Internet phone company

Technology Journal: Mossberg's Mailbox

July 22, 2004

By Staff

[Technology columnist Walter S. Mossberg answers readers' questions]

Q: Awhile back, you reviewed a gadget or service that would allow the user to make unlimited long-distance calls via the Internet. I have a friend that is in desperate need of such a device due to her triple-digit phone bills. Would this help her?

A: You're thinking of Vonage, an Internet phone company. AT&T now has a similar service, and Verizon is planning one. These services use technology called voice over Internet protocol, or VOIP. All of them supply you with a box that links your phone to your high-speed Internet connection. They typically have plans that allow users to make unlimited calls in the U.S. and Canada for a flat fee -- in the case of Vonage, $30 a month.

Whether Voip will help your friend save money depends on her calling habits.

If her bill is large because of many overseas calls, the savings may not be large. And if she doesn't already have broadband Internet service, she would have to sign up for that and pay a separate monthly fee of between $30 and $50.

But if she mainly calls inside the U.S. and Canada, and already has broadband, a Voip service like Vonage could be a big boon for her.

Q: I would like to disconnect my DSL service when I'm not using the Internet, to reduce my exposure to hackers and other problems. My DSL provider tells me it's a bad idea to turn off the DSL modem frequently, or even to disconnect the Internet cable from it, as there could be problems reconnecting. Is this correct?

A: It's unusual for a broadband user to shut down the modem often, or even to disconnect the Ethernet cable frequently.

But I see no harm in it. If I were you, I'd use the unplug-the-cable method, which avoids any risk of problems with rebooting the modem. Your computer would just have to re-discover the network each time you plugged the cable back in, but on most machines, that shouldn't be a problem.

Q: My Internet provider has convinced me to subscribe to their firewall service at a monthly rate of $4.95. They claim it will enhance my protection from pop-up ads and junk mail. Is this right?

A: Not necessarily. Firewalls block hackers from getting into your computer, and some also can stop malicious programs that may be hiding on your machine from sending data out over the Internet. I recommend that all broadband users have a firewall.

However, firewalls don't typically stop pop-up ads, or spam e-mails. These enter your machine through your Web browser and e-mail program. To stop them, you need separate types of programs -- pop-up blockers and antispam software.

It may be that your provider's firewall service includes pop-up blocking and spam filtering, in which case their claims make sense. But if it's literally just a firewall, you won't get the results they are promising.