Since this is a blog, you can most certainly post your comments and questions to us. However, our editorial policies are such that we need to review everything before we post it live. So we promise not to be censorious, but as our readers, please be cognizant that Consumer Reports has very high standards for what gets published -- for legal as well as ethical reasons. Just go to the bottom of any post and click "comment," and go from there. We require your name and e-mail address. Consult our privacy policy if you are worried about this.

Posted by Beau Brendler at 03:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

WebWatch and the Mediatech Foundation tested 10 Web sites for high school kids getting ready to take the Scholastic Aptitude Test, yes, the dreaded SAT. We didn't get this report out in time for the May 6 tests, but there's still two weeks until the June 3 date. If you or your kids are taking the test, you should read this report first. There's a lot of interesting comparison and contrast, and our student testers reported good experiences overall. But we're not sure it makes much sense to spend $400 on one of these services when there's a pretty good one that's free. Also we found one that did not respond to requests for refunds, with a U.S. address but an ISP based in Thailand.

Posted by Beau Brendler at 03:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

We're glad you joined us here at The Unsponsored Link. Does the world need another blog? Probably not. We think, though, that over time you'll find The Unsponsored Link a valuable resource.

We created this blog to respond to the hundreds of e-mails our users have sent us over the past five years, asking questions such as: Is this site, or that site bogus? Should I buy something from Blankety-Blank.com? And, believe it or not, many of our readers still forward us messages like this one, wanting to know what to do: "Greetings! I am Reverend Prince Dr. Garlicke Pewke, Minister of Housinge of the Republique du Benin, would you please send me $500 so that with your help, I may deposit a sudden windfall of $5 billion to my family, into a secure bank in your country, from which I am generously offering you a 35 percent commission..."

This is, of course, a well-known scam. It predates the widespread use of e-mail, in fact -- but the Internet's reach has given the scam an annoying pervasiveness. We even get these messages ourselves at WebWatch -- delete them!

We also created The UnSponsored Link because we do a lot of heavy research work here, and publish long reports. Our site lacked a venue to talk about things we do daily - help you with answers to questions about Web scams, bogus merchants, cyber-snake-oil pitches, or point you to useful sites, government agencies, and organizations that might help in disputes.

You'll notice a slight change of tone here at The Unsponsored Link. Much less "b-to-b," less stuffy and rigid, more in the spirit of Penn and Teller's Showtime series, "Bull****!" Or maybe something James Randi might want to read. And we'll have some fun.

Thanks for joining us!

Posted by Beau Brendler at 11:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)