Posted on 03/22/2013 12:22:56 PM PDT by Graybeard58
Not a new problem but I'm looking for a solution, other than the obvious one.
Comcast puts a pop up ad for their soft ware on every web page I open, "XFinity Constant Guard". It covers about 75% of the page. There is no way to simply exit out of it, all I can do is grab it in the upper left corner and drag it out of sight to the far right side of the page.
I went to Comcast in person yesterday and the woman there said, "I should go into my programs and remove it". The rub there is that it has never been in my programs. I could not make her understand that, I've never down loaded the thing nor will I ever. It is a pop up spam ad and not their program .
I've been to Comcast web site forum and it is full of the same complaint, with the Comcast rep blaming everything but Comcast for the problem, the woman at Comcast had the temerity to tell me that I'm the only one that has ever complained.
The Comcast spam will appear for two or three days, then go away for two to four weeks, then it's back again- on every web page visited. I am having some relief from it today, so far.
How about a class action law suit against Comcast for "Denial of service"?
Comcast has no doubt put in boilerplate that protects them against customer legal claims based on their ad pushes. Try tweaking your browser settings, and perhaps with a different browser.
“the woman at Comcast had the temerity to tell me that I’m the only one that has ever complained.”
This is a play on the Delphi Technique. Lying to you about being the ‘only one’ to notice this is meant to prevent you from connecting to other people who have the same complaint.
My advice?
Post this over on 4chan and let them wreak havoc on Comcast for you.
*scratches head*
Is it something that’s always up, even without your browser working? Or is it something that’s only functional when your browser is active?
If it’s always up regardless of your browsing, that’s considered adware or malware and is nuke-able via several programs available on the market (I prefer MalwareBytes).
If it’s only up when your browsing the web, it’s an add-on or browser “helper” object (BHO). Those, too, can be removed. I prefer to “fix” it with Firefox, since IE is worthless as a browser. Firefox with AdblockPlus, NoScript, Ghostery, and CookieMonster will ensure you’ll never see another ad from anyone.
Comcast cannot legally force you to have that adware functioning in order to use their services, so you CAN remove it somehow.
It’s probably not a stand-alone program, but a browser toolbar. In IE, go to the View menu, and look under toolbars. If there is anything from XFinity/Comcast on there, uncheck it to uninstall it.
Which browser are you using? look to see if the program is an “add on” or try a different browser and see if the trouble goes away. Also check the settings on your tool bar or switch tool bars. I presume you have looked under “uninstall a program” to see if the program exists there.
I don’t have Comcast so I don’t know first hand about the problem you have but, unless it is some type of malware, it is either a) a program b) an add on to your browser or c) part of some sort of toolbar you uploaded.
You can also call back to Comcast and ask for “tech support” and if they give you the same answer, ask to speak to a supervisor until they tell you how to remove it. Ask them to walk you through removal.
I use Firefox but will try I.E.
I’ve looked on the tool bar, it’s not an add on, also been to uninstall programs, it’s not a program.
I can’t call Comcast as I’m hearing impaired and my phone doesn’t have the program, I hear enough to get by in person but a phone is almost useless to me. I went to Comcast’s web site forum and they have a rep there that gets hundreds and hundreds of complaints about this same issue, he denies, denies, denies that it is a Comcast problem, that users or their computers are in error, also the people on that forum have called and they either are shuffled from department to department or get the same song and dance as they put out on the web forum.
This looks like it may help. It talks about Constant Guard..a Norton product.
http://digital-qa.blogspot.com/2011/06/i-advise-against-installing-comcasts.html
“Is it something that’s always up, even without your browser working? Or is it something that’s only functional when your browser is active?”
Not always up, only when I am on any web page.
It’s a pop up ad from Comcast that has no way to exit out.
Nothing on it, no add ons. It’s a pop up ad from Comcast that has no way to exit out. I suppose if I clicked OK, it would down load their program to my computer, which I do not want.
On Comcast web site the people who have down loaded the program still get the pop up ads.
It’s not something I need to uninstall, I’ve never installed it and it’s not an add on. It’s not the actual program it’s a spam ad for the program and you cannot exit it.
You have malware on your PC that’s triggered alerts on their network causing the block.
In all likely hood your computer is probably part of a bot net and it needs to be cleaned.
visit https://constantguard.comcast.net/
In your browser, click “tools” “Popup blocker.” Also, try holding down the “control” key and rolling your mouse wheel to make the screen’s contents smaller. Often that will bring up an “x” that is not otherwise visible.
Since you have Comcast, go to their site and download Norton. Then, set the pop-up blocker there.
Lastly, try putting your mouse on the ad and then right clicking to see what options you have. One of them might be FU Comcast. You never know.
Try downloading a program called HiJackThis from TrendMicro. If you run it, it won’t change anything on your system at first; it just gives you a list of a lot of programs and utilities that are installed on your system that you might not be able to see otherwise.
Run that scan, and then in the results, look for entries that start with “BHO”. If any of them say XFinity, or Comcast, or something like that, check the box next to them and press the “Remove Selected” button at the bottom.
Hmm, after checking that link, I think militant is right. The ads are popping up because Comcast is detecting suspicious activity on their network coming from something bad installed on your computer.
If you are infected, this is the process I’ve been using lately with about 95% success to remove viruses and rootkits:
Download Rkill - http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/rkill/
Download TDSSKiller - http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/tdsskiller/
Download MalwareBytes - http://www.malwarebytes.org/products/malwarebytes_free/
Save all those to some location you will remember, like the desktop, then reboot your computer and hit F8 while it restarts, to bring up the boot menu. Select “Safe Mode with Networking”. Once it starts up, install and run the programs you downloaded, first RKill, then TDSSKiller, and finally MalwareBytes. Let them update if they need to, then scan and remove anything they find.
After that, you can restart, and unless you have gotten a very tricky infection, you should be good to go.
Poster after poster on Comcast's web site have declared these to be false alarms, after scanning with my own soft ware, nothing is found. Constant Alert is not a program that's on my computer, what I get is a pop up ad for Xfinity Constant Alert, Comcast want's me to down load their program, so they can tell me whether I have a problem or not. The only problem I have is the pop up ad.
Haven't tried that, my comp is set for large print.
Lastly, try putting your mouse on the ad and then right clicking to see what options you have. One of them might be FU Comcast.
Very near trying that option.
HijackThis is used primarily for diagnosis of browser hijacking, as uninformed use of its removal facilities can cause significant software damage to a computer. HijackThis does not remove or detect spyware; it lists most common locations where browser hijacking activity can occur.
Thanks for the tip, I may try it when my more informed son comes over.
Something else I failed to mention is that when I have it, it also takes over my wife's IPhone and my 13 year old son's Xbox.
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