We are committed to providing you with the best and safest online experience possible.

As part of our ongoing efforts to continuously improve the quality of our service, we are initiating the Constant Guard security program for High-Speed Internet customers. The Constant Guard security program is the culmination of a multi-year effort to create a comprehensive approach to protecting our customers from increasingly sophisticated online security threats.

According to Javelin Strategy and Research, there were more than 10 million victims of identity theft in the U.S. last year and many of those thefts were made possible through the use of bots (or viruses). The annual global business cost of identity theft has been estimated to be $221 billion (Aberdeen Group).

The Constant Guard security program comprises three core components:

• People:
  • A dedicated Customer Security Assurance (CSA) team of highly skilled security professionals proactively contacts customers to respond to issues relating to bots, spam, and virus infected PCs, as well as other security-related issues.
• Technology:
  • Norton^&trade' Security Suite (available at no additional charge to Comcast High-Speed Internet customers in a single download from http://security.comcast.net/get-protected/index.aspx) provides customers with a comprehensive set of security tools designed to protect against a variety of online threats, including viruses.
  • The Comcast Toolbar (free download from www.comcast.net/security) includes spyware detection and removal, a pop-up ad blocker, and anti-phishing software.
  • Best in class technology deployed within the Comcast network is designed to help fight spam, phishing attacks and viruses. Partners include Bizanga, Cloudmark®, Goodmail CertifiedEmail™, and Return Path, as well as the use of blocklists from Spamhaus and TrendMicro™.
• Education:
  • The online Security Channel www.comcast.net/security is a Web portal that includes real-time security alerts, tips, tools and other resources, like Internet safety games, that help educate and protect consumers.

Comcast will be trialing a new feature of the Constant Guard security program in the Denver, Colorado area. We may send a "Service Notice" to you if we determine your computer to be infected with a bot (or virus) and strongly advise that you go to the Anti-Virus Center to follow a set of instructions to assist with removing the bot from your computer thereby preventing it from spreading to other computers. The Service Notice will look like this:

For instructions to remove the bot from your computer, go to the Anti-Virus Center for help. Or you can close the Service Notice without any further action. We may notify you again if we determine if your computer may be infected by a bot.

"The new Comcast safeguards are in line with industry best practices to help ISPs assist customers whose machines have been infected with malware. By deploying the technology to detect bots on their subscribers' computers, Comcast is providing a service to their customers and contributing to safer messaging," said Jerry Upton, executive director of MAAWG (Messaging Anti-Abuse Working Group).

The Service Notice as well as all the other features of the Constant Guard security program is available for no additional charge to High-Speed Internet customers