• SignalTech wifi booster - Sounds suspicious

    From Nightfox@eric.oulashin@gmail.com to All on Mon Aug 23 15:01:59 2021
    While looking at the weather report for my area on weather.com, I saw an ad for this SignalTech wifi booster with some text saying internet providers don't want you buying one. I was curious if it was some kind of special device or not, so I decided to click on the link. This is from SignalTech's web site:

    https://signaltechbooster.com/info-21.php

    Basically what it says is that internet providers throttle your router to make your internet speed become slower over time so you'll upgrade your internet package. This already sounded suspicious to me, because I haven't had this happen to me (though I tend to buy my own router and use 3rd-party router firmware, such as DD-WRT or Tomato). I suppose it could theoretically happen with an ISP-provided router, but even then it seems sketchy and I haven't heard of this happening to other people.

    Next, it says that this SignalTech wifi booster "overrides what the internet provider does with your router and boosts your internet to every corner of your house". This sounds highly suspicious to me. If the internet provider is throttling your router speeds, I don't really see how a wifi device like this would be able to override what the ISP is doing to your router. Also, this is a wifi repeater; what about ethernet speed?

    And to top it off, that page has a section that says "How does this device work?" and it explains what bandwidth is, but it doesn't actually explain how this device supposedly overrides any bandwidth throttling from your internet provider.

    It all sounds bogus..

    Nightfox
  • From jack phlash@46:1/145 to Nightfox on Mon Aug 23 16:35:00 2021
    on 23 Aug 2021, Nightfox said...

    It all sounds bogus..

    Based entirely on your assessment, I'd have to agree.

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  • From phxl@46:1/104 to Nightfox on Tue Aug 24 10:24:20 2021
    Next, it says that this SignalTech wifi booster "overrides what the internetprovider does with your router and boosts your internet to every corner of yourhouse". This sounds highly suspicious to me. If the internet provider isthrottling your router speeds, I don't really see
    how a wifi device like thiswould be able to override what the ISP is
    doing to your router. Also, this isa wifi repeater; what about ethernet speed?
    And to top it off, that page has a section that says "How does this devicework?" and it explains what bandwidth is, but it doesn't actually explain howthis device supposedly overrides any bandwidth throttling
    from your internetprovider.

    It all sounds bogus..

    I've seen these ads too.. obviously it's someone with some sense using the mass ignorance of the ways things like routers and internet work to take advantage of "normies" (if you will). I can't tell you how many times people have told me "my internet is slow from all the viruses in my computer" and I look and see 4000 diff free downloaded games and dumb shareware crap polluting their registry. Obviously, the dumb wifi repeater isn't going to solve a thing but maybe earn the sellers a few dollars and POSSIBLY induce placebo effect on the sucker that buys one.

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  • From Accession@46:1/701 to Nightfox on Sat Aug 28 09:16:00 2021
    On 23 Aug 2021, Nightfox said the following...

    And to top it off, that page has a section that says "How does this
    device work?" and it explains what bandwidth is, but it doesn't actually explain how this device supposedly overrides any bandwidth throttling
    from your internet provider.

    It all sounds bogus..

    There are scams everywhere in this day and age. What scares me more is that your weather app actually supports advertisements like this. Usually well known 'legit' products avoid association with the complete unknown and/or sketchy products like this one seems to be.

    Regards,
    Nick

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  • From Nightfox to Accession on Sat Aug 28 08:38:14 2021
    Re: SignalTech wifi booster - Sounds suspicious
    By: Accession to Nightfox on Sat Aug 28 2021 09:16 am

    There are scams everywhere in this day and age. What scares me more is that your weather app actually supports advertisements like this. Usually well known 'legit' products avoid association with the complete unknown and/or sketchy products like this one seems to be.

    I wasn't using my weather app on my phone, it was weather.com in a web browser on my PC. But still scares me that they support ads like that.

    Nightfox
  • From Accession@46:1/701 to Nightfox on Sun Aug 29 07:30:22 2021
    On 28 Aug 2021, Nightfox said the following...

    I wasn't using my weather app on my phone, it was weather.com in a web browser on my PC. But still scares me that they support ads like that.

    Seems to me that would be even a worse case. ;)

    Regards,
    Nick

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