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geekIT

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#199242 9-Aug-2016 19:22
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I've just begun turning off my Spark Technicolor modem when we go to bed at night at night, instead of leaving it connected 24\7. Seems the simplest way to lessen our exposure to malware. (Can't remember the modem model but it was new in Dec 2013 and it's white, :-))

 

But this isn't a post about bugs, so please don't rush into print with suggestions about anti-malware apps.

 

The reason for my question is that our Spark Technicolor modem takes at least 10 minutes in the morning to connect to the internet. I've no idea if this is normal because I don't recall ever turning off a modem overnight, in the 30+ years I've been online.

 

So, is 10 minutes normal or average for a modem to re-establish communication with the Sparkly mothership?

 

If so, I might go back to leaving it switched on. It's a PIA to remember to turn it back on in the morning. Something of an 'old dogs and new tricks' thing, I guess.

 

 

 

 





'Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.' Voltaire

 

'A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government.' Edward Abbey

 

 

 

 

 

 


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richms
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  #1607209 9-Aug-2016 19:29
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That can be common on a crappy line as they try all the modes to see what they sync at.

 

If you really want to turn it off at night and forget to turn it on then perhaps buy a plug in timer for it?





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geekIT

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  #1607379 10-Aug-2016 08:06
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OK, maybe that's all it is.

 

I think the phone lines down here in deepest, darkest Southland might be re-cycled fence wire.

 

If we ever get fibre, it'll probably be flax.





'Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.' Voltaire

 

'A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government.' Edward Abbey

 

 

 

 

 

 


1101
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  #1607449 10-Aug-2016 10:29
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geekIT:

 

I think the phone lines down here in deepest, darkest Southland might be re-cycled fence wire.

 

If we ever get fibre, it'll probably be flax.

 

 

Hey , my Auckland ph/dsl lines are just as bad . Major Outages due to bad ph lines 1-2 time per year  . So bad
one chorus tech said he knew the street well as he'd been there so often for repairs .
And no fibre untill 2019 .

Its like Im on flax allreay
:-)

 

 




BarTender
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  #1608571 10-Aug-2016 13:31
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I've got a Tecnhnicolour TG582N and it takes about 2 mins to boot. Then as soon as it has booted then the Broadband (ADSL Sync to Chorus) then and Internet (PPPoE link to Spark over ADSL) lights come on 10-20 seconds later.

 

So it sounds like you have a poor broadband connection. I would suggest using online chat to ask them to run a line test to see what is wrong.

 

Perhaps you need a Master Filter / Splitter.

 

I also struggle to see why switching it off overnight would prevent malware. The router isn't accessible from the internet so unless you're accessing dodgy pages there shouldn't be an issue. Saving power is the only reason why I could think it would be worth powering the router off overnight.


geekIT

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  #1608750 10-Aug-2016 16:42
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Join the club then, No.1 :-)

 

I suppose I shouldn't moan. I can still remember dial-up modems and the first bulletin boards - so achingly sloooooow!

 

But it's still a big pee-off when guys like BarTender (next post) are so smug about their 925 Mb\s downloads that they use the banner as a sig. Dunno why peeps post this kind of thing. Is it to stimulate ping-ness envy? Well, it sure works :-) My download speed is a blistering (no, make that festering) 13.57 Mb\s (on a good day).

 

Still, I can call Tim Shadbolt 'Mr.Mayor', so there. And not everyone can walk on Oreti Beach. Waddya mean, ya never heard of it?

 

BarTender: Um, you see - when you switch off the modem, no little buggies are able to crawl into your still-running computers. OK?





'Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.' Voltaire

 

'A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government.' Edward Abbey

 

 

 

 

 

 


RunningMan
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  #1608762 10-Aug-2016 17:05
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Are you sure it's the modem taking 10 minutes to reconnect, not your computer(s) taking 10 minutes to realise that they have a router on the network again?


mattwnz
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  #1608772 10-Aug-2016 17:21
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Mine also takes around 5 minutes sometime to reconnect to the internet after rebooting. Only seem to be since I have been with Spark. It also isn't te modem, as I have had two different ones, and both take some time to reconnect. But it isn't really a problem for me as I just leave it connected and turn my PCs off instead.


 
 
 

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geekIT

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  #1608776 10-Aug-2016 17:25
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RunningMan, are you serious?

 

Even an XP machine will see a wired connection in about 17 seconds.

 

No, I think RichMs had it right - it's probably the line quality down here in Antiqueville.

 

But we do have a 4-Square store. With parking space for gumboots right outside the door. Fred Dagg would love it. Come to think of it, this might even be his home town.





'Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.' Voltaire

 

'A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government.' Edward Abbey

 

 

 

 

 

 


RunningMan
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  #1608778 10-Aug-2016 17:42
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geekIT:

 

RunningMan, are you serious?

 

 

Yes.

 

Depending on when DHCP leases are renewed etc. it may be that your computer doesn't know the default route to the internet even though the connection is up.

 

Either way, turning off the modem to prevent malware seems an unusual approach. Malware would be more likely to arrive by email or from a visited website, not directly to the modem over night.


geekIT

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  #1608779 10-Aug-2016 17:44
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I love it when you get technical.





'Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.' Voltaire

 

'A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government.' Edward Abbey

 

 

 

 

 

 


richms
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  #1609780 10-Aug-2016 18:48
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I've had windows many times sit on the 169.something bs address after powering on a connected router. It seems to give up sometime after link comes up and just sits on the fake address for aaaaages.




Richard rich.ms

RunningMan
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  #1609792 10-Aug-2016 19:31
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richms: I've had windows many times sit on the 169.something bs address after powering on a connected router. It seems to give up sometime after link comes up and just sits on the fake address for aaaaages.

 

Exactly this. The computer has a self assigned IP address and no route to the internet. It's not until it's self assigned DHCP address goes to renew that it discovers there's now a new router on the network assigning addresses.

 

Very simply, turning off the router breaks the network.

 

EDIT: If you want to diagnose the problem, log in to the interface for the router and see what the DSL and PPP connections are doing during the time the connection is down. If you can't get to the router, then it's likely the DHCP problem above.


hio77
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  #1609794 10-Aug-2016 19:37
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richms: I've had windows many times sit on the 169.something bs address after powering on a connected router. It seems to give up sometime after link comes up and just sits on the fake address for aaaaages.

 

 

 

i wouldnt really call autoconf a fake address, just somewhat useless.

 

 

 

Generally windows does still poll while running on an autoconf at a reasonably fast rate for a real ip





#include <std_disclaimer>

 

Any comments made are personal opinion and do not reflect directly on the position my current or past employers may have.

 

 


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