I’ve Been Infected By An Auto-Dialer Virus
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The Auto Dialer Virus Strikes Again – Here at Defending The
Net, we receive hundreds of e-mails daily regarding various
computer security issues. Because we receive so many e-mails
and requests for information, we typically write an article
that provides the answer. However, from time to time, we
receive requests that seem important, or critical in nature,
and do our best to try and help.
On October 4th, we received an e-mail from a visitor we felt
compelled to assist. This person appeared to have a home
computer infected with the Auto-Dialer virus, a malicious
piece of Malware that can cost you a tremendous amount of
time, and more importantly, money.
An Unwelcome Letter From a Long Distance Carrier
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Unfortunate results of the auto dialer virus – Our visitor
received a letter from a well known long distance carrier
indicating they had blocked all long distance calls from
their telephone number, the reason; there were hundreds of
phone calls to 1-900 numbers with fees in excess of $1,500.
Our visitor had contacted his internet provider, explained
to them what was going on, and the Internet provider
directed them to and article located here at Defending The
Net on auto-dialers.
The long distance carrier who contacted him was not even his
provider, they represented the company with the 1-900
number. He contacted the long distance provider and
explained to them that he had no idea what was going on and
that he has never dialed a 1-900 number. They explained that
there was nothing they could do for him and they were going
to turn over the charges to his local service provider for
collection.
As you can imagine, this was a very strange and stressful
time. The fact of the matter is, these auto-dialers can be
quite stealthy, masking themselves as legitimate software,
or installing themselves in a way that keeps you unaware it
has infected your system. These nefarious pieces of software
can even re-program your modem to turn off the speaker so
you are unaware that it is making unauthorized calls. I
cannot stress how dangerous and how much of a negative
impact something like this can have on your computer, and
your checkbook.
How Do I Protect Myself
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One thing you must always be aware of is what type of sites
you are visiting. If the sites you visit have tons of
pop-up’s and banners, some of which may be less than moral /
ethical, you can bet there is a high chance of getting
infected with something. There are other things you should
keep in mind or do on a routine basis:
1) Make sure you have anti-virus software installed and keep
the virus signatures up to date. Out of date virus
signatures are a major cause of computer infection;
2) Install spyware detection software, keep it up to date,
and run it regularly. I run mine at least twice a day. Some
of these software packages have real-time protection similar
to anti-virus software;
3) If you now have high-speed internet access, like cable or
DSL service, and you no longer need the internal modem for
faxes or anything else, remove the phone cable from the
modem or remove the modem from the computer altogether. Many
people leave these devices connected and are at risk for
auto-dialer impact; And,
4) If you are on a site that has a lot of pop-ups do not
just click OK when they present themselves. You may be
agreeing to something that can cause you problems.
Conclusion
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If you think you have become infected with an Auto-Dialer,
or receive a letter from a long distance carrier stating you
owe them money for 1-900 or like calls, contact your
telephone service provider right away. Also, disconnect your
modem to make sure no additional calls can be placed and run
your anti-virus / spyware detection software to try and
locate the problem. If you can’t locate the malicious
software, you will need to back up all your data and
reinstall your computers operating system. This is the only
“real” way to feel confident you have eradicated the
Auto-Dialer that infected your computer.
You may reprint or publish this article free of charge as
long as the bylines are included.