| If you're sick and tired of paying 10 or 20.00 a | | | | 502x84 pixelsundocked. The sign-up process is pretty |
| monthto your ISP for Internet Access, listen closely | | | | simple and theydon't ask for as much personal |
| to what | | | | information as someof the others. During setup |
| I'm about to say. "You don't have to." Yep, that's | | | | you're given the opportunityto select backup dial-in |
| right;you can surf the Web totally free if you don't | | | | numbers in case the first oneis busy. This download |
| mind givingup some of your precious screen real | | | | works on Windows or Macs and issmall at 600K. |
| estate to banner ads. | | | | BlueLight.com: Did someone say K-Mart? You'd be |
| Most of the Free providers want your personal | | | | righton with this free dial up service offered from |
| informationas well and will ask you to fill out lengthy | | | | Yahooand K-mart combined. The registration process |
| registrationforms when signing up to use their | | | | is prettypainful as they ask for a lot of personal |
| services. They'll wantto know if you're married, own | | | | information. |
| or rent, if you have children,and so on and so forth. | | | | Your surfing patterns are tracked and shared |
| Some of them will even track yoursurfing patterns | | | | withthird parties. The banner on your screen |
| and sell that information to third parties. | | | | measures 486x86pixels. The download is large at 3.51 |
| According to Jupiter Communications, last year 2.5 | | | | MB but if youdon't want to wait you can fill out a |
| millionpeople signed up for free Net access. That | | | | form on the websiteand you'll be sent a CD. |
| number is expectedto grow to over 10 million by the | | | | NetZero.com: With claims of over 4 million |
| year 2003. That's a lotof people who are interested | | | | registeredusers, NetZero must be doing something |
| in getting something for nothing. | | | | right. Registrationrequires a lot of information and the |
| Let's take a look at some of the more popular | | | | download is largeat 4.76 MB. The banner on your |
| services andwhat they have to offer. | | | | screen will be 800x88 pixelsand you'll be forced to |
| Address.com: This free ISP tracks your surfing | | | | click on it from time to timeor face disconnection. |
| patterns forad targeting purposes. Downloading and | | | | Like most other free servicesthey track your surfing |
| setup are fairly simple. | | | | patterns and share them withthird parties. They also |
| The banner they place on your screen is 486x86 | | | | offer free email accounts andcustomer support. |
| pixels, whichis not a bad size for this type of service. | | | | There are many free dial-up options to choose from. |
| They also offerfree email accounts, free webpages, | | | | If you don't like the ones presented here, go to for |
| and URL forwarding. | | | | even morechoices. |
| FreeInternet.com: The banner size for this service | | | | Whoever coined the phrase "you don't get nothing |
| whenundocked is 509x76. You'll be asked for a lot of | | | | forfree" obviously never knew about free Internet |
| personalinformation when registering and your surfing | | | | access. |
| habits willbe tracked and shared with third parties for | | | | As long as you don't mind giving up some of |
| targetingbanner ads. Their website offers free email | | | | yourpersonal information and viewing banner ads, |
| accounts,weather, shopping, and its own instant | | | | freedial up is not such a bad deal. Even if you |
| messaging system. | | | | decideto keep your paid ISP, a free dial-up |
| AltaVista Free Internet: | | | | accountcan come in handy as a backup should your |
| Another free dial up from the search engine Alta | | | | ISP ever go down. |
| Vista.service. The banner placed on your monitor is | | | | |