They turned off the tap
Since moving into my new apartment last August, I’ve enjoyed free WiFi courtesy of one of my neighbours. I’m not sure whether it’s altruism or ignorance, but judging by their router’s SSID (“default”), my money’s on the latter. Anyway, for the past few months, it’s been great — a nice, strong, reliable signal. For free!
But the day I got back from New Year’s in Windsor, I realized something had changed. My old friend “default?” Encrypted! What was I to do?
- Hack the WEP encryption with Kismac?
- Hook up a complicated system of routers in my closet to borrow and redistribute another neighbour’s open signal?
- Go without the internet for a while and see what better things I can find to do with my time?
After some thought, I decided it might just be best to actually pay for my own internet access. Go figure. Now, as far as I know, there are only two companies that offer high-speed in Toronto: Bell and Rogers. I hate them both, but of the two, I hate Rogers the least. So, from Jenna’s laptop, I surfed on over to the Rogers site to see what the damage would be. I clicked on “Internet Services,” then “Promotions.” I typed in my postal code so the site could “provide [me] with the right products and services.”
This took me to a page with a list of specials. One of them looked pretty good:
Rogers Yahoo! Hi-Speed Internet EXPRESS
- Save $3 per month for 12 months!
- Receive $10 rebate with your online order
- Free Basic Installation
- No term commitment required
Free installation? A discount for ordering online? No contract? “Hey,” I thought, “maybe paying for legit Internet won’t be so bad. Sign me up!” So I clicked “Order Now.” It took me to a page that asked for my name and address. Hurriedly, I typed them in, and clicked “Continue.” Then, this:
Wow, Rogers. You’re really inspiring confidence in your internet service product with that one.
Yeesh.