Thursday, July 28, 2011

10 Reasons to Consider Comcast Home Security Plans

Internet and telephone security has been an issue almost from the beginning of each technology. Telephone scams have been in the news for decades; almost everyone has been or knows someone who has been approached by telephone to donate to a phony charity or fraternal organization. The Internet is rife with scams that use similar tactics, sometimes to directly solicit money, more often to gather personal information that allows scammers to access bank accounts and credit cards.

Security is generally reactive, and a step behind the bad guys, but companies such as Comcast are attempting to become more pro-active in their methods. Comcast offers Xfinity, touted as a security plan “plus”, and here are some reasons to check out this program.

  1. Phishing – Phishing has nothing to do with the popular band, Phish, but it does connect to a homophone, “fishing”. Phishing is a scam whereby personal information and identifications are gathered for fraudulent purposes, usually through e-mails purporting to be from legitimate companies and organizations, which request things like user names and banking and credit card information.
  2. Phone Scams – Phone scams are nothing new, and Comcast’s Xfinity alerts customers to these cons; recent examples include fake “prize” offerings where callers tell victims they have won some huge prize, and all they have to do to claim their winnings is provide certain personal and financial information, or send monetary “deposits” to hold the prize.
  3. Viruses – Viruses, worms and Trojans are usually forms of software that are introduced through pathways like e-mail or a game offering to “infect” other computers through self-replication, and can do things like erasure of hard-drives.
  4. Spyware – Like the viruses, spyware is often introduced through e-mails and games, and is designed to covertly access all kinds of personal information stored in the computer.
  5. Updates for Security Software – One of the benefits advertised by Comcast is security software updates, and these come in the form of the ubiquitous pop-up that lets the user know an update is available, or the news may arrive in an e-mail.
  6. Computer Repair Scam – Comcast provides warnings against repair scammers. These people, in-person or via phone or e-mail, claim to be able to fix phony computer “problems”, but instead may install spyware or viruses.
  7. Shopping - In addition to security features, subscribers to Xfinity often receive coupons that are good at participating retailers.
  8. News – Subscribers can access news and weather through the Xfinity toolbar.
  9. Widgets – Widgets, available through the Xfinity toolbar, are small software devices that allow the user to access a service or perform a function.
  10. Entertainment – Xfinity enables consumers to view HD television and listen to music programs.

Comcast’s Xfinity may still be slightly behind the scammers, but the program may help consumers, and the additional offerings can make it an attractive package


Taken From Home Alarm Monitoring

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