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How to Read the Wall Street Journal Online for Free

by Terrence O'Brien on March 24, 2008 at 09:39 AM

Two Ways to Read the Wall Street Journal Online for Free
One of the most frustrating things a news hound encounters online is the Wall Street Journal. The preeminent financial paper in the country has still yet to join the rest of the online news world and offer its world class reporting for free.

But fear not, faithful devourers of information, there is way around the Wall Street Journal's $79 a year subscription fee. And it's completely legal!

When you follow a link to a Wall Street Journal article -- like this one -- from a regular Web site, you get the first part of the article, but are told to subscribe to read the full article. Luckily for us, though, the Wall Street Journal struck a deal with Google and Digg that allows visitors to those sites to view the entire paper without subscribing.

So, you have two options. The first, and simpler option, is to search Google News for the headline of the article you want to read. Since you'd be following the link via Google News you'd be able to access the complete article. This can be a little tedious and doesn't guarantee you access to the entire paper however.

The second option is to use Firefox and install an extension called Refspoof. Refspoof allows you to trick the Wall Street Journal into thinking you're visiting the site via a link from another site. After installing the Refspoof ,visit WSJ.com. Then, in the "spoof" field of the Refspoof toolbar type digg.com. Then, click on the "R" icon to the right and select "static referrer."

Congratulations, you should now be able to browse the entire Wall Street Journal, sans subscription fee!

From Machinist

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Tags: digg, firefox, free, google news, GoogleNews, news, wall street journal, WallStreetJournal

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