I feel that ISP's should play no role in internet security for the average home user. Alot of you may not agree with me. But I feel that people get what they pay for. If you are paying for a commercial package for your internet then sure. Have the ISP help you out with firewalls, AV software, and education on what you should do with your different server programs such as IIS or Apache, ect.

If your the average Joe with a computer (some prepackaged deal you got at wallyworld) then no. ISP's should generally not care about your security. They can do whatever they feel is necessarry to protect their networks. Turning off ports say 130 - 145 and 500, and not inform their users about it. That is totally within their rights. A residential account should get no security support. This is for educational purposes. So learn about your computer and your security.

There are many great books out there. This does sound cold, but it isn't up to the ISP to help out "Joe" to "fix" his computer. Why should it be? Google is great place to learn about security. Lots of free programs out there. Sending emails out the customer is just going to generate more problems for the ISP.

They will have more uneducated customers swamping their helpdesk techs with inane questions about AV and wanting to report abuse for portscanning. The role of security is up to the user. Not up to the ISP. Especially for a residential account.

Thats my 2¢ worth.

z123

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