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Comment by dangrossman | Hacker News Reader

So if you were proxying some other protocol over port 80, Comcast might just inject some JavaScript into the stream and corrupt your data?

I don't even like the thought that they're running some kind of hardware that makes this possible. They're sending packets impersonating a web server you actually want to talk to, pretending to be part of a response you requested?

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I'm sure they are checking content-type headers...

Just because you can do this doesn't mean you should (i will stay away from comcast xfinity).

I wouldn't be so sure. They're barely even checking what browser you're running.

if they weren't then all JS and CSS files loaded through them would have their script tags in it.

i have had these types of issues a while back at coffee shops that try to inject ads, it was breaking my XML.

Oh, good point, I guess there's got to be some kind of semi-intelligent HTTP parsing going on in the background.

The point is that it is impossible to do this right. This system breaks software.

Unless it's NSN 6...

I bet some execs are looking at the stats for this and just going 'hmmm... what a coincidence that EVERYBODY is using the same browser!'

"I don't even like the thought that they're running some kind of hardware that makes this possible"

It's called a proxy server. They're actually really common - many ISPs use them. Any hotspot that shows a log-in page in your browser will, and I know my University's internet goes through one.

Squid [1] is one of the most well-known, and it's open source.

1. http://www.squid-cache.org

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