Comcast Offers Norton Security Suite Free to High-Speed Internet Customers

Staring in mid-January, Comcast began offering Norton from Symantec to residential and business high-speed Internet subscribers for no additional cost. The company previously offered McAfee Security Suite.

Norton Security Suite includes PC security that protects against viruses, spyware, worms, Trojans, malicious bots and identity theft. It also includes a range of customizable parental controls. Comcast subscribers with Macs will receive Norton Internet Security for Mac.

According to Norton, a PC that does not have active and up-to-date security software can become infected within four minutes of connecting to the Internet. The Norton Security Suite Internet security features include:

• Virus scan – protects against viruses, bots, spyware, Trojan horses, worms and rootkits and includes Norton’s new reputation-based security technology
• Identity theft protection – helps block phishing Web sites, guards against keyloggers and stores and protects Web passwords
• Parental control tools for family safety – includes filters for age-appropriate Web site content, information about search terms kids are using, and information about their social networking accounts
• Two-way firewall protection – stops threats at point of entry using sophisticated behavioral security technology
• Windows protection – cleans and repairs Windows registry
• PC Tune-up – finds and fixes problems that slow your computer
• 24/7 one-click customer support – via e-mail, chat or phone support

The Norton Security Suite is valued at $160 for residential customers and the Norton Security Suite Business Edition is valued at up to $490 for business customers. The company says the suite is a key component to Comcast’s recently announced Constant Guard Security initiative, which involves a comprehensive approach to proactively assist customers with online security issues. Comcast and Norton will also be offering customers co-branded fee-based virus removal and PC Tune-up services later this year.

Does your high-speed Internet provider offer free security software? If not, see if Comcast if available in your area and switch today to get protected.

Super Bowl Watchers In It For the Ads?

Do you tune into the Super Bowl for the action on the field or the ads between plays? According to the results of a survey recently released by The Nielsen Company, if you watch for the game, you are in the minority. The media company found that the majority of Super Bowl viewers enjoy the game’s ads more than the action on the field.

Fifty-one percent of those questioned said they most enjoy the commercials that air throughout the game when compared to the Super Bowl game itself. Forty-nine percent said that they enjoy the game more than the ads. Results were based on a sample of over 25,000 households in Nielsen’s Homescan panel.

The poll was just a small portion of what Nielsen released as part of their comprehensive study of the trends and effectiveness of paid Super Bowl advertising. Read about all their findings here.

If you do plan to actually watch the Super Bowl this Sunday, which team will you be rooting for? (Go SAINTS!)

Netflix Streaming Rentals Coming to Nintendo Wii

Nintendo and Netflix recently announced they have reached an agreement that will allow Netflix members who are also owners of Nintendo’s Wii™ home console to instantly watch movies and TV episodes streamed from Netflix directly to their TVs. Netflix says it is scheduled to go live on the Wii console this spring in the US at no additional cost to Netflix members who have a plan starting at $8.99 a month, a Wii console and a broadband Internet connection.

Wii is the fastest-selling home console in history, and reaches more consumers than any other device that currently supports streaming movies from Netflix. Netflix currently has more than 11.1 million U.S. subscribers and says it plans to continue to expand the ways in which its members can watch movies and TV shows streamed directly to TVs through Netflix-ready devices.

To enable your Wii to stream content from Netflix, you'll need a Netflix instant-streaming disc which will be available at no additional cost to Netflix subscribers. The free disc looks and operates the same as a disc-based Wii game. Netflix members and Wii console owners can now reserve a free instant-streaming disc by going to www.netflix.com/Wii.

TXU Energy Cash Back Loyalty Reward Programs Up to 27 Million

TXU Energy recently announced that over the last three years the company has given its customers more than $27 million through its cash back loyalty rewards program that pays cash back to customers on eligible TXU Energy plans.

TXU Energy says that it is the only electricity provider that has cash back loyalty rewards based on customers' annual electricity purchases. Customers on plans with cash back will be paid more than $15 million, in 2010 alone, based on their 2009 usage. Customers receive three percent cash back on their annual electricity purchases in the form of a Visa® prepaid card.

In addition to the cash back, the eligible plans include 10 percent renewable energy. TXU says it allows customers to choose lock in price protection for up to two years to avoid the risk of a variable rate plan.

See if TXU Energy plans are available in your area.

RCN Gives Lucky New Yorkers One Year of Free Cable

RCN recently announced that six New York City area residents won free cable for one year in the company's "Colossal Cable Giveaway." The winners, who live in Forest Hills, Long Island City and Manhattan, will receive the credit beginning this month.

RCN customer Luisa K. was excited when she received news that she had won. When asked what she planned to do with the savings she explained, "The money will be put away for a whole year for my son who is going to college next year."

In total, 36 winners across RCN's service area will receive free cable, which the company says has a value totaling more than $19,500. The promotion ran in all RCN markets for six weeks. Winners were selected in a random drawing from eligible entries.

See if RCN cable service is available in your area.

High-Speed Internet Customer Service Links

High-speed Internet. It's rampaging across the world like some kind of monster movie, only the monster is awesome and lets you watch gems like Brendan Fraser's goofy clapping while browsing your favorite Web sites. This high-speed monster is a kind monster, and likes to give you lots of bandwidth.

Even though high-speed Internet has seen rapid growth in the last few years in the U.S., it is not quite everywhere, and is continuing to move from home to home. It's becoming the norm now to have faster Internet, so much so that people are expecting free WiFi at hotels and in other publicly visited places.

In fact, high-speed Internet is one of WhiteFence's most ordered products for the last couple of months, which still surprises me. I suppose I've been used to having it for a few years, so I forget that other people might not have made the plunge yet. Seeing as how there are dozens of providers out there providing all these megabytes to PCs (and Macs, I know) across the country, I figured I'd post links for their high-speed customer support centers all in one place. That way, if you've got any questions about a provider, you can check it out.

Save Wasted Energy with a Smart Power Strip

We’ve written about vampire energy before and recommended you upgrade to a smart power strip to fight the problem and increase your energy efficiency. TrickleStar has just released a new line of these green power strips, so I thought I’d take this opportunity to walk you through how they work.

Devices that you always want on, like your cable modem or phone, plug into special “always on” outlets. You pick one device that you want to function as the switch for the system, maybe your computer or TV, and plug that into the “control” outlet. All other devices get plugged into the remaining outlets. When you turn off the control device, the other devices are turned off and will no longer draw any current; it’s that just easy.

You might think that very little energy and money could be saved this way, but TrickleStar estimate that by using one TrickleStrip you can save up to $38 in electricity charges. Given that the TrickleStrips only cost a few dollars more than that, you’ll pay for the device in less than two years and then save on energy costs for years to come. In fact, they estimate that you could save over 300 dollars over the life of just one of the strips. That’s not a bad return for just swapping out a power strip.

TrickleStrips for PC and TV use are on sale now at the TrickleStar store.

Image via TrickleStar

VoIP: Easy as 1-2-3

Disclaimer to whomever is in charge of Mr. Jackson's estate: please do not sue us for the title of this blog. We are alright people, and one time we even did a Thriller video in the office. Not really, but how cool would that be?

Anyway, the other day I was talking to my mom, who just recently purchased a new laptop. One of the features she was the most excited about was being able to video chat and Skype with other relatives. Yes, I just used Skype as a verb. Now, my mom is not a tech-savvy person in the slightest, so it was interesting to hear her talking about this, particularly with the amount I've been hearing about Skype, Google Voice and VoIP in general these days. I think it says a lot about the potential and growth of VoIP.

For the uninitiated, VoIP, or Voice over Internet Protocol, is a technology that allows you to make telephone calls using a broadband Internet connection instead of a regular (or analog) phone line.What makes people so excited about VoIP is its ease of use and potential savings benefits over some long distance carriers.

7 Things To Do Before and After Your Move

There's no getting around it, moving is an exercise in multi-tasking and stress management. Sometimes we succeed, and sometimes we turn it into an epic fail. It all depends on preparation.

Having moved just a few months ago, I don't envy anybody that's having to do it in the near future. That's why it's always good to make the transitions as easy and stress free as possible. Luckily, Apartment Therapy has stepped in with two helpful articles listing 7 Things To Do Before Moving Out as well as 7 Things To Do Before Moving In. The second one actually has 8 steps, not 7, but hey, who's counting?

Both articles have a few tips that some people wouldn't even consider before the big day, such as changing toilet seats (seriously, why have I never thought of that). In addition, each one has a checklist of the normal moving tasks like cleaning, changing locks, planning walk-throughs, etc. For nerdy guys like me, seeing everything in one spot with a checklist really helps prioritize and get things done.

Really, the only thing the articles don't mention is taking care of your home services, but I think we've already got you covered there. To read more, be sure to visit Apartment Therapy.

Do You Rent or Own?

Late last year, my wife and I bought our first house. It was an exciting and nerve-wracking process that seemed to last forever, but we came out of it with a great house that really fit our (and our pack of dogs’) needs. Sure the commute down here to WhiteFence every day may be little long, but it’s worked out great in general.

Owning your own home is truly a wonderful thing—the feeling of having security and a place of our own is awesome, but that’s not all that makes everything worth it. We’ve jumped at the ability to finally make decorating decisions, already installing new flooring and picking out new paint colors. Living in rentals, your home life becomes a sea of beige walls and beiger carpets, so it’s nice to make a change. Not having to take all the aforementioned dogs out on leashes three times a day, every day (42 trips per week!) is another big bonus.

It’s not always fun, though. Now when something around the house breaks, there’s no one to call out to come and fix it for free. I’m not looking forward to when the grass finally comes out of hibernation mode and I have to start actually caring for it. Also, the monthly expenses are a little higher now, though at least we are building some equity.

So, here’s today’s question: do you currently rent or own your home? Vote now and don’t forget to share your thoughts about home ownership vs. renting in the comments!