Reader Question: What service is best for protecting my identity and monitoring my credit?

Posted by Joe on July 10th, 2008

Q: I would like to monitor my credit and make sure my identity is protected as well. Which service is best for me?

A: If you want to protect your identity and get access to your credit report and score, then Identity Guard is likely the best service for you.

There are two types of identity theft protection services that we have reviewed. First are preventative services, such as LifeLock, which take steps to actively prevent identity theft. Preventative services typically use tools like credit report fraud alerts to catch identity thieves in the act.

The second type of identity theft protection providers we have reviewed are detection services. Detection based services monitor your credit report, and sometimes other databases, and will alert you to suspicious activity that may be the work of an identity thief. Many of the detection based identity theft protection services we have reviewed will also provide subscribers with access to credit report data from one or all of the credit bureaus.

Identity Guard is the best of the detection based identity theft protection services we have reviewed. It actively monitors your credit report from all three credit bureaus, as well as thousands of other databases. If any suspicious activity is found, you will be automatically notified by email. This service also provides you with your credit report and score from each of the three credit bureaus every quarter.

New subscribers also receive a free copy of ZoneAlarm's Internet security software, which includes several tools that will keep your PC and identity safe online. Plus, it comes with a free 30 day trial so that you can try it out without any risk.

You can learn more about credit report monitoring and identity theft protection by visiting the appropriate section of our site.

Identity Guard Good Start review launched on NextAdvisor.com

Posted by Joe on February 28th, 2008

Identity Guard's Level 4 Protection service has been a five star rated service provider on our identity theft prevention service guide since we launched it last year.  We are now happy to announce that we have completed a review of ID Guard's "Good Start" service which has also garnered a five star review.

Good Start is similiar to Level 4 and other top rated services, such as LifeLock, in that it offers extensive proactive identity theft protection features such as fraud alerts for each of the three major credit bureaus.  Good Start also offers a unique benefit in credit monitoring of your Equifax credit file and at only $4.99 it is the cheapest identity theft protection service on the market.

That bargain price does comes with slightly fewer "frills" than many of the other identity theft protection services we have reviewed.  For example, Identity Guard Good Start does not include additional benefits such as mail list removal, free credit reports or identity theft insurance.

That being said, it is definitely the cheapest way to get high quality preventative identity theft protection with credit report monitoring.  We think it is a great service and highly recommend it to our readers.  You can learn more about Identity Guard Good Start by reading our full review.