SolveYourProblem Article Series: Spyware
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What is Dialer Software? How Do I Spot It?

There is horrifying software out there today that can really make a person wish they never had Internet. You thought regular spyware was bad, this is much worse. This program will use your modem to dial long distance numbers and 1-900 numbers that you will be charged for. The phone bills are outrageous and it is the computer owner who must pay them. Some of these will run while you are surfing the web. They will drop your connection and then dial up on a new number. Other types of dialers wait until you have sat on idle for a specific amount of time and then start dialing out. Most dialers are downloaded via Active X script. So you need to be sure that your browser is set to reject these types of files. At the very least your browser should give you a warning if one of these tries to load or run. Modem hijacking is not new by any means and still affects dial-up users today. What the program does is to disconnect you from your usual dial-up number and reconnects you to a more expensive number. You can also be hooked to 1-900 numbers as you sit in idle.

These dialers can be disguised in pop-up advertisements or in downloaded programs on the net. A user will go to close the window and accidentally initiate the download of the software instead. It may also be hidden with in certain downloads such as gambling, adult content, gaming, or music files. Once the file has been loaded a dialer box will come up on your screen to show that it is actually dialing. You will hear your modem try to connect. What you may be browsing may stop responding to you or freeze up. You probably will just assume that you got disconnected and your modem is just redialing out. Many folks have no clue that the software has even downloaded in the first place. All Internet providers and dial-up users are susceptible to this malicious software. The customers are fully responsible to pay the bill that incurs. When a program is downloaded it need to have the terms and agreements accepted at that time. The phone company doesn’t care if something was hidden on your download.

There are ways to prevent modem hijacking so you won’t have to suffer these outrageous charges. Many dial-up companies offer a program that only allows long distance dialing if you have the correct PIN number. This can prevent your computer from dialing unauthorized numbers. Users need to be more careful when downloading programs off the net. They need to make sure they know exactly what is being loaded and if the site is a secure one. Users should read the entire agreement and disclosure information before downloading to make sure that there is nothing hidden in it. When shutting off pop-up windows slow down and be careful. Make sure that you click on the appropriate box to close it or right click it in your task bar to close it out. If you don’t touch it you cannot download it by mistake. Disable Active X or change your browser to warn you when a code attempts to run. Make sure potentially dangerous sites are blocked or that you have high protection when browsing.

Ask your phone company to put a 1-900 block on your phone as well as a block on international calls if you don’t call out of the country. Anytime your modem starts to redial a connection that you didn’t prompt cancel the dial out immediately. Check to see what number it was dialing. If it is your normal dial-up number then continue, but if it starts with 011 or 1-900 stop. Copy down the number and report it to your phone company so it can be blocked. Once the number is blocked it can’t be used to dial out. Disconnect your telephone line from your modem when not on the Internet. This will keep someone from dialing out while you are idling. Make sure if you find out that you have a dialer in your system you remove it promptly. Use an anti-virus or anti-spyware program to detect and remove the software from your computer. There are also anti-virus and anti-spyware programs that catch problems in real time. This means before the program can download your program will be able to detect any malicious software and deny it access to your system. This feature is a lifesaver for many people and stops most unwanted attempts on your computer as you browse.

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SolveYourProblem.com : 2007

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