Computers

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Verizon: When “Unlimited” Doesn’t Mean Unlimited

Verizon unlimited broadband No one wants to have to watch the clock or keep track of kilobytes downloaded when surfing the net while traveling, so when Verizon offered “unlimited” broadband access for your laptop via its cell towers, many consumers signed up.

From a 2005 press release announcing a promotion for its BroadbandAccess service, Verizon said:

Because of Verizon Wireless’ number of customers, network footprint and experience in deploying a national wireless broadband service, customers can take advantage of unlimited BroadbandAccess for $59.99 monthly access with a two-year customer agreement.

The problem was that “unlimited” did not really mean unlimited.

*MOUSE PRINT: The downloading of movies and playing online games were not allowed. And there was an undisclosed cap on monthly usage which could trigger termination of your account. The service was primarily intended for web browsing, email and intranet access only.

Unfortunately for Verizon (and fortunately for consumers), the New York Attorney General started investigating the promotion, and learned that some 13,000 customers nationwide had had their services terminated for excessive use of the unlimited service they purchased.

To settle the case, Verizon agreed to reimburse terminated consumers some $1 million in costs for their equipment, and pay $150,000 to the NY-AG. [Settlement announcement from the New York Attorney General.]

Currently, on the Verizon Wireless website, the service is being marketed specifically for web browsing, email and intranet access, and all references to unlimited use have been removed:

verizon broadband updated

Their terms and conditions now explicitly state what activities are prohibited and what the cap is on usage.

For its part, Verizon said:

“We are pleased to have cooperated with the New York Attorney General and to have voluntarily reached this agreement,” said Howard Waterman, a spokesman for Verizon Wireless. “When this was brought to our attention, we understood that advertising for our NationalAccess and BroadbandAccess services could provide more clarity.”

Putting aside the PR BS, let’s hope this is a lesson not only to Verizon about how it promotes its services, but also to other providers who also promise “unlimited” service but in fact have undisclosed usage caps.

[Disclosure: Edgar is a new member of Verizon’s Consumer Advisory Board and receives a small grant to help operate ConsumerWorld.org .]

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Laplink PCMover: Use Once, Throw Away?

pcmover small Getting a new computer is always a hassle because of the difficulty of transferring your programs and files from the old computer to the new one.

To make the task easier, some programs are for sale that do the heavy lifting for you. You install it on both the old and new computers, connect them together, and woosh… most programs, files and setting get moved over automatically.

There is just one problem. Not likely noticed by most purchasers of Laplink PCmover, is the little asterisk on the product’s cover to the right of the words “Move All Your Programs, Files and Settings to a New PC*”. That leads to a fine print disclaimer on the side of the box that says:

*MOUSE PRINT:

disclaimer

Translation: The product is in essence for one time use only. Even if you uninstall it from your old computer, you cannot reinstall it on another old computer you want to migrate without violating terms of the licensing agreement. For that, you have to buy an additional license (albeit at a 25% discount).

At a list price of $59.95, you should be able to use the program at home one set of computers at a time as you probably expected you could.

 

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CyberDefender: Outperforms Costly Security Software?

CyberDefender offers a free software suite to combat spyware, viruses, and spam. In a recent press release, they say that according to a recent test, “CyberDefenderFREE Outperforms Costly Security Software Products at Removing and Blocking Spyware” and that “it has received high marks for removing and blocking spyware in a new review released this month from PC Magazine.”

It goes on to say “In the study, CyberDefenderFREE(TM) 2.0 scored higher at removing spyware than companies such as McAfee, Grisoft (AVG), and Trend-Micro PC-cillin and scored the same as Windows Live OneCare.”  It also provided this comparison chart:

Cyberdefender chart

The casual reader may come away with the impression that CyberDefender was the top scoring software product in the category. Only when clicking the provided link to the full PC Magazine test results are the actual rankings revealed:

*MOUSE PRINT:

PC Mag spy2 cyberdefender

Translation: 10 other products scored higher than CyberDefender for spyware removal, and 16 products were superior at spyware blocking.

While CyberDefender never said their program was the “best,” and most of what they did say was literally true (except the part about them receiving “high marks”), the clever spin they used in their press release can easily create an impression of superiority which is not borne out by all the facts.

Subsequent to the publication of the above commentary, CyberDefender’s SVP of Corporate Communications contacted Mouse Print*. Below is a portion of a longer email:

This press release and its posting on the newswire was directed to media – not consumers.   We offer this product for Free or without supported advertisements for $11.99. We felt our messaging was understandable to members of the press. That was our audience for a press release. I apologize for any confusion.