept that it is not malware. However, redrecting my browser is still browser hijacking.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how likely is iBurst to review this browser hijacking/'redirecting' decision if they get say, 2000 emails to complain?

 

[jannievanzyl]

Thank you for the reply, Sir (and that after hours!).

If nothing dubious was installed on my side, I can accept that it is not malware. However, redrecting my browser is still browser hijacking.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how likely is iBurst to review this browser hijacking/'redirecting' decision if they get say, 2000 emails to complain?

Unfortunately there are many more than 2000 users who don't get the concept about a throttled service and end up calling the call desk.

We've already explained that it will be changed to a time-based system with one (or max two) redirects per day.

While most of you guys are tech savvy enough to understand you're running throttled, many thousands of iBurst subs don't and thus phone the help desk about 'slow speeds'.

These are the exact same subscribers who do not have e-mail addy (yes, they do exist) and thus we cannot mail them.

One of the reasons we're giving data away to get people to to register an e-mail address, BTW.

 

[ZombiePriest]

So 2k emails gets me roughly 0.2? That gives me 10k emails for roughly 1. I think that's doable. Believe me, there are enough people who are cheesed about this. Besides, that's only about 0.1 of iBurst's market share.

Positive suggestion #2: How about NOT redirecting/hijacking browsers, but displaying a message when a user connects on the dashboard? In this way, users - whether tech-savvy or not - will see a message that says 'You are throttled. Please go to the iBurst website to upgrade your cap'.

I'm not talking an annoying Javascript popup. I'm talking about an indication on the iBurst dashboard that says 'Experiencing slow speeds? You might be throttled. Click here for more details'. Or something to that effect. It could even be a hover-over info bubble thingymabob. It can be done in Java.

It doesn't have to be on connect only, it can also start appearing as soon as cap is reached.

This is less intrusive than finding your browser on unchartered/unwanted/unexpected territory, and it leaves the control on the user side. User control is something that is very Web 2.0 and all that jazz. It also solves the problem of users without e-mail, because surely they have to connect to iBurst using the dashboard?

Positive suggestion #3: Have a general help desk and a technical support desk as separate entities. If some n00b calls and says boo hoo my Internet is slow and it's not a technical problem, direct them to the general help desk or sales support get upgrade details.

If, however, it is a technical problem like DNS resolution issues, connecting via Ubuntu or the like, then clearly more bandwidth is not going to help. Therefore, tech support is where you want to be.

I'd just like to thank Mr van Zyl for being here and actually responding to queries and being open to suggestions. I understand you are a fairly new CEO at iBurst. Thanks for your time and good luck with your venture. I feel much better now that someone is actually responding.

 

[jannievanzyl]

So 2k emails gets me roughly 0.2? That gives me 10k emails for roughly 1. I think that's doable. Believe me, there are enough people who are cheesed about this. Besides, that's only about 0.1 of iBurst's market share.

Positive suggestion #2: How about NOT redirecting/hijacking browsers, but displaying a message when a user connects on the dashboard? In this way, users - whether tech-savvy or not - will see a message that says 'You are throttled. Please go to the iBurst website to upgrade your cap'.

I'm not talking an annoying Javascript popup. I'm talking about an indication on the iBurst dashboard that says 'Experiencing slow speeds? You might be throttled. Click here for more details'. Or something to that effect. It could even be a hover-over info bubble thingymabob. It can be done in Java.

It doesn't have to be on connect only, it can also start appearing as soon as cap is reached.

This is less intrusive than finding your browser on unchartered/unwanted/unexpected territory, and it leaves the control on the user side. User control is something that is very Web 2.0 and all that jazz. It also solves the problem of users without e-mail, because surely they have to connect to iBurst using the dashboard?

Positive suggestion #3: Have a general help desk and a technical support desk as separate entities. If some n00b calls and says boo hoo my Internet is slow and it's not a technical problem, direct them to the general help desk or sales support get upgrade details.

If, however, it is a technical problem like DNS resolution issues, connecting via Ubuntu or the like, then clearly more bandwidth is not going to help. Therefore, tech support is where you want to be.

I'd just like to thank Mr van Zyl for being here and actually responding to queries and being open to suggestions. I understand you are a fairly new CEO at iBurst. Thanks for your time and good luck with your venture. I feel much better now that someone is actually responding.

We looked at the dashboard idea, but surprisingly few people actually use the dash.

If you want to write us a new Java-based, OS independent dash, I'm all for it.

 

[ZombiePriest]

If you want to write us a new Java-based, OS independent dash, I'm all for it.

I'm not that hot on networking. However, an awful lot seems to be happening server-side anyway so I'm guessing the OS part isn't the part that prevents OS independence.

I'm also seeking for solutions to prevent my browser from being 'redirected'. There has to be a way to inform the slow readers that they're being throttled without having to annoy the rest of your customers with browser 'redirecting', or for your existing customers to opt out of a frustrating 'redirecting' scenario entirely.

 

[jannievanzyl]

I'm not that hot on networking. However, an awful lot seems to be happening server-side anyway so I'm guessing the OS part isn't the part that prevents OS independence.

I'm also seeking for solutions to prevent my browser from being 'redirected'. There has to be a way to inform the slow readers that they're being throttled without having to annoy the rest of your customers with browser 'redirecting', or for your existing customers to opt out of a frustrating 'redirecting' scenario entirely.

We've actually covered most of this in another thread. Opt-out is the correct way to go, but that requires additional development.

If you can think of another way, let's hear it. I'm all ears, trust me.

 

[ZombiePriest]

Opt-out is the correct way to go, but that requires additional development.

Redirecting the browser required recent, additional development.

If you can think of another way, let's hear it. I'm all ears, trust me.

I still think the informative, user-friendly dashboard is a far better option than redirecting browsers. It is unlikely that users do not use the dashboard, as they have no other way to connect to iBurst. iBurst has offered dashboard updates before?

A hover-over pop-up or a text-field with a link on the dash leaves the control on the client side. Users are far less frustrated when they feel in control of what is happening on their systems. Ask Microsoft about Clippy.

 

[jannievanzyl]

Redirecting the browser required recent, additional development.

Actually, no. Just a config setting on a network engine.

I still think the informative, user-friendly dashboard is a far better option than redirecting browsers. It is unlikely that users do not use the dashboard, as they have no other way to connect to iBurst. iBurst has offered dashboard updates before?

A hover-over pop-up or a text-field with a link on the dash leaves the control on the client side. Users are far less frustrated when they feel in control of what is happening on their systems. Ask Microsoft about Clippy.

If people actually used the dash. Which they don't. Once the drivers are installed you can connect via DUN. I use the Ethernet modem and it does not even require drivers or the dash to be installed, for example.

 

[Basjohn]

Indeedies, in fact every iBurst user I know in person doesn't connect via Dash either. No point installing additional software to connect when you don't have to.

 

[ZombiePriest]

OK, it seems we are missing the point here.

Redirecting or hijacking someone's browser is not an option. iBurst will have to find another, less frustrating way to inform users that they are throttled.

I repeat: redirecting/hijacking my browser is not an option. Forget about it.

 

[ZombiePriest]

Prevent browser hijacking

Browser hijacking is not an option. End of story.

If you feel like you want to prevent your browser from being hijacked, I offer you two solutions.

First option: you may edit your hosts file.
Content warning: I swear a bit on my blog.
http://necrofiles.blogspot.com/2009/09/blocking-para-sites.html

This is a brute force way to physically prevent your computer from accessing iBurst's website.

Second option: A less extreme tactic is installing a script that re-redirects (read: hijacks) your browser.

0. Install greasemonkey. Needless to say, you need to use firefox for this.
https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/748

1. Install this simple script:
iburstblockeruserjs.user.js

Warning: This is a browser hijacker. This script will redirect your browser whenever iBurst tries to redirect your browser. Instead of redirecting to iBurst's throttle pages, you will be directed to iBurst's contact page where you may tactfully inform iBurst that you won't stand for this.

Keep it short and sweet and tell iBurst that you are fed up with having your browser hijacked. Think of it as a petition. Be polite and to the point.

This script was written to only run on iBurst's website. It is software that is installed on your computer. You are free to view it and edit it to suit your purposes. You install this script at your own risk and you tinker with it at your own risk - but feel free to peruse it to see I'm not doing anything dodgy there.

If, for some reason, you need to access iBurst's website, just disable your script via greasemonkey for the time being. You can always enable it again later - like when you are throttled, for example.

 

[ZombiePriest]

Browser hijacking is not an option. End of story.

If you feel like you want to prevent your browser from being hijacked, I offer you two solutions.

First option: you may edit your hosts file.
Content warning: I swear a bit on my blog.
http://necrofiles.blogspot.com/2009/09/blocking-para-sites.html

This is a brute force way to physically prevent your computer from accessing iBurst's website.

Second option: A less extreme tactic is installing a script that re-redirects (read: hijacks) your browser.

0. Install greasemonkey. Needless to say, you need to use firefox for this.
https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/748

1. Install this simple script:
iburstblockeruserjs.user.js

Warning: This is a browser hijacker. This script will redirect your browser whenever iBurst tries to redirect your browser. Instead of redirecting to iBurst's throttle pages, you will be directed to iBurst's contact page where you may tactfully inform iBurst that you won't stand for this.

Keep it short and sweet and tell iBurst that you are fed up with having your browser hijacked. Think of it as a petition. Be polite and to the point.

This script was written to only run on iBurst's website. It is software that is installed on your computer. You are free to view it and edit it to suit your purposes. You install this script at your own risk and you tinker with it at your own risk - but feel free to peruse it to see I'm not doing anything dodgy there.

If, for some reason, you need to access iBurst's website, just disable your script via greasemonkey for the time being. You can always enable it again later - like when you are throttled, for example.

 

[Gatecrasher]

Punishing the smart for the shortcomings of the dim is exceptionally poor business practice.

No good can come of it.

I have iBurst in my guest house, but I cannot risk my guests getting an iBurst nag screen. I am forced to change provider.

 

[ambo]

Redirecting or hijacking someone's browser is not an option. iBurst will have to find another, less frustrating way to inform users that they are throttled.

Whats wrong with a transparent redirect? It commonly used by many ISPs.

Ever heard of a captive portal? WiFi hotspots use this exact type of redirection to achieve their captive portal systems - along with many other far more sinister things like ARP spoofing and DNS mangling. This technique is not new or unusual or considered generally unacceptable either.

As Jannie has pointed out - many users don't use the dashboard. All the iBurst setups I have ever done all run via an Ethernet modem and a broadband router. The end user has no iBurst software of any kind on their PC.

You suggestions about Java popups and Web 2.0 goodness *sound* very nice but they have a number of very practical problems:

• Java is not ubiquitous and there will be a significant number of compatibility issues
• In order to add the Java to an existing webpage the inline engine would have to *read* all the content of the website you are visiting (invasion of privacy) and then try figure out how to insert the code without breaking any of the existing content. This WOULD qualify as malware and it would probably be trivial to compromise and gain access directly into your system.

 

[SirFooK'nG]

I dont care, as long as it has a "continue to destination" button on the redirect info page. its really only a small interuption, and only for 10 or so seconds and also every 100 clicks or so. Besides, you would be surfing for free any way, so what there to complain about?

 

[Keeper]

complaining?

well let me put it this way - the throttled uncapped was maybe the only reason why some people liked iburst - but now they are killing their only good idea with constant spam

 

[kaspaas]

We looked at the dashboard idea, but surprisingly few people actually use the dash.

If you want to write us a new Java-based, OS independent dash, I'm all for it.

I'm using an OS independent dash - it is called a WAN/LAN router connected to the iBurst modem by PPPoE.

I know of many others doing the same. People doing this tend to be tech savvy and heavy users who will use the OOB Slowband option. And obviously they won't ever see any dashboard notice.

Dash notifications won't work.

Ok - the router is not as OS independent as it seems - it is running some subset of Linux