Comcast increasing data caps from 300GB to 1TB in June

While we here in Pennsylvania have enjoyed not having our 250GB data cap even being turned on, I am glad to see that Comcast is taking the initiative to increase is bandwidth cap to 1TB so when they do begin enforcing it we have a greater chance of not being billed for overages. If you do go over the limit Comcast plans to bill you $10 per each 50GB’s of overage. If you want to add unlimited data to you plan this cost is rising from $35/month to $50/month.

So what does 1TB allow us to do? Comcast says: "You can stream about 700 hours of HD video, play 12,000 hours of online games, and download 60,000 high-res photos in a month." Comcast stated that as of late 2015 8% of their customers are now exceeding the 300GB cap and this increase is to help lower that percentage.

Comcast says that the caps isn’t really a cap at all. Customers are allowed to go over them though they have to pay extra when they do. AT&T is also stepping up its enforcement of their caps as well it is being reported.

I am still amazed at what Roku offers

Every so often I take a quick look to see what I might be missing in my channel list. The Roku 3 that I have as an accessory in our TV room, is slowly becoming the primary device we use to access TV shows and movies. With the Sling TV app you also have the ability to stream live TV without having to have cable. Cutting the cord becomes that much easier with adding some of these features. The one bill I hate paying every month is the Comcast bill with triple play constant over $200 a month. So the question is can I create a budget from streaming Internet services that is less than what we are paying for the cable services.

From my calculations I can drop the cost down to about $130 to $150 per month. Compared to the cost of around $300 for the same basic options. So what am I going to lose? I think the two main things I will miss will be football in local news. However, if I stick up a high definition TV until I can probably pick most of that up over the air for free. 

So am I ready to make the big leap? As much as I would like to, I don't think I'm there quite yet. It may happen soon though!

Is your Xfinity modem a Public Hotspot?

An interesting subject was brought up at our Friday meetings couple weeks ago about how Comcast is testing a new service for making your Xfinity modem into a public hotspot for the community around you. They are doing this by creating a second signal for each device that is totally separate from the one that you use for your personal connection to the Internet through their modem. Comcast states that the secondary signal does not take away any of your speed for your side of the connection.

They also say that there is no cross connection, so you don't have to worry about somebody hopping onto your side of the network. This public access is only available to those Comcast subscribers of the Xfinity Wi-Fi network service.

"Comcast’s newest Wireless Gateway broadcasts two Wi-Fi signals," the company said. "By default, one is securely configured for the private use of the home subscriber. The second is a neighborhood 'xfinitywifi' network signal that can be shared. This creates an extension of the Xfinity Wi-Fi network and will allow visiting Xfinity Internet subscribers to sign in and connect using their own usernames and passwords."

This service is being piloted in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Northern Virginia, and the greater Washington, DC metro area.

There doesn't seem to be much advantage to individual Comcast subscribers when they are at home, since anyone with a home wireless network can already set up a guest access for visitors. But subscribers could potentially benefit when their out of the house and happened to be near another Comcast subscribers wireless Gateway. Through a partnership with the CableWiFi Alliance, Comcast already has a network of more than 150,000 hotspots in more than a dozen US cities.

There been several discussions on the benefits of providing this type of service besides the obvious one of expanding a user subscription benefit, one being that it provides hotspot access for emergency use or emergency communications.

The Comcast says there is no problem with interference, one concern that I have is the number of channels that will be used in a highly concentrated area and what kind of degradation you can expect from doubling the impact from each of these connections. Are these motives intelligent enough to help with this type of issue is a question that needs to be answered. I know that with products like Aruba wireless networking that we run into this concern all the time. So I can imagine that this might not be an issue in apartment complexes where you would have many households that might be providing additional signals, congesting the airwaves.

Comcast introduces a new malware detection service

I received a new service announcement from Comcast discussing a new detection service to look for “bots” that may have infected your system. These bots can create bottlenecks on their system if present and this is probably the reason that they are instituting this new service. It will be interesting to see how effective this service will be.

Dear Valued Customer, We know that protecting your identity and using the internet safely are both very important concerns for you. The most prevalent threat to your personal information on the internet today is a Bot! A Bot, also referred to as malicious software or malware, is used to gain control of your computer, typically without your knowledge. Online criminals can use Bots to collect your Social Security numbers, bank account information, and/or credit card numbers by monitoring your keystrokes. Constant Guard is a service provided to you at no additional charge as part of your Comcast High Speed Internet subscription. As a new feature of the Constant Guard™ service, if we believe one or more of your computers may be infected with a Bot, we may present to you in your browser a Comcast Service Notice (see example below). The notice will encourage you to take immediate action by visiting https://constantguard.comcast.net for self help instructions or professional assistance.

Protect your personal information with the Constant Guard Protection Suite, Click Here. Need to remove a Bot or malware? Visit the Constant Guard Center Need the latest information and tips on security issues? Visit the Security Website Need to contact Comcast Security? Get Help

Don't be fooled by faked virus alerts, along with the Comcast Service Notice, we will also send a Bot Notification email alert to your Comcast primary email address. This alert will be marked with the Comcast brand below (see below). The brand symbol indicates the email is "verified" to be safe by Comcast. Ensuring your online safety and security is our top priority. While we hope you do not encounter a BOT on your computer, we want you to be rest assured that we will help you detect and remove it. For more information on the Constant Guard program, and how Comcast is protecting you online, please visit http://xfinity.com/constantguard. Sincerely, Comcast Customer Security Assurance

HBO GO released for ios devices

It wasn’t that I could hardly wait for this to be released but I was surprised how well it works in its first iteration. It is fast and seemed to stream very well over my WIFI network. You must be an HBO subscriber to access the content but after you key in your account information up pops all of the current movies and shows playing on HBO as well as past documentaries, sports and HBO produced series. So if you haven’t been following a current series, missed a passed series or episode you can quickly come up to speed with this application. This app works on all of you ios devices so you can watch you HBO content on your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad.

HBO GO allows users to view programming over either a Wi-Fi or 3G connection, making the entire lineup of HBO shows and movies available while on-the-go. Bonus features and special behind-the-scenes extras are included in the HBO GO service and the app allows users to also create customized watchlists and smart “Series Pass” lists to easily follow their favorite shows. HBO GO is available only in the U.S. and requires a 3G or Wi-Fi connection for viewing content. The universal iOS app requires iOS 3.2 or later and an iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, third- and fourth-generation iPod touch or iPad. HBO GO isavailable from the App Store as a free download.

xfinity.tv (Comcast) has released a new iPad App

Do you want more control over your DVR’s in the home? Well Comcast has a new App available on iTunes that allows you to set up your recordings on all of DVRs in your house.

Here’s a brief highlight of this App’s capabilities:

• Search On Demand and TV Listings
• Change channels on your TV
• Schedule your DVR remotely

Remote Tune

You can change the channel on your TV right from your XFINITY TV app. Just find a program you want to watch in TV Listings and tap “Watch on TV” to change your TV’s channel and start watching instantly. You can even tune directly to an On Demand program.

Remote DVR Scheduling

Use the XFINITY TV app to schedule your DVR from wherever you are. Just find a program you want to record from TV Listings and tap “Record.” It will be waiting for you on your DVR when you return home. You’ll never have to miss your favorite shows again.

How to Search

With the XFINITY TV app, it’s easy to navigate through the thousands of TV shows and movies – even those On Demand – that are available to you. Simply tap “Search” at any time and search by title, actor or keyword. You can even filter by genre, network, HD and more.

Download Free

The XFINITY TV app is available for download from the App Store℠ for your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch."

• Download now »

While this application gives you access to programming you DVR remotely it is lacking a few functions that would make it more functional.

First, I would like to have the ability to see what I have on the schedule to be recorded and have the ability to edit those choices.

Second, it would be nice to be able to jump to a specific date, time and/or station.

Third, the ability to create a list of stations that you want to always review would be another nice feature.

Fourth, wouldn’t it be nice to stream the content to the iPad as well? Maybe that is asking too much. But if they checked with your connection, and since you are logging in with your account information it shouldn’t be that much harder than connecting with a PC and streaming that way.

This is the first iteration and you can’t expect the whole world all at once. The program is very responsive and simple to use. Would I recommend downloading this to your iPad or your iPhone. Definitely. This gives you the ability to lock in a TV recording if you happen to forget to program it locally or you can take a look at what movies are playing while you are away that you want to record to watch at a later time.

I will look forward to see what they will come out with in the future versions.

Can’t Send Mail and you are using Comcast?

Users all over the country are finding out daily that suddenly, for no apparent reason at all, they are unable to send mail if they want people to reply to their business or personal e-mail addressed other than one that is @comcast.net. This is because Comcast is blocking port 25 , which is your default port for sending email through your mail software.

Click to read more ...

New service from Comcast: Access your DVR remotely

You can now manage you DVR remotely using myDVR Manger. Once you have logged in and initialized the application, it will take 24 hours to synchronize to all the DVR units in your home.  This program allows you to schedule your DVR to record your favorite TV shows and movies from any where you have Internet access with computer.  If you have forgotten to schedule a program you can now access the DVR that you would like to program remotely from your work or other Internet connected computer.

The features include:

• Schedule your recordings online
• Review your scheduled recordings
• Modify a scheduled recording
• Modify a series recording

You will need your Comcast username (this is your email account) and password to be able to activate an access this account.  You will then be able to access and eventually any DVR that is in your home from a remote desktop.  You can even use this application on your home PC to make it a little easier to program your recording schedules.

I will let you know how well this works after I have used it for couple of weeks.  You're facing simple and straightforward and I feel this is a great addition to Comcast's capabilities.  Good going Comcast!