repcmd

A while ago I posted describing my disgust with Comcast for forcing me to run a particular process--that can be used to track internet use--if I wanted to connect to the internet (for details you can read a previous post, tgcmd.exe). Well, tonight I discovered something else that Comcast does that annoys me to no end.

Tonight I uninstalled and then re-installed PC-cillin Internet Security 2007 (for why I did this you can look at another of my posts, Caveat emptor). Afterwards I checked the stealthiness of the PC-cillin firewall by using a free utility offered by the Gibson Research Corporation. This is strictly routine for me whenever I update/install a firewall and as this version of PC-cillin's firewall had previously passed with flying colours I wasn't expecting any surprises. Oops.

I was surprised to discover that my computer was no longer as stealthy as it had been. Eh? The firewall was the exact same version as before; so what gives? The only information I had was that something called repcmd was the culprit. A cursory search on repcmd gave me nothing of note so I rolled up my figurative sleeves and spent the next 90 minutes trying to remember what I may have changed since the last time I tested the firewall: I turned some things off, rebooted, tested, turned things back on, rebooted, turned things off... ad nauseam.

I'd about given up and decided to go back to ZoneAlarm despite my previous troubles with its stability when I remembered a particular icon that always loads next to the date/time on the lower right of my Windows XP screen, something called the Comcast SupportAgent. Hmmm... right click, "Exit", test... hurrah! My computer was back in full stealth mode.

That's not the end of it, however. When I prevented this "SupportAgent" from running automatically at startup I lost my internet connection. Apparently, it's intimately connected to the infamous tgcmd.exe program. Ugh. So now I have to remember to turn this sucker off every time I reboot. Wangos.

So... does repcmd really pose a security threat? Does my computer really have to be as stealthy as can be tested? I have no idea. It would help if I knew exactly what repcmd is and what it's supposed to do. And why is it acting differently now, when I had no problems with it before. Heck, I didn't even know it was there until tonight. Which begs another question, was it there before, or did Comcast change/add it without my knowledge?

I guess I could ask Comcast but my experience with their customer support has been less than stellar. Abysmal, to say the least.

Anywhoo, problem solved, for now, and as long as each time I reboot I remember to turn off the SupportAgent. "Support" my gluteus maximus; support my irritation is what it really does.