UPDATE: WhiteFence is not an unbiased recommendation site. They form “partnerships” with certain providers, limiting consumer choice. Read more in this update.
voip
Vonage Supports Spyware
By 7.19.06
Ben Edelman has put up an excellent portrait of how Vonage, embattled internet phone company, supports spyware. Quite thorough, Ben traces the money trail from Vonage, through its advertising partners and to the guys downloading adserving programs on your computer without your consent. Screenshots and logs bolster his thesis.
AT&T Owns Your Booty
By 6.23.06
In a followup to “AT&T: All Your Phone Are Belong to Us“, the SF Gate interviewed some privacy wonks who say:
The News; Clunkers & Claptrap
By 6.22.06 — Updated: 9.8.16
• Now your Vonage bill will come with a boonies subsidy fee, just like grownup telcos. [NYT] “Net Phone Service Providers Are Told to Pay Subsidy Fee”
Everyday Hogwash Rolls in Mud
By 6.5.06
Back in January, we let you know about Everyday Hogwash, a place where people share “rants” about companies and customer service and hidden fees, yadda yadda, it’s like The Consumerist except with prizes.
Vonage Bleeds, Consumerist Feeds
By 6.1.06
The buzz this morning is that Vonage could be a sweet “acquisition target” i.e. dismembered whale lumbering through shark waters i.e. their recent stock drop could have takeover kids licking their mandibles. Maybe their new daddy is someone willing to give their call centers a hot beef injection? (We mean that in the best way possible…)
Cancelling Vonage, The Nick Denton Story
By 5.30.06
Have you ever wanted to stand in Nick Denton’s shoes, astride a vast and powerful blog network? Us neither, but if you did, your wet dream has just come true. Nick’s on the phone with Vonage and it’s not to congratulate them on losing 13% of their share price since their recent IPO. Rather, its to hang up the phone on Vonage, something they’re a little less than helpful with enabling…
Skype Censors Chinese Chat
By 5.23.06
Like Google, Skype’s a great service, but their flexible ethics when it comes to user’s privacy lacks the same quality of excellence. We shortly mentioned that Skype’s user agreement includes wire-tapping provisos, but now they’ve gone the whole hog: their Chinese service includes a special chat censorship feature.
Free Calls With Skypeout
By 5.15.06
Skype is now free to use to make calls to any phone, be it mobile or landline, within the US and Canada.
Telepickpocketing Phisers Fry Consumers
By 4.26.06
LIke a malignant pile of pustulent bacteria, scammers are constantly evolving.
Lose Your Phone Company
By 4.14.06
According to a cost-benefit analysis by Andrew Roublak, if everyone in North Canda switched to Vonage, they could save over $400 a year.
Everyday Hogwash: Oh, That Life!
By 1.13.06
VOIP provider SunRocket has launched Everyday Hogwash, a contest site where bloggers can submit their complaints about niggling problems for a chance to win cash prizes. SunRocket’s marketing tag line is “the no-gotcha phone company,” from which they are stringing a tenuous line to the theme of the website . (We have yet to divine what Commander Sisko on ecstacy has to do with life’s little problems, but we aren’t in marketing.)
