After setting it up, dialling the number you want to call and hearing the ring tone sound on the other end of the line, you still have a sneaking suspicion that VoIPBuster will suddenly crash or produce a pop-up mocking you for being naïve enough to expect free calls. But suddenly you hear a click on the other end and the moment of truth has arrived; “Eh, Hi…can you hear me?...you can…wow…it works!”, and so continues your conversation as you eye the figures telling you how much credit remains. It seems too good to be true and naturally you expect the numbers to go down, proving the fact of life that there is no free lunch, but they remain where they began – score!

Most people reading this will be familiar with Skype, the most popular VoIP solution today. VoIPBuster is a stripped-down version of Skype with one essential difference – it’s cheaper. You may be wondering just how minimal is “stripped down”? There are no conference calls, video conversations, chat sessions and customer service is not all that, but for a price of free, many are willing to settle with what is on offer.

The program is basic, with tabs for your contact list, call history, buttons to dial and details of your current call. During a call the program takes control of your recording volume and while this feature is potentially very useful, it tended to gradually get lower and lower to a point beyond being comfortable. Setting the volume manually will work for a while but VoIPBuster showed real determination by pushing it down again. As recommended, the best way to secure a quality line is to use a headset. This point was driven home when we gave the external speakers a go and suddenly went from regular telephone quality to a crackly, echoing kind of static noise!

VoIPBuster is owned by a Swedish telecom company and although they circulate multiple versions of software similar to VoIPBuster, it doesn’t subtract from the fact that if you make regular calls to fixed numbers it will save you a considerable amount on those costs. To get started with unlimited free calls you must subscribe and charge your account with ten Euros worth of credit. A small price to pay for unlimited free calls, although bear in mind that credit does expire after a period, currently set at 120 days.