Re: "download" caps

[Luis Bruno <lbruno () zbit pt>]

J Edgar Hoover wrote:
> I'm wondering  if you  could effectively  DoS a  capped account  for a
> month by sending a lot of unrequested data.

Speaking from the  point of view of a portuguese  cable modem user, yes.
In the customer support section  of the cable company's website, there's
a web  page which  displays each consumer's  modem[1] readings;  I don't
think this dumb brick[2] distinguishes requested from unrequested data.

It wouldn't  be a DoS, however;  no sane company would  impose a monthly
hard limit on *my* pr0n surfing  habits.[3] You'd be landing the hapless
chap on the other end of the link in a very ugly position. He would have
to prove the data was unrequested.

Cheers,
Luis Bruno

[1]: Which is a bridge, or a very dumb routing device.
[2]: RCA/Thompson DCM235.
[3]: They'd just charge you obscene amounts of money for every byte over
     the limit.