Owners of Cisco/Linksys home routers got a nasty shock this week [first week of July], when their devices automatically downloaded a new operating system, which locked out device owners. After the update, the only way to reconfigure your router was to create an account on Cisco’s “cloud” service, signing up to a service agreement that gives Cisco the right to spy on your Internet use and sell its findings, and also gives them the right to disconnect you (and lock you out of your router) whenever they feel like it.

After Cisco’s user-base made it clear that they would either spend $40 on someone else’s  crappy router or install third-party firmware to avoid Cisco’s master plan, Cisco reversed course, but reserved the right to try the scheme again later.