Say WOT?  Video Professor a Scam? 

Who hasn’t seen the ubiquitous TV ads for the Video Professor’s “Free” computer training lessons on CD? They also appear on the company's website, and on sites listed in search engine results and in Facebook ads. Be aware that If you order the CDs and don’t return at least one CD within the ten-day trial period, it may cost you almost $300 USD, according to an article by Michael Arrington of TechCrunch. 

In the article, which includes screen captures of pages from Video Professor’s website, note the fine print beneath the BBB logo on the left. It says: “If you decide to keep the complete set of CDs, we’ll conveniently bill your credit card just $289.95.” The other screen captures show an order total of just $4.56. So, if you don’t, within ten days of beginning the free trial, return at least one of the CDs that comprise the ordered set, you will have an additional $289.95 USD added to your credit card bill!

The “Click here” link in that sidebar re-iterates the terms of the offer and the credit card charge, and also mentions the following for Canadian orders:

·  Due to shipping limitations you will receive your free lessons in approximately two to four weeks from the order date.

·  Your shipping & processing charges are $9.95 USD. But this is also completely refundable, upon your request, if you are unsatisfied with your lessons. Just call us within 10 days of receiving your lessons.

·  If you decide to return your lessons, you will be given plenty of additional time to send them back and avoid being billed.

Although the 5180-word “Use Agreement” page doesn’t mention the $289.95 amount, it does contain some foreboding terms that warrant careful examination, or you could also end up with recurring deliveries and charges you weren’t expecting.

So what about WOT?

The Video Professor site makes a good case for using a browser extension like WOT (Web of Trust) to alert you to sites that are untrustworthy or dangerous. Install WOT into your browser, then search for “Video Professor” and note the trust ratings of the sites listed. WOT may save you from scams, and your computer from drive-by-infection with malware when you visit innocent but compromised sites. With WOT, when you search for information, results are flagged similar to the following.

Hover the cursor over a coloured dot to see a summary of the site's reputation rating, as shown for the fist item above. Clicking the dot provides details ablout that site's reputation, as shown below.

WOT doesn't prevent you from going to a site that is dangerous or has a poor reputation. However, it does forewarn you and asks whether you want to go there anyway. It's free and could save you money you might otherwise spend on a scam or pay to have a nasty virus infection removed from your computer. I highly recommend it and install it on my customers' computers.