Jeannie, That customer service person did you no favors. I also have Comcast and am surprised you received such poor advice. If you feel the need to disconnect the modem because of severe weather, you must disconnect both the co-ax cable from the modem and unplug the modem's electrical cord. As long as either is still connected, a lightening strike or power surge could damage the modem. By the way, if you haven't done so, buy the very best surge compressor you can afford and be sure the computer, modem and all peripherals are plugged into that. Jon Raymond St Paul Park, MN Web site: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~raymond/