Virgin Media (UK) stores passwords in plain text, sends them through the mail

Despite this, they are completely clueless when it comes to technology. I think only a tiny minority of their staff know that they maintain a fiber network, let alone what that means.

Yea I know, I considered that someone would raise the fact that they're a telco. It's difficult to articulate what I mean by tech-first, and I don't want to lean on "I know it when I see it", but I'm describing a cluster in thingspace that I think is clear to pretty much everyone here.

Virgin Media is profit-first, above all else. It's an error to assume that the part of the company that builds out infrastructure is in any way joined up with the part of the company that keeps customers secure (if indeed, they even have people responsible for that, which they apparently don't).

This is why things like GDPR end up being foisted on us. Corporations have proven themselves capable of simply ignoring legislation designed to protect their customers, and simply paying a fine later. They'll secure when it's convenient to them, and not a minute earlier.

I encountered that problem with the payment system for my city water bill a few years ago, I always hoped it would be a problem restricted to small town stuff with no budget for security.

Talktalk's boxes have the WPA passcode on a removable plastic fob attached to the back of the box.

Great until, like our neighbours, you place the box in your windowsil facing into the room.

My current default Virgin WPA password is roughly of the form lLlllNllllll (l - lowercase letter, L - uppercase letter, N - number), installed about a year ago, and I know from seeing another one that the position and quantity of the uppercase letters and numbers aren't fixed.

Must be a while ago then - it's 12 characters upper, lower and digits. Pretty reasonable.

Files?

If my experience of Virgin Media is anything to go by, they are probably writing them down in crayon on bits of paper that they keep in a very large box, probably outside and open to the weather.

Actually, it wouldn't surprise me if they just didn't store them at all and just accepted any login attempt.

Given the level of incompetence I have experienced from them, I can only assume they are still in business because of a serious accounting error in their favour.

I found my local cabinet with the doors swinging open and a massive tangled bundle of wires inside. I reported it to them, but they haven't done anything about it for more than a year, other than remove the notice asking you to report it to them if you see it open.

Frankly, I suspect I could build a more reliable link from a bit of string and a couple of plastic cups.

Worst ISP ever.

In my experience it doesn't make much difference whether you pay the bills or not.

They sent me to a debt collector more than a year after I had closed my account, for something I didn't owe them (it was a bill for services after I had closed my account and been physically disconnected). When I tried to talk to them about it, one of their call centre managers eventually admitted to me that there was no public number that could get me through to a call centre that had anyone able to sort it, or anyone they could transfer me to who could sort it, so I might as well stop trying and sue them.

I got it sorted by tracking down one of the company executives home contact information and calling him about it. I harrassed him considerably less than the debt collectors harrassed me.

Try telling this to a cop who’s itching to arrest you - back-chat and “being clever” is never appreciated.

My 93 year old neighbour had had people using her address for insurance fraud - I’d spotted the huge pile of unopened envelopes in her kitchen, all sent to her address but with random fictional names. Asked her if I can open one. “By all means,” she says, “I just use them as kindling anyway.” Car insurance policies. Hundreds of them.

So, I did what I thought was the right thing, contacted the fraud line.

A few days later this cop appears, not to investigate the fraud, not to console my neighbour - but to threaten both of us with prosecution for opening letters addressed to someone else - and that was the end of that. Never mind that they were going to her home - if it’s addressed to Miss Xfrjjtgvyes Bstgbfwss then only she can open it. I don’t care that she sounds made up. You don’t know that. How do I know you aren’t made up? Watch that tongue, son.

I ignored him and phoned dozens of insurers on her behalf, didn’t bother the police again. They take opening someone else’s mail, even a fictional person, far more seriously than, say, £30,000 of fraud.

Also in UK, my local ISP is an offshoot of the local Telco (the only one that didn't merge with BT back when), they are on the pricey end of normal but the service is fabulous and I've had maybe an hour's disruption in 4 years on their fiber.

Their engineers are good as well when I've had to deal with them professionally for work.

It's so hit and miss with other companies I've dealt with though.

And Branson only owned 3% before that