Diallers

[birdman]

Some of you may recall my system got hijacked afew weeks ago by one of these sites that installs itself as your homepage.

(Got some great help from fellow BFers, for which I am most grateful.)

Well, the phone bill arrived this week, and it seems I got "diallered" twice during the last quarter!

Nothing break the bank expensive, but we don't use the phone that much and it doubled our usual bill.

Rang BT, and they are investigating. We may still be liable for the charge depending on whatever they uncover, but at least they're having a look.

But...

The main reason for this post is to pass on a piece of VERY BASIC INFORMATION. Information I wasn't aware of, so I'll disseminate it here, in case you are a clueless as me!!! ;)

BT can put a Premium Number (=09xx) bar on your phone that will prevent outgoing connections to these 09 numbers.

It is FREE, and takes about 24 hours to activate.

I was advised to ensure that my IT help desk doesn't have an 09 number (which you all don't ;) ) and that if I change my mind, it takes 7 days to remove.

Also, it is not guaranteed 100% effective, but goes along way to protect against malicious dialling.

All in all... if it saves me 40 quid a quarter, it ain't too shabby.

[Andrew Rowlands]

Thanks for the info, Birdman; don't get too complacent - a lot of the diallers out there use international numbers!!

Some more 'blocking' tactics are installed if you follow the walkthrough in http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=19879 post #3.

Cheers,

Andy.

[marek_walford]

Diallers and various other nasty things can largely be stopped by NOT using Internet Explorer. IE is full of security holes. It is a very good idea to use a different browser. I use Mozilla Firefox which is excellent (and free). Take a look at http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/

[scampo]

Some of you may recall my system got hijacked afew weeks ago by one of these sites that installs itself as your homepage.

(Got some great help from fellow BFers, for which I am most grateful.)

Well, the phone bill arrived this week, and it seems I got "diallered" twice during the last quarter...Well - I hate to say this but, unless things have changed... to be charged for an 0900 number, you will have had to click on the dialer icon somehow or other and it will have rung through your modem, with all the usual modem clicks and whirrs.

A dialer is simply a small program that downloads from the Internet when you "accept" an "invitation" from a pop-up box that has appeared at some time during your surfing on the 'Net. Of course, this download could have been invoked by anyone surfing the 'Net. If you have kids, they might have done this (often without knowing).

BT themselves won't tell you much but they will put you on to an agency that looks into these things. My sister-in-law experienced just this problem a year or so back and I did the investigating for her as neither she nor her hubby are at all computer friendly. It turned out to be her teenage son - and the sites he had been "dialling" were typical testosterone boosters that some teenage lads seem to find hard to keep away from. Their phone bill had been charged around £100-00 in a single month. They put a block on 0900 calls as you have done and the problem went away (and their son has a girlfriend now, too....)

[Blincodave]

Steve,

I too thought this you had to be pro-active and 'accept' the dialler but infact that is not the case. They can attach themselves without your knowing and can come from visiting a range of web sites including music downloads or ringtones.

[pete1950]

Some of you may recall my system got hijacked afew weeks ago by one of these sites that installs itself as your homepage.

(Got some great help from fellow BFers, for which I am most grateful.)

Well, the phone bill arrived this week, and it seems I got "diallered" twice during the last quarter!

Nothing break the bank expensive, but we don't use the phone that much and it doubled our usual bill.

Rang BT, and they are investigating. We may still be liable for the charge depending on whatever they uncover, but at least they're having a look.

But...

The main reason for this post is to pass on a piece of VERY BASIC INFORMATION. Information I wasn't aware of, so I'll disseminate it here, in case you are a clueless as me!!! ;)

BT can put a Premium Number (=09xx) bar on your phone that will prevent outgoing connections to these 09 numbers.

It is FREE, and takes about 24 hours to activate.

I was advised to ensure that my IT help desk doesn't have an 09 number (which you all don't ;) ) and that if I change my mind, it takes 7 days to remove.

Also, it is not guaranteed 100% effective, but goes along way to protect against malicious dialling.

All in all... if it saves me 40 quid a quarter, it ain't too shabby.

The advise from BT is to have broadband if possible.

[scampo]

Well they would say that at £30-00 a go... but yes, with broadband the dialler cannot dial out. I don't know - I'm still not convinced the things work entirely automatically, but I sure as heck ain't gonna try it!

[Andrew]

We tried the 150 number to put a block but it asked for a specific number so how do you stop all 09XX numbers?

[scampo]

BT do offer to block all 09xx numbers, but we have ntl and I'm not sure they do. Fortunately we only had the problem a few years ago and no repeat. I imagine it was one of my teenage sons who learned his lesson.

[Blincodave]

NTL do block 09xx numbers for £1.50 per month.

[birdman]

We tried the 150 number to put a block but it asked for a specific number so how do you stop all 09XX numbers?
I rang Customer Services with a direct bill enquiry.

[birdman]

Steve,

I too thought this you had to be pro-active and 'accept' the dialler but infact that is not the case. They can attach themselves without your knowing and can come from visiting a range of web sites including music downloads or ringtones.
I also guess it would help if I turned on my speakers from time to time!!!

[birdman]

Diallers and various other nasty things can largely be stopped by NOT using Internet Explorer. IE is full of security holes. It is a very good idea to use a different browser. I use Mozilla Firefox which is excellent (and free). Take a look at http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/Acutally, I do use Firefox now... quite possibly after following your advice before Marek, but I don't mind wearing 6 belts and 4 pairs of braces.

I must say though, that Firefox and BF seem to have fallen out lately... and I'm having to use IE to reply to this thread... guess there's something else I haven't sussed out yet!

[Andrew Rowlands]

I also guess it would help if I turned on my speakers from time to time!!!

A lot of diallers switch off your soundcard - then dial out!

Andy.

[pete1950]

Well they would say that at £30-00 a go... but yes, with broadband the dialler cannot dial out. I don't know - I'm still not convinced the things work entirely automatically, but I sure as heck ain't gonna try it!

£19.99 for the cheapest option.

I forgot to add, that if you have broadband you should either remove your internal modem, or at least unplug the line from the phone socket, to stop the dialler from being activated.

The operators of these diallers use very sophisticated equipment, and random pop ups that will activate the diallers when you try to close them.

Although 090 numbers are rated at circa £1.50 per minute some of these diallers are routed through the Caribbean and charge up to £6.00 per minute.

They are used mainly by the soft porn industry; they are legal and just the type of thing that curious young minds might be tempted to view, although the consequences can be alarmingly expensive.

[scampo]

£19.99 for the cheapest option.

I forgot to add, that if you have broadband you should either remove your internal modem, or at least unplug the line from the phone socket, to stop the dialler from being activated.

The operators of these diallers use very sophisticated equipment, and random pop ups that will activate the diallers when you try to close them.

Although 090 numbers are rated at circa £1.50 per minute some of these diallers are routed through the Caribbean and charge up to £6.00 per minute.

They are used mainly by the soft porn industry; they are legal and just the type of thing that curious young minds might be tempted to view, although the consequences can be alarmingly expensive.
It amazes me they are legal, because I should think the "contract" is usually with a less than suspecting minor.

[pete1950]

It amazes me they are legal, because I should think the "contract" is usually with a less than suspecting minor.

What I meant was the content is legal, even here in the UK. All sites have a front page with the usual caveat that if you are under eighteen then you must not enter, however as you are well aware the computer cannot differentiate between punters and once the enter button is clicked then for a young enquiring mind, or indeed a dirty old man, all is revealed.

Most of the content is pretty mild in as much you will find similar on WH Smiths top shelf, what is unsavoury plus illegal are the tactics employed in keeping punters and extracting their money i.e. the lurking diallers plus the associated costs.

Most, though not all operators originate from the states, or at least the servers are American based, purely because the porn industry in the states is a bigger grossing enterprise than Hollywood.

My interest in these sites was aroused when a friend of mine was stung for £250, a sum he could not afford to lose as he is disabled and confined to a wheelchair. It was during my determination to secure him a refund that I discovered just how sleazy these operators are.

[scampo]

"... the porn industry in the States is a bigger grossing enterprise than Hollywood."

Yes - I had heard that both size and grossness were a part of the porn industry.

(-;

[Mickymouse]

"... the porn industry in the States is a bigger grossing enterprise than Hollywood."

Yes - I had heard that both size and grossness were a part of the porn industry.

(-;

You are dead right.......Doh what have I just admitted.

Mick

[Keith Reeder]

I must say though, that Firefox and BF seem to have fallen out lately... and I'm having to use IE to reply to this thread... guess there's something else I haven't sussed out yet! I'm replying to this from Firefox, Birdman - what problems are you having?

[birdman]

Well, I'm answering this from IE...

This (and the other) reply boxes are not active when I use Mozilla, for some reason.

[Quark5]

Guess you've heard this all before, but here it goes.

1) Use a good firewall, (Zone Alarm is a good free package) and ensure you keep it up to date. Any out going calls, even if you do not know the software is dialing, will need approval before it can connect.
2) Make sure your virus checker is up to date. At least no more than 1 month old.
3) Broadband is more susceptible that dial-up as it is on for longer, some people do not disconnect ever, and many have fixed IP addresses. Dial-up creates a new address each time it connects so is hard to trace each time.
4) Scan all email for virus, even if you know the sender.
5) Run a system scam at least once a week.
6) Be careful when typing URL addresses. Many iffy site use common miss-spelt addresses. If you don't have a firewall these site will download software before you can disconnect.

Safe Surfing mantra - Firewall, Virus checker, Firewall, Virus checker, Fire...

I would now go as far to say that connection to the internet without a firewall and virus checker should be illegal.

Safe surfing

[Andrew]

5) Run a system scam at least once a week.

Now we know how you make your money! ;)

[Quark5]

Dam, read this twice before posting as well. Just goes to show you can't be too careful.

Regards
Paul