Thursday, April 15, 2021
  • Setup menu at Appearance » Menus and assign menu to Top Bar Navigation
Advertisement
  • AI Development
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Machine Learning
    • Neural Networks
    • Learn to Code
  • Data
    • Blockchain
    • Big Data
    • Data Science
  • IT Security
    • Internet Privacy
    • Internet Security
  • Marketing
    • Digital Marketing
    • Marketing Technology
  • Technology Companies
  • Crypto News
No Result
View All Result
NikolaNews
  • AI Development
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Machine Learning
    • Neural Networks
    • Learn to Code
  • Data
    • Blockchain
    • Big Data
    • Data Science
  • IT Security
    • Internet Privacy
    • Internet Security
  • Marketing
    • Digital Marketing
    • Marketing Technology
  • Technology Companies
  • Crypto News
No Result
View All Result
NikolaNews
No Result
View All Result
Home Internet Security

I installed Verizon’s free junk call blocker and it seems to kind of help

August 17, 2019
in Internet Security
I installed Verizon’s free junk call blocker and it seems to kind of help
585
SHARES
3.3k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

How to fight robocalls: The basics
You can’t block all the spam phone calls, but blocking some is better than blocking none. Read more: https://zd.net/2GGv83H

This is something of an “on one hand, on the other hand” story. I’m going to start by heaping faint praise on Verizon, but I’ll end by scolding them. Are you surprised? Of course not.

You might also like

100+ critical IT policies every company needs, ready for download

ExpressVPN review: A fine VPN service, but is it worth the price?

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint now protects unmanaged BYO devices

We all get spam calls, scam calls, and robocalls. According to the US Federal Trade Commission Report on Robocalls CG Docket No. 17-59, nearly half of all calls made to cell phones in 2019 will be robocalls. Additionally, there are human-driven spam and scam calls that will add to that call volume.

Also: Scam alert: Identifying and blocking “Google” robocall spam

Last year, I decided to look into one of the more common spam calls I regularly got: The “your local Google representative” calls. I reached out to Google and was told that Google does not robocall. I subsequently wrote about a bunch of ways you can report calls you consider spam.

But what if you just plain don’t want your phone to ring? There are a bunch of third-party add-on apps that work by call forwarding all your calls to their service, and they then forward what they consider legitimate calls back to you. It’s a hack, and according to my former ZDNet buddy Zack Whittaker, who’s now writing for TechCrunch, they’re stealing your data and sending it on to marketing companies without your permission.

In other words, while they’re blocking some calls, many of these services are harvesting your data to sell so you get more calls. Lovely, right?

The carrier-based solution

There is, however, one solution worth considering. The call-blocking or call-filtering service offered by your phone’s carrier. I use Verizon, so in this article, I’m going to talk about Verizon’s service. If you use another carrier’s service, please report on your experiences in the comments section at the end of this article.

I’m willing to use a carrier-based service where I’m not willing to use a third-party service for one simple reason: my carrier knows everything, anyway. Since all my calls go through Verizon, either they’re going to protect my privacy, or they’re not. There’s nothing I can do about it. So I might as well avail myself of an additional service from them that can make my life easier.

Verizon offers a call filtering service. It’s a little difficult to find at the bottom of the My Verizon page, but it’s there. For convenience, here’s the link for you to follow without doing any digging.

my-verizon-2019-08-15-18-04-23.jpg

Verizon offers two versions of their Call Filter service, a free option and one where you pay three bucks a month, or eight dollars for up to three lines. I signed up for the free service because it offended me to be asked to pay for an add-on service that should be provided for free.

verizon-call-filter-verizon-wireless-2019-08-15-18-07-03.jpg

After all, if Verizon has the technology to block spam calls, letting them go through is not only annoying to their customers but costly to every telecommunications partner in the call chain. Verizon is actively withholding a good public service merely for an extra three bucks a month. Seems heinous to me (yes, I said “heinous,” because it really does grind my grits).

img-4711.png

In any case, I enabled the free service, which works relatively well.

To get the process started, you’ll need to download an app from the App Store. For iPhones, Verizon provides a download link.

For Android phones, Verizon claims the app is generally pre-installed. I went looking on the Google Play Store for a Verizon Call Filter app and did not find one. I recommend you check with Verizon directly. Given Zack’s warning about scammers, don’t just download an app that looks like it’ll do the job. Check specifically with Verizon support to get the right thing for your Android phone.

How well does it work?

At its best, a notification (you can silence it via a setting in the app) appears on my home screen letting me know that a call has been blocked.

img-4715.png

I get relatively few of these, but anytime Verizon blocks a call I don’t need to take, I consider it a small win.

img-4710-copy.png

More often than not, though, I get calls that ring through, but are listed as “Potential Spam.” These I silence by pressing one of the volume control buttons on my phone, figuring that if it’s important the caller will leave a voicemail.

As the screenshot on the right shows, over the course of a particularly quiet five-day period, about a third of my calls were caught as potential spam, another third of the calls got through (and were spam), and I had two legitimate calls.

The results aren’t as good as I’d like. I’d prefer never to get a ring from Potential Spam calls. I’d also prefer Verizon blocked the other spam calls that it’s missing. I do wonder whether I’d get better results if I paid the three bucks a month, but darn it, you have to make a stand somewhere, and I can’t bring myself to reward Verizon with extra cash for doing something they should be doing anyway.

In any case, enabling free service seems to be a no brainer. It helps. It’s easy. It’s free. I recommend you do it today.


You can follow my day-to-day project updates on social media. Be sure to follow me on Twitter at @DavidGewirtz, on Facebook at Facebook.com/DavidGewirtz, on Instagram at Instagram.com/DavidGewirtz, and on YouTube at YouTube.com/DavidGewirtzTV.


Credit: Zdnet

Previous Post

Patches for 2 Severe LibreOffice Flaws Bypassed — Update to Patch Again

Next Post

Why AI needs us to design AE (Artificial Empathy)

Related Posts

100+ critical IT policies every company needs, ready for download
Internet Security

100+ critical IT policies every company needs, ready for download

April 15, 2021
ExpressVPN review: A fine VPN service, but is it worth the price?
Internet Security

ExpressVPN review: A fine VPN service, but is it worth the price?

April 15, 2021
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint now protects unmanaged BYO devices
Internet Security

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint now protects unmanaged BYO devices

April 15, 2021
Cyber criminals are installing cryptojacking malware on unpatched Microsoft Exchange servers
Internet Security

Cyber criminals are installing cryptojacking malware on unpatched Microsoft Exchange servers

April 14, 2021
ASIO boss says he’s not concerned with Australian Parliament’s March outage
Internet Security

ASIO boss says he’s not concerned with Australian Parliament’s March outage

April 14, 2021
Next Post
Why AI needs us to design AE (Artificial Empathy)

Why AI needs us to design AE (Artificial Empathy)

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recommended

Plasticity in Deep Learning: Dynamic Adaptations for AI Self-Driving Cars

Plasticity in Deep Learning: Dynamic Adaptations for AI Self-Driving Cars

January 6, 2019
Microsoft, Google Use Artificial Intelligence to Fight Hackers

Microsoft, Google Use Artificial Intelligence to Fight Hackers

January 6, 2019

Categories

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data
  • Blockchain
  • Crypto News
  • Data Science
  • Digital Marketing
  • Internet Privacy
  • Internet Security
  • Learn to Code
  • Machine Learning
  • Marketing Technology
  • Neural Networks
  • Technology Companies

Don't miss it

100+ critical IT policies every company needs, ready for download
Internet Security

100+ critical IT policies every company needs, ready for download

April 15, 2021
NSA Discovers New Vulnerabilities Affecting Microsoft Exchange Servers
Internet Privacy

NSA Discovers New Vulnerabilities Affecting Microsoft Exchange Servers

April 15, 2021
AI.Reverie names Aayush Prakash as Head of Machine Learning
Machine Learning

AI.Reverie names Aayush Prakash as Head of Machine Learning

April 15, 2021
Why Corporate AI Projects Fail? Part 2/4 | by Sundeep Teki, PhD | Apr, 2021
Neural Networks

Why Corporate AI Projects Fail? Part 2/4 | by Sundeep Teki, PhD | Apr, 2021

April 15, 2021
How to Analyze Influencer Campaign Performance
Marketing Technology

How to Analyze Influencer Campaign Performance

April 15, 2021
Six courses to build your technology skills in 2021 – IBM Developer
Technology Companies

How AI helps Overwatch League process 410M data points to build power rankings – IBM Developer

April 15, 2021
NikolaNews

NikolaNews.com is an online News Portal which aims to share news about blockchain, AI, Big Data, and Data Privacy and more!

What’s New Here?

  • 100+ critical IT policies every company needs, ready for download April 15, 2021
  • NSA Discovers New Vulnerabilities Affecting Microsoft Exchange Servers April 15, 2021
  • AI.Reverie names Aayush Prakash as Head of Machine Learning April 15, 2021
  • Why Corporate AI Projects Fail? Part 2/4 | by Sundeep Teki, PhD | Apr, 2021 April 15, 2021

Subscribe to get more!

© 2019 NikolaNews.com - Global Tech Updates

No Result
View All Result
  • AI Development
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Machine Learning
    • Neural Networks
    • Learn to Code
  • Data
    • Blockchain
    • Big Data
    • Data Science
  • IT Security
    • Internet Privacy
    • Internet Security
  • Marketing
    • Digital Marketing
    • Marketing Technology
  • Technology Companies
  • Crypto News

© 2019 NikolaNews.com - Global Tech Updates