| Your ¢ mputer ¢

BE careful when down- loading certain pro- grams on your comput- er for entertainment, as it may cost you hun- dreds of dollars in unexpected telephone charges.

According to the U.S. National Consumers League (NCL), some programs are designed to disconnect the computer from the con- sumer’s regular Internet ser- vice and reconnect it directly to the entertainment provider by dialing a phone number in another country.

Many victims are parents ’. of teenagers who never knew

‘that sheir kids were down- loading these dialer programs. Furthermore, the parents are being held responsible for the charges, which appear on their phone bills as foreign phone calls. There is no way to ensure that the person downloading the program is : the person responsible for the

phone bill. In some cases, the user agreement has a box that the consumer must check to “confirm” that he or she is responsible for the phone bill, but anyone can check the box, even if the user isn’t the one whose name is on the bill. These types of Web sites are appealing to children because no credit card or other personal information is required. All you have to do is download the file. Dialer pro- grams are often used to con- Mect consumers to games, music videos, or other forms of entertainment. The enter- tainment service provider profits by arranging to share some of the money that the foreign phone company makes for connecting the call.

Oftentimes, the telephone rate may not b+ provided or is buried deep within the long user agreement — w hich most peopte don’t bother to read thoroughly. Sometimes these entertainment Web sites mis- lead consumers by advertising that the service is free.

To avoid becoming a vic- tim the Better Business Bureau and the NCL offer the following tips:

Don’t download a program from a Web site you don't know or trust.

@ Read all user agreements carefully and fully.

@ Don’t assume that there is no cost; many downloadable programs are free, but always check first.

@ Don’: allow children to

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Wednesday, November 29, 2000 — North Shue News - 27

uid be dialing long distance

install programs on your com- puter without vour supervi- Sion.

who know the password to go online on your computer. @ Don't allow anyone to

surf the Internet unsuper- vised. @ Limit the number of people

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