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Web Savvy: The Best Unfree Stuff Online

These great sites and services will lighten your wallet--and that's okay.

Brad Grimes

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Recently I've noticed a minitrend in the letters that I receive from readers. People have always shared their favorite sites, services, and online utilities, but over the past several months, a good chunk of their notes have included something to the effect of, "It costs a little money, but...."

But what? Maybe it was inevitable. Maybe people have gotten used to a Web in which companies must charge to stay in business. Maybe the cream has risen to the top. Whatever the case, many no longer scoff at paying a little something online. And neither do I. Here are some sites, services, and downloadable shareware I've found to be worth the investment. (For more, see our editors' picks in "Best of Today's Web.")

ConsumerReports.org: This should be the very next thing you pay for online. I plunked down $24 for a one-year online subscription and have used the site to research TVs, cars, lawn mowers, and more. I figure the site has saved me far more than $24 in bad purchases.

SpamStalker: In a nutshell, this antispam shareware replies to junk mail with messages telling the sender that your e-mail address is no longer valid. The idea is to fool spammers into removing your address from their lists. Try SpamStalker for free, but pay $39 if you intend to keep it.

Pop-Up Ad Filter: After I'd tried various free ad filters with mixed results, several readers turned me on to this $25 ad blocker. It works only with Internet Explorer, but it does so effortlessly and exceptionally well. A free trial version blocks about 40 ads--which should last you roughly one day.

Mailshell: I mentioned this online service last month. For $35 a year, you get your own domain name and the ability to control spam by creating an unlimited number of e-mail addresses.

The Wall Street Journal Online: Free financial news can be had just about anywhere, but if you're still feeding a prerecession jones for everything business- and stock market-related, WSJ.com provides the best combination of news, information, special reports, and analysis. An annual subscription to the site costs $59.

And there are others. For $10 a month, an EFax Plus account gives you a local fax number and the ability to send faxes online. I'm even weighing the cost of PaperlessPOBox.com, a service that offers to receive my snail mail (tossing out the junk), scan it, and send it to me via e-mail for $30 a month and up. That's probably too steep, but I'm intrigued.

Caveat surfer: The stuff worth paying for is still the exception, not the rule. Even if everything online were as good as gold, I wouldn't plunk down my credit card willy-nilly. Still, I'll be content as long as my total monthly expenses for Web services are lower than my cable bill--which means I still have money left to burn on Web goodies. So drop me a note and tell me what you pay for online.

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