Condensed from
HEREIs magicJack Spyware?
After writing about the magicJack device last month (see magicJack Phone Service), I've received a flood of comments. Most people who wrote seem to love this gadget, which connects your phone to your computer and provides unlimited phone service for $20 a year. Others were vocal in their dislike for the product. I can understand that some people will have voice quality problems, due to under-powered hardware, a flaky internet connection, or software conflicts. But after a few people wrote in claiming that magicJack contains spyware or keyloggers and that the company may be selling private information to the highest bidder, I decided to investigate for myself.
-The article goes into a lot of detail that is omitted from this post-
What's the Verdict on magicJack?
It's true that the magicJack terms of service are a little vague on some points, and that the EULA (end-user license agreement) contains that standard legalese found in so many of these documents, which attempts to absolve the company of all blame, no matter what happens. But it's just not fair to extrapolate beyond the facts, and make unfounded claims that the company is doing evil or trampling on the privacy of their customers.
Here's what I believe... based on my own research, my personal interaction with magicJack users, and my reading of the Terms of Service:
There is no evidence that the magicJack software is snooping around on hard drives, looking through documents, emails, or web browsing history.
There is no evidence that the magicJack software is (or contains) spyware. Neither do I give any credibility to the notion that the auto-update feature might someday dump spyware on the computers of MJ users.
There is no evidence that the company selling magicJack has ever sold private information to third parties, and no indication in the TOS that they might. In fact, they explicitly state that they will not.
More on magicJack
HERE