automatic dialing

[newbie]

I am having dial up connection.
In OE I have dialog box Ask before starting dial up connection.
In IE I have marked Never dial a connection.
Then also sometime (not all the time ) automatic dialing starts and internet
connection is established. Yesterday it connected even when I had logged
off.
Will anyone tell me How can I stop it.
TIA.

 

[EasyFeelings]

i would be looking for dialer programs on your system.
also need to run a spyware program.

 

[Malke]

I am having dial up connection.
In OE I have dialog box Ask before starting dial up connection.
In IE I have marked Never dial a connection.
Then also sometime (not all the time ) automatic dialing starts and
internet connection is established. Yesterday it connected even when I
had logged off.
Will anyone tell me How can I stop it.
TIA.

You most probably have malware on your system. Go through these removal
steps, doing everything with updated tools in Safe Mode.

First delete all Temporary and Temporary Internet Files. Then:

1) Scan in Safe Mode with current version (not earlier than 2004)
antivirus using updated definitions.

Before you remove malware, get LSPFix or WinSockFix for XP - see links
below.

2) Remove spyware with Spybot Search & Destroy and Ad-aware. These
programs are free, so use them both since they complement each other.
There is a new version of CWShredder from Intermute. I would not
install the other Intermute programs, however. Alternately, there are
CoolWebSearch malware removal steps at SilentRunners.

Be sure to update these programs before running, and it is a good idea
to do virus/spyware scans in Safe Mode. Make sure you are able to see
all hidden files and extensions (View tab in Folder Options).

If the malware remains even after you used Ad-aware and Spybot, you can
scan with HijackThis. HijackThis is an excellent tool to discover and
disable hijackers, but it requires expert skill. See below for
HijackThis links, including sites where you can post your HJT logs. A
combination of HijackThis and About:Buster works well in removing the
About:Blank homepage hijacker. Again, this is an expert tool and
novices should get help with it.

3) If you are running Windows ME or XP, you should disable/enable System
Restore after the system is clean because malware will be in the
Restore Points. With ME, you must disable System Restore completely.
With XP, you can delete all but the most recent (presumably clean)
System Restore point from the More Options section of Disk Cleanup
(Run>cleanmgr).

4) Make sure you've visited Windows Update and applied all security
patches. Do not install driver updates from Windows Update.

5) Run a firewall.

Links to help with malware:

Software/Methods:
http://www.safer-networking.org - Spybot Search & Destroy
http://www.lavasoftusa.com - Ad-aware
http://www.intermute.com/products/cwshredder.html
http://www.tomcoyote.com/hjt/ - HijackThis
http://www.intermute.com/spysubtract/cwshredder_download.html
http://www.silentrunners.org/sr_cwsremoval.html. - SilentRunners
http://www.cexx.org/lspfix.htm - Repair Winsock 2 settings after
removing spyware
http://www.spychecker.com/program/winsockxpfix.html - WinsockXPFix.exe

HijackThis:
http://www.aumha.org/a/hjttutor.htm - HijackThis tutorial by Jim
Eshelman
http://aumha.net - forums
http://spywarewarrior.com/viewforum.php?f=5 - Spyware Warrior HijackThis
forum
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/
http://forums.tomcoyote.org/

General:
http://aumha.net - look under "Security" for various forums
http://rgharper.mvps.org/cleanit.htm
http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm
http://www.aumha.org/a/parasite.htm - The Parasite Fight
http://www.spywarewarrior.com/rogue_anti-spyware.htm

Malke

 

[newbie]

Hello Malke,
I have Spybot, Ad-Aware, SpywareBlaster and ZoneAlarm installed. I also have
Norton Antivirus.
I regularly update and run them. Except for a Browser Hijacking Object
(New.Net ) in Spybot nothing was found during scanning.
Is there any possibility that automatic dial up is starting because Generic
Host process for win32 services is trying to access Internet. I am asking
this because in ZoneAlarm Program control I found Generic Host process was
checked for "Allow accessing Internet instead of Ask." Now that I have
changed it to 'block', I think the problem has stopped.
Will you please tell me why does Generic Host process want to access
internet and is there any harm in stopping it from accessing Internet?
Thanks and Regards.

 

[Malke]

Hello Malke,
I have Spybot, Ad-Aware, SpywareBlaster and ZoneAlarm installed. I
also have Norton Antivirus.
I regularly update and run them. Except for a Browser Hijacking Object
(New.Net ) in Spybot nothing was found during scanning.
Is there any possibility that automatic dial up is starting because
Generic
Host process for win32 services is trying to access Internet. I am
asking this because in ZoneAlarm Program control I found Generic Host
process was
checked for "Allow accessing Internet instead of Ask." Now that I
have changed it to 'block', I think the problem has stopped.
Will you please tell me why does Generic Host process want to access
internet and is there any harm in stopping it from accessing Internet?
Thanks and Regards.

I don't know why the Generic Host Process is asking for Internet access
but allowing it out is fine and may be necessary. What you don't want
to do is give it Server rights. It is quite possible that you have
legitimate software on your system that is trying to do automatic
updates. Look for these benign but invasive updaters by using msconfig.
Common culprits are Quicktime, Real Player, MS Works, Quickbooks, etc.

Malke