Request to @airtel_presence to provide an option to disable SmartBytes redirections

[Sushubh]

Starting a thread for you to retweet to appeal to Airtel Broadband to provide an option to disable random redirections to SmartBytes page. Reasons? 1. Almost all users who are getting randomly redirected would probably know about SmartBytes and would do it manually if they are interested in getting a SmartBytes package. Airtel already sends an email when the user crosses 80% and 100% of his usage, that is the proper place to promote this 'scam'. 2. Random redirections are bad for the end user as it breaks the flow of browsing. It can result in data loss for users who are trying to post a comment on a blog or forum. It can lead to incomplete online transactions which can result in major headaches for the user paying for a product or service online.

 

[mehrotra.akash]

Do the redirections occur with Google DNS as well?

 

[Sushubh]

yeap. it is not dependent upon the DNS... it happens on the server side.

 

[mehrotra.akash]

Ah, well I've been luckyOnly been FUPed twice, and got mails but not the redirection

 

[hno3]

Do the redirections occur with Google DNS as well?
Yes. When I started receiving these questions. I first changed my DNS from Airtel to OpenDNS and that did not help.

 

[MITHI]

try blocking their domain with hosts file or firewall, reply the post it that works

 

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[Sushubh]

blocking their domain would do what? i would be redirected to a dead page. not funny.

 

[genie]

It can lead to incomplete online transactions which can result in major headaches for the user paying for a product or service online.



Maybe you can avoid redirection by enabling Speed on Demand before transacting.

SOD is charged on 5 minute prorata basis so you can turn it off after completing the transaction.

 

[Sushubh]

lol. on a 4mbps connection i do not really have any SoD option. secondly, i should not be paying them more than what i already do to make use of what i have already paid them for. frankly speaking... they start the random redirection after 80% of the usage is consumed. so basically, i am suffering for the last 20% of the allotted bandwidth that i already pay for (that would be 30GB for me!). they are interfering with my connection even before i have hit the FUP limits. that's something i would say is an unacceptable behavior.

 

[genie]

You can chose a lower speed SOD perhaps.I don't condone what they are doing....just suggesting a solution to avoid a transaction from being interrupted.

 

[Sushubh]

amused that airtel does not even detect that i am on a higher speed plan already. bunch of idiots.

 

[Ankush Saxena]

broadband forum you are doing great job the smart byte page is really annoying , my all important work is disturbed and lost STOP !! page redirection of smart byte ......

 

[hno3]

found another problem with smart bytes... Today I was downloading an important data from internet using my FTP download manager. It was gonna take 2 to 3hrs so I left my computer on and had gone to my friends place. When I came home after 6 to 7 hrs I found that the download was stuck at 45%.and had stopped. In order to check if internet is working I just tried to browse google.com and there it was... the AIRTEL SMARTBYTES question... And it has a captcha to so ppl who want to automate things while they are not around the computer cannot do that..I still have no response to the email that I had sent to airtel regarding the frequent smart bytes question on may 30, 2012. Its been seven days, I just replied again on the same email. If I dont get a response by tomorrow I am escalating this to the nodal office.Earlier I thought airtel had good intentions behind the smartbytes and the captcha.. but now i have started to become suspicious..What airtel has achieved by using the smartbytes and captha is that ppl wont be able to continuously download anymore. If ppl are not sitting next to the computer to manually open a webpage and get redirected to answer the question and enter the captcha then their downloads wont work. One can understand the redirection blocking users a browser (http). But blocking my FTP downloads too (basically the whole internet) is not correct. I cannot answer the question on my FTP download manager I have to open a webpage to answer it so that my FTP download continues.. I dont remember singing a contract with airtel to block my internet when I am not using it but my computer applications are. That is the whole point of a computer.. If I am required to stay near my computer to answer this stupid question otherwise I loose my internet then this is WRONG..

 

[Sushubh]

i have personally not noticed this problem with my torrent downloads. though i usually am online when my torrents are downloading so i am usually surfing on the web browser during that time.

 

[SiriusB]

@chromaniac, I believe you are using VPN now. Has that solved the redirection problem for you? I think it should've.