I’ve just got a new modem from Rogers and updated my connection to the next tier (Hi-Speed Extreme - gotta love those names!). So far, so good… but!

I only managed to do this on my own because I’m a geek. See, the modem is a router too - a wireless one, at that. If I left it unattended, I would have an open wi-fi broadcasting my connection to everyone around and no control at all.

If that wasn’t bad enough, the manual included with the modem contains incorrect information. I needed to login to the modem’s admin to change its settings, but there was no mention of passwords at all - actually the manual instructs you to leave it blank! I had to google the password and then navigate through the modem’s admin interface to disable wireless and make it a “dumb” bridged modem instead of a half-assed router (compared to my Netgear running DD-WRT, of course).

Again: I’m a geek. I knew where to poke to make things right. Novice users would end up with a wide open network if they just plugged the modem and went on with their lives.

Scary stuff.

On the other hand, I’m apparently getting more than I paid for in terms of speed. Let’s hope it stays like that!