This might save a tiny bit of electricity,
…and therefore it is the users perfect right to do it or not to do it.
Unless the provider pays for that “tiny bit of” electricity, they have no say in this decision.
Have the router ask the server if there’s an update available when turned on. If none, proceed as usual; if there is, force the update, regardless of the time of the day. Problem solved.
Of course, for that you need to acknowledge that you violated the “ask, don’t be an assumer” rule, instead of bossing customers around with “golden rules”. You won’t change their silly and pointless habits anyway.
Read the title and went: What? They want you to keep your network hardware ON, when unattended, to increase the undetected malware entry opportunities?
Turns out it as their own devices they wanted to push updates to.
I would really prefer to use my own device though and even better, configure it myself after learning how the ISP’s network works. But convenience is what it is.
Yep, after moving from Germany to the UK I was pretty surprised that in the UK you’re not supposed to get this kind of information from your ISP.
In Germany you can get your own DSL/cable/fibre modem and your ISP has to give you the necessary information to get these devices into their network.
Most providers in the US allow it too. It’s great that Germany has it enshrined in law, but in practice it’s not the exception.
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The malware argument is a bit weak, if your router is vulnerable to something it’ll likely be found and pwnd in a matter of minutes, so turning it off a night won’t really save you. And once a patch is released, it’ll be reverse engineered in a few hours/days, so ideally you want patches as soon as they are released.
Using your own device is usually a good idea anyway, telco stuff is usually pretty mediocre. And as soon as your device is slightly custom, it becomes a less valuable target.
High energy bills and misinformation about energy saving seems to be causing some odd behaviour here in the UK.
I have relatives who go round turning off every device and appliance at night, despite the negligible power draw they have in standby. Another will only charge their phone at night during cheaper the electricity rate - but runs the tumble dryer during the day.
I also often hear stories about people fearing electronic devices will catch fire if left on standby over night. Which may well be a risk for charging a dodgy Chinese e-bike but probably not for a home router.
