How Your Vonage Service Fees Help Fund Spyware
from the another-bad-PR-day dept
Vonage has had a pretty bad couple of months. There was the botched IPO leading to plenty of pissed off shareholder customers, combined with a few new patent lawsuits. The stock hasn't done well at all -- something many predicted well before the IPO in the first place. Now, spyware researcher Ben Edelman has released his latest article, noting that Vonage ads seem to show up in an awful lot of spyware -- including every one of the major spyware providers. And you wondered why the customer acquisition costs were so high? Now you know that a large chunk of that money was going directly into the bank accounts of some awfully questionable companies.Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
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And what about Skype?
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Re: And what about Skype? by whinus
I´d say something witty, but I am struck by a sudden bout of rampant apathy.
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Re: Re: And what about Skype? by whinus
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Re: Re: Re: And what about Skype? by whinus
Oh, and what is a "small fee"??? We talking a buck or two?
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Yeah retards using these free VOIP services
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Re:
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Re:
Big words, eh? If by "everone else" you imply yourself, then yes, and not much effort required there either. Second, not everybody lives in your free country, and for all you know I might as well be posting from Iraq, and this being a free internet and all I´m pretty much allowed to go trolling wherever I please. Third, and I´ll say this slowly so you´ll understand: 'I'...is..spelled..with...a...capital...you...illiterate...fool.
That is all, thank you for playing, better luck next time.
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Vonage
I am a Vonage customer, and have been for a couple years now. I first heard about Vonage being in spyware last week, and frankly, it sickens me. My wife even recieved a Vonage spam a few weeks ago, but this was obviously from a customer using their referral link in the message to generate some free months of service.
The only way I think they'll stop doing it is if enough customers call or write and voice their opinion. Also, I don't see how anyone would sign up for something that comes to them via spyware, but obviously they do or companies would not use the 'service'.
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i dont care
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Spam
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2 Year Vonage Vet
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Re: 2 Year Vonage Vet
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Re: Re: 2 Year Vonage Vet
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Re: 2 Year Vonage Vet
The fees are imposed by the Federal and State governements. The recovery fee has nothing to do with their lawsuits.
It was only a matter of time before the taxing authorities got their mitts on Vonage and other VoIP providers. If you don't like it, call or write your Senator, Congressmen and local reps and tell 'em to keep their paws off your stash.
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Re: Re: 2 Year Vonage Vet
Emergency 911 Cost Recovery of $0.99 applies to each line of service. This fee is used to recover costs directly associated with developing, implementing and maintaining a nationwide E911 in compliance with FCC regulations, Vonage 911 dialing and the Vonage national 911 emergency call center.
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Early Vonage Adopter
I was wrong. Using spyware as a marketing tool was the best way to lose that customer, and having read the article, I will be researching what my next phone solution will be.
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I would suggest Gizmo
$0.01 a minute for all US calls. Unlimited plans are really not unlimited if you read the fine print. The EULA will have something in there about reasonable calling patterns. You would have to use 2,500 minutes of calling to get to $25 and no regulatory recovery fees.
I am a fan of Gizmo, not a resale agent, so I would suggest checking it out. Usually get a few free minutes when you sign up.
http://www.gizmoproject.com/
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It's not Vonage Corp
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Other VOIP Service Providers
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Vonage like many other internet services has a healthy referral and affiliate program. The ads you're seeing in "spyware" are definitely not traceable from Vonage itself, but from people trying to make money reselling it. I suppose your next article will be an expose on "Rolex" (I get tons of spam mail for them). And oh yeah, should not the big pharma companies be held responsible for all the Cialis and Viagra spam I get?
Only one problem with your argument. The emails you get for your Rolex or Cialis and Viagra is not actually from those companies. If you click and buy those, you are not getting the real deal, and those companies are not profiting from it. With Vonage, you click on those to buy those services. Vonage can be blamed for using spyware as a marketing tool.
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Re: It's Not Vonage
Yes, you eventually reach the Vonage site to sign up for the service. However, Vonage can't immediately tell whether the referral code you're using is coming from your neighbor, a friend, Google Ads, or someone who has used adware/spyware to disseminate the referral code. In fact, I would not be surprised if Vonage disabled a referral code once it learns of any abuse, given their stated "zero tolerance" policy:
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Zero Tolerance for Spam
Vonage has zero tolerance for spam. Spam complaints will be dealt with seriously and can result in losing Vonage privileges such as loss of referral credits and even loss of a customer's account. If you receive spam and want to report it to Vonage, please forward the email you've received to spam-police@vonage.com.
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Basically what I am saying is that the middlemen are responsible in each instance of abuse. The pharma companies clearly make some profit via spam (because someone is resellling their product by illegitimate means). So unless businesses kill the reseller business model, you're gonna have this problem.
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Re: Re: It's Not Vonage
You want to reduce spyware and adware, then hold the companies responsible for it to the fire.
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Sent to Vonage customer service
This is completely unacceptable. If this process is not COMPLETELY eliminated within 60 days, I will begin a search for a new VoIP provider, probably my broadband provider Comcast.
If you would like to retain my business, please correct the unethical activities of your company and your contractors immediately. I enjoy your service, but there are many companies that offer VoIP without such offensive marketing strategies. I would hate to find out that your business is willing to use questionable, and in some cases, illegal, methods to promote itself.
I will be monitoring the website listed above and if it has not reported significant action on your part by 9/18/2006, I will transfer my account to another provider or you may contact me directly to report progress in this area.
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survey on internet use at work
The results of the study will be published in about Nov/Dec 2005 on my website:
http://www.psych.qub.ac.uk/staff/teaching/whitty/profile/index.aspx
Please email me with any questions and ask your friends, family, and colleagues to answer the survey too!
Kind Regards,
Dr. Whitty
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