If you are thinking about upgrading from dial-up to high-speed Internet, a whole new online world will open up to you once you have made the switch. However, the Web can be a scary place. If you aren't careful, roadblocks like spam, computer viruses, and phishing scams can take the fun out of surfing! Fortunately, Internet service providers understand this and many of them have taken the lead in trying to make the Web a safer place for their customers.

For instance, recently Verizon announced an agreement with Goodmail, an e-mail certification service that will help customers fight against the dangers contained in spam.

In addition, Verizon offers other tools available to help Verizon customers to fight spam:

• Verizon Spam Detector - A feature available to users of Verizon's e-mail service that identifies suspected spam and either eliminates it before it reaches the mailbox or routes it to a folder designated by the user for spam messages.
• Blocked Sender List- A Verizon e-mail feature that allows the user to designate specific senders or e-mail domains, and messages from those sources are automatically blocked.
• Sub-accounts - Enables users to establish e-mail sub-accounts or addresses for online transactions and keep their real e-mail address private. This will help keep spam from showing up in their real e-mail folders.

Read More About Verizon High-Speed Internet Service

Looking to switch from dial-up to high-speed Internet? Now you can surf like the wind for less money than you think.

Windstream and ConnectMyHighSpeed are partnering to offer a $5 bill monthly bill credit for a whole year when you order Windstream Broadband service. That's a savings of $60! Choose from a variety of speeds to find the service that's right for your home starting at only $19.95 a month.

You'll get everything you need to experience Internet that's faster and easier to use than dial-up:

• Forget busy signals and waiting—your connection is always on
• Help everyone in the family keep in touch with up to 5 e-mail addresses with your account
• Visit all your favorite sites without waiting for images and videos to load—the faster the connection, the more exciting things you can experience

Plus, you can rest easy knowing you are getting service from a company with a long and proud history. Windstream is focused on providing advanced local communications and entertainment products and services.

Find Windstream Broadband Plans and Pricing Available in Your Area

Cox Communications recently announced enhancements to its high-speed Internet service that they say will give customers more speed and choices than ever before. These new features are now available in the company's Cleveland service area, as part of a nationwide roll-out of the enhancements.

Customers who have Cox's Preferred or Premier High-Speed Internet service can now experience greater speeds when downloading large files with the addition of PowerBoost™. The speed enhancement technology uses additional capacity on Cox's local hybrid fiber network to automatically give customers a burst of speed above and beyond what they are used to experiencing.

"Cox customers will automatically enjoy reduced download times of large files such as music, movies and pictures," said Laura Morabito, Director of Marketing. "The best part is PowerBoost is free for all Preferred and Premier Cox High-Speed Internet customers."

PowerBoost offers short bursts of additional speed when downloading large files. The technology is designed to automatically detect you begin a large file download, regardless of file type, and jumpstarts the download with a burst of speed. Cox says speeds will be boosted up to 29 percent faster for Preferred package customers, and up to 25 percent faster for Premier customers.

Want to Experience PowerBoost? Get Cox High-Speed Internet Service for Your Home Now!

Qwest Communications this week announced updates to its high-speed Internet service. The company says the updates are designed to enhance residential customers' online experiences and make them simpler and more intuitive.

Qwest now offers Qwest Broadband customers a new, single-letter e-mail domain: q.com. Because q.com is a new and not crowded domain space, it offers customers a fresh opportunity to create personalized e-mail addresses. Qwest is the only communications provider to offer a single-letter domain, and it is available to both new and existing Qwest Broadband with MSN Premium customers.

The q.com domain will operate from the new Qwest Mail by Windows Live platform. Qwest Mail by Windows Live contains new features that the company says will make it easier for customers to use e-mail, with up to 11 e-mail accounts, 2GB of storage, a reading pane that lets allows users to read their mail without leaving their inboxes, drag and drop functionality, advanced spam filtering and notification and AutoComplete population of addresses from their address books. Customers who switch to a q.com e-mail address will be able to transfer their e-mail account data, move their address books and notify their friends of their new e-mail addresses.

In addition, Qwest has renamed its high-speed Internet service "Qwest Broadband" and has renamed its broadband service product names "Qwest Connect." The name changes align more closely with Qwest's broadband service and features and resonate more strongly with customers.

"Qwest customers say Qwest Broadband delivers the speed they need, and now Qwest offers them an even better online experience," said Travis Leo, Qwest director of product management.

Qwest is also the first telecommunications provider in the U.S. to partner with Microsoft to offer Windows Live. Windows Live will include OneCare, which will provide customers one suite of services to protect and maintain their PCs. OneCare will give customers comprehensive anti-virus, anti-spyware and PC health—all in one place.

Windows Live Services by Qwest will also offer a super-fast Web search built into the browser that includes maps, directions and even images and video. And, customers can customize their new home page with the information they want.

"Qwest Broadband customers will stay better protected, connected and informed in simpler, more intuitive ways with new features like the q.com domain and the upcoming availability of Windows Live," said Leo. "The new Qwest Broadband features are just a few of the many new things designed to make the most of the Internet for customers."

Get Qwest Broadband service for your home

Getting e-mail from friends and family is one of the many ways to enjoy your high-speed Internet service. However, if you are still getting more than your fair share of irritating messages in your inbox, Verizon recently offered some tips to help you cut down on spam and enjoy a safer Internet experience.

• Use Additional Filters - Programs like Outlook Express and Netscape® Messenger give users the ability to filter incoming e-mail so that it can be placed in special folders, throw away unwanted junk mail, or even send an automatic response to certain senders.
• Guard E-Mail Address - Be careful about disclosing e-mail addresses. Spammers use programs that search chat rooms, Internet sites, newsgroups and other online sites where e-mail addresses can be found and use that information to compile their mailing lists.
• Disguise Your Address - When including your e-mail address in online profiles or on a personal Web site, disguise your e-mail address by writing it in plain English, such as "PamB at ConnectMyHighSpeed dot net." That way, your address is still intelligible to people but not e-mail gathering software.
• Shopping Sites - Beware of pre-checked boxes when registering for online services or shopping. These typically indicate you will accept e-mail from that organization. Uncheck those boxes if you prefer not to receive such messages.
• Report Spam - If you are using a spam filter but continue to receive unwanted e-mails, report the messages to your Internet service provider (ISP). Verizon customers can do this by sending the messages as attachments to spamdetector.notcaught@verizon.net. All Internet users can forward unwanted e-mails to spam@uce.gov.

For more information on stopping spam, check out the Consumer section of the FTC's Anti-Spam site.

Worried about protecting your computer while surfing the Internet? EarthLink recently launched a new Security Center that is available to all Internet users. The Web site was designed to be a source of news, information and recommendations for anyone with questions about Internet threats like spam, spyware and phisher sites.

"Statistics and reports have, for years, stated that security is one of the greatest online concerns for consumers," said Jonathan Young, EarthLink's vice president of security software. "The EarthLink Security Center is a comprehensive destination where consumers can go online to stay up-to-date on the latest virus and malware threats, better understand their computer's potential vulnerabilities, find useful tips and information from industry experts and make more informed product decisions."

EarthLink says the new Security Center is meant for the typical Internet user who has limited time to search through multiple sites and wants a trusted guide to help make the appropriate security choices for themselves and their families.

Tools and services include:
- A free security check that provides a real-time assessment of the your computer. It analyzes the machine's current security software, evaluates its strength and gives a PC security "rating" based on its findings. This application also provides guidance on obtaining the latest protection updates and recommendations on software to patch existing security holes.

- An Internet threats meter that provides a pulse on the level of Internet threat activity and delivers up-to-date information on the latest security threats, security software holes and Internet scams consumers should be aware of for security and safety purposes.

- An Internet security 101 section that provides definitions of commonly used PC security problem terms (i.e. key logger), solution terms (i.e. anti-spyware) and advice on what steps to take if a consumer suspects that they have a problem.

- A news and blogs section that provides the latest industry information on new security threats and fixes as well as updates on major happenings with the companies and technologies that make up the Internet and PC security industries.

- A free and premium software section that provides a comprehensive and searchable database of many well-known security products and related reviews available on the market today.

For more information, check out www.earthlinksecurity.com.

Goodmail Systems Inc. today announced that Comcast, Cox Communications, Time Warner Cable's Road Runner and Verizon are supporting the company's CertifiedEmail trusted class e-mail for users of their e-mail services. Already used by AOL, AT&T and Yahoo!, CertifiedEmail messages are certified to be authentic e-mail from legitimate senders and are specially marked with a blue ribbon envelope so that consumers know which commercial and non-profit e-mails in their inbox are real.

Introduced in 2006, CertifiedEmail is a trusted-class delivery option offered only to qualifying, legitimate commercial and non-profit e-mailers for messages to existing customers and users who have specifically opted in to receive such communications. Once accredited by Goodmail, these senders' e-mail messages are delivered with cryptographically secure tokens which participating ISPs detect. CertifiedEmail messages are labeled with a unique blue ribbon icon in the e-mail program, enabling consumers to immediately distinguish the legitimate messages they want to receive from messages of unknown authenticity or safety. The announcement follows a national poll that indicated the majority of consumers would be more likely to open and read e-mail if the sending company displays a certified icon in the e-mail program.

"With spam and phishing hitting historic highs even in the last six months, we have seen the limits of technologies which attempt to filter out the bad e-mail," said Goodmail co-founder and CEO Richard Gingras. "Consumers want their e-mail system to let them know which e-mail is real and safe to open and act on. They want an end to the frustration of having to guess whether an e-mail is real or not. These ISPs—and the senders that send CertifiedEmail—care about their customers' safety."

Users of participating ISPs need do nothing extra to receive CertifiedEmail. Their existing webmail programs that they currently use to read e-mail will simply show a new icon, a blue ribbon envelope, that means a message is a CertifiedEmail. The icon appears in both the inbox list view and in a special pane above the message when opened. The blue ribbon icon is universal across all ISPs and mailbox providers supporting CertifiedEmail.

For more information, check out the press release.

Sending vacation photos over a dial-up Internet connection can seem to take longer than the vacation itself. Verizon is making it easier for families to upgrade from slow dial-up services to a speedy Verizon broadband connection before summer vacations get started.

"Nearly 30 million digital cameras were sold in the U.S. last year, and summer is the season for family photo-taking," said William Foshay, Verizon's general manager for the New Jersey region. "We're making it easier for families to quickly share digital photos and stay more connected . . . Now families can stop struggling with slow dial-up service by getting Verizon broadband with connection speeds up to 20 to 50 times faster for a price that's comparable to, or less than, what they already pay."

In addition to faster photo sharing, Verizon High Speed Internet offers families many advantages over dial-up services, including the ability to be online and use their phone at the same time, so they no longer miss important calls while enjoying the Internet. Unlike Internet service that is delivered over a network that's shared by everyone in the neighborhood, Verizon High Speed Internet comes directly into a customer's home on a dedicated line. The service includes an extensive collection of features and services, all enabled by Verizon's network that 100 million people rely on every day.

No matter what speed or plan you choose, Verizon High Speed Internet includes 24/7 live customer support, nine e-mail accounts and 10 MB (megabytes) of personal Web space.

Learn more about Verizon High Speed Internet service.

If you are planning to get high-speed Internet service for your home, you should also start thinking about how you are going to take advantage of the amazing broadband speeds you are going to experience. You probably already know about music downloading, video clips, and online gaming but did you know you can watch live TV online too? I currently listen to radio online and I knew that you could get subscriptions to various sporting events. However, it turns out there are a ton of other sites that offer live content.

Find Internet TV™ recently announced the launch of its program Listings for live Internet TV. According to their press release, Find Internet TV Listings is the first to provide Internet users a programming grid to find live online video content. The Listings contains schedules for a variety of programming from around the world, including entertainment television, sporting events, music, and news.

"Online video, whether live or on-demand, is expanding immensely, and it has become increasingly difficult for viewers to locate the content they want to watch online. While a number of companies and sites have made their focus to index video clips on the Web, they've left live streaming video on the sidelines," says Curtis Sund, Founder of Find Internet TV. "With our live Internet TV Listings, users now have the ability to visit one central destination for complete and updated lineup of live online content."

The company says that the Find Internet TV program grid provides a high-quality user experience through an easy-to-navigate, feature-rich format. Users have the ability to jump hour-by-hour through the grid or to specific dates and times. In addition, users can save their favorite Internet TV channels for easy access.

The Find Internet TV Listings includes sites broadcasting from all over the world, in different languages, and in different time zones. To provide the best end-user experience, the site automatically adjusts all program runtimes to match the viewer's time zone.

"The number of viewers who are looking for live television content on the Internet is tremendous and ever-growing. We have witnessed it through our directory and search engine when live events take place. This first-of-its-kind live Internet TV Listings is a win-win solution for both viewers and content providers," said Birgit Schelzel, Marketing Manager for Find Internet TV.