There you are, in your favorite comfortable space to relax, do some creative work, or just hang out. The atmosphere is perfect, a tasty drink at your fingertips, and you’re ready to type and then … Out of nowhere, your web browser opens to an Xfinity web page asking for your username and password.

Dismiss it as a one-time hassle and closes the browser. But like a child asking for attention, he comes back, looks at you, and taps you on the shoulder asking you to take him for a ride on the Internet, not once, not twice, but EVERY time you close the browser.

You can finally put this wild child into dead time and go back to your happy place.

The problem lies in two areas, the publicly accessible part of the router at home or the business you are connected to and the list of networks on your Mac.

Public access

In the infinite wisdom of Comcast, they have re-provisioned their routers to allow subscribers to log into their Comcast account and connect to the Internet wherever service is available through the network name “xfinity wifi.” Those who want this wide availability without a Comcast account are out of luck.

This allows subscribers to do two things:

First, connects subscribers to the many routers within Comcast territory, creating a mesh network of public wi-fi access points with just their login information without incurring additional fees for your own account.

Second, separates the connection between home or business owners from that of subscribers temporarily connecting to the router and does not count as traffic generated by the router owners.

Now we are going to solve this problem.

Mac network list

The big problem with the little “Xfinity Wifi” that gets in your face lies in one place you have control over: your network list.

A couple of notes on Mac network preferences:

Because Xfinity Wifi is an open network, it does not require a username and password until you log into the network.

Open networks get the preferred state and are tried first when the wireless adapter searches for a network to join.

You can modify the default behavior of your Mac by rearranging the list in the Network panel in System Preferences.

Modify your list of preferred networks

1. In System Preferences, click Network.

2. The first network option in the list should be Wi-Fi, make sure it is highlighted.

3. Next, find and click the Advanced button at the bottom right.

4. You can move your preferred networks higher in the list based on frequency to the top of that screen. Find the “Xfinity wifi” network in the list, click on it, and then click the “-” button to get rid of this beast.

5. If your iCloud Keychain is active, click Remove (All devices connected to iCloud will also remove the “Xfinity wifi” network).

6. Click OK.

7. Click Apply.

Now you don’t have to worry about your Mac constantly opening your web browser every time you want to connect to a wireless network.