Why pay $79 per year to read the Wall Street Journal when you can read it for free? Murdoch’s crown jewel attracts readers by lowering the pay wall for visitors from Google News, Drudge, or Digg. Salon posted step-by-step instructions to help readers exploit this selective generosity.

Here’s how it works:

• Search Google News: Pop the headline you want into the Google News and enjoy the link straight to the full and free content. You can alternatively build a Firefox keyword shortcut using this string:
  http://news.google.com/news?q=%s+source%3Awall_street_journal
• Use The Firefox Extension Refspoof: Step 1: Download the extension here.
  Step 2: In the refspoof toolbar’s “spoof:” field, type “digg.com.
  Step 3: Also in the refspoof toolbar, click the R icon, and select “static referrer.”
  That’s it. Click around the site; the WSJ thinks each click is coming from Digg. The WSJ is now yours for free!

Much as we enjoy reading the Journal online, few news outlets, online or off, can rival the magnificence of the full printed edition of the Wall Street Journal.

The Wall Street Journal’s Web site is already (secretly) free [Salon via BoingBoing]
(Photo: Katayun)

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