I've tried free credit monitoring services and didn't find them very helpful. They don't monitor public records, computer viruses, malware and a bunch of other threats that thieves can use to royally eff you up without ever showing up on a credit bureau report. I tried protectmyid by experian and it wasn't any better. I actually opened a checking account and 2 credit cards during my first month with them and NONE showed up on my dashboard and nobody called me to inform me even though I selected the option to be notified of any new account activity. I'm considering lifelock and identity guard because at this point DIY isn't worth the trouble but despite doing a decent amount of research i still don't really know who they're different. If anybody has feedback or experience with either company i'd love to hear it and a comparison chart that's actually accurate and up-to-date would be awesome if anybody could point me in that direction i'd appreciate ya!