Cox is a U.S. company that deals in telecommunications, cable television and internet access as well. The latter activity is the topic of this article. Serving well over 20 million people, Cox is one of the largest providers of internet in the country. We are going to examine just how friendly the organization is to its customers from the viewpoint of internet quality. Also we are going to discuss an opportunity to remedy the unfortunately prevailing problems of Cox’s business. A VPN service bypasses the wrongs listed below and is the best choice today if you want a safe and hidden online presence.
Cox distributes its internet access in various packages. These so-called data plans come with different speed settings and limits to the amount of information you can down and/or upload. If you bypass a data cap, you might experience a decline in the quality of your internet connection. The method used to achieve this is unclear, and Cox does not label it as “throttling” outright. Both their ToS and AUP highlight this. However, wording is vague enough for the organization to reduce a network’s capabilities. If a policy simply states that “Cox does not throttle” then semantically it refers to the entity itself that is Cox. Moreover, Cox does not explicitly define what they understand as a congested network. Trying to use more popular websites like Netflix, YouTube or Hulu can possibly be problematic, regardless of the time you try to access them.
Cox admittedly blocks or filters a few ports, to protect their customers and bandwidth. The following have at least some restrictions present today: ports 25, 80, 135, 136-139, 445, 1433, 1434 and 1900. The official Cox website provides lengthy explanations for each individual case. Again, security concerns are the main reasons for these restrictions.
This can be problematic if you want to use a VPN service. We suggest that you use none of the above ports, to ensure a steady flow of traffic on that level of your internet connection. Apart from ports, Cox is not so keen on copyright infringement. Therefore, do not expect support for torrenting and other file sharing sites, down to the point of inaccessibility. Cox does not favor using DNS addresses and servers that were not assigned to you by them.
You can very easily bypass the restrictions of this ISP if you use a VPN service. Companies providing such products will ask you to install a client software or application unto your machine that does the dirty work for you. The case is such because a VPN service works on the basis of changing a device’s IP address; this can be a difficult process for those not adept at using computers and such, and today almost all companies offer some sort of software. The catch is that the IP address you change to belongs to certain countries that have less online restrictions than the U.S. This allows you to have a better online experience. VPN providers also use encryptions to protect these private connections.
There is an alternative to VPN that deals in swapping your DNS addresses instead of the IP. Smart DNS services are more limited, but faster options, but since Cox apparently monitors its clients’ DNS statues, we recommend using smart DNS either together with a VPN, or not at all. You are not secured by encryptions when relying on smart DNS, leaving you open for attacks, blocks and throttling.
Lastly, we would also like to recommend you a few VPN companies as a consequence of the above. They are the most effective and the safest solution against ISP misbehavior in our opinion. Take a peek at VyprVPN for safety, PureVPN for a free smart DNS addition or HideMyAss for the most locations available.
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