Secure Signals is looking for cable operators to participate in a free beta test of GuardDog, a digital set-top box (STB) non-responder management solution.

GuardDog – which was announced last summer (story here) – manages the work flow generated by non-responding digital STBs and helps to identify fraudulent consumer activity, such as attached filters or devices that render digital STBs unresponsive to headend billing systems. If a PPV request comes in, for example, and the request does not reach the billing system, a non-responder report is created.

GuardDog also provides daily backup of customer accounts, securely storing the data off-site. In the event of a disaster or system failure, GuardDog’s point-and-click disaster recovery system restores data within a matter of minutes, the company said.

“Video theft costs the industry $12 billion annually in lost revenue,” said Secure Signals’ founder and CEO, Stan McGinnis. “GuardDog was engineered to reverse this trend by allowing broadband providers to cost-effectively keep a constant watch over the system and identify unauthorized users.”

The ideal GuardDog beta test candidate is a cable system with 20,000 to 60,000 subscribers and a non-responding box incidence rate of 6 percent or higher, McGinnis said. GuardDog can be installed and activated in as little as two hours, without interrupting normal system operations. The duration of the beta test is 90 to 120 days, and full technical support is provided throughout that period, the company said.

Operators that choose to participate in the beta test will receive comprehensive reports identifying unauthorized digital video usage, which will allow them to assess the extent of their digital cable theft problem. Participants also have the option to use Secure Signals’ Piracy Conversion Program, a service for converting unauthorized users into paying customers.

Interested cable operators should contact Secure Signals at 1-888-530-9667 or visit the company’s Web site for more information.

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