With the routers Lynksys E2700, E3500 and E4500 you need now to sign in with Cisco cloud connect to access you router.
As of last week, buying a new Linksys router means being forced to adopt a “cloud” service that offers no benefits, allows Cisco to snoop your internet history, and gives the company the power to control access to hardware you legally purchased.
The second major problem with Cisco’s Cloud Connect is its “supplemental privacy policy.” This policy is an addition to Cisco’s Privacy Statement. As of June 27, the fifth paragraph read as follows:When you use the Service, we may keep track of certain information related to your use of the Service, including but not limited to the status and health of your network and networked products; which apps relating to the Service you are using; which features you are using within the Service infrastructure; network traffic (e.g., megabytes per hour); internet history; how frequently you encounter errors on the Service system and other related information (“Other Information”).
The Terms and Conditions of using the Cisco Connect Cloud state that Cisco may unilaterally shut down your account if finds that you have used the service for “obscene, pornographic, or offensive purposes, to infringe another’s rights, including but not limited to any intellectual property rights, or… to violate, or encourage any conduct that would violate any applicable law or regulation or give rise to civil or criminal liability.”