Dialing by Itself

[Guest]

56k Dialup on XP Home, fully patched; Adaware, Spybot S&D, AVG,
ZoneAlarm installed, running, and updated
Damn thing dials up by itself when IE and OE are closed. Just
decides to go online.
My security tools don't find the dialer. How do I find out what
it's connecting to, or what is making it dial out?


<*((((><{
(e-mail address removed)

 

[Baruch]

|> 56k Dialup on XP Home, fully patched; Adaware, Spybot S&D, AVG,
|>ZoneAlarm installed, running, and updated
|> Damn thing dials up by itself when IE and OE are closed. Just
|>decides to go online.
|> My security tools don't find the dialer. How do I find out what
|>it's connecting to, or what is making it dial out?
|>
|>
|><*((((><{
|>[email protected]

Still sounds like malware, even if nothing picks it up (yet). I
assume everything (security) is updated?

Just a thought - did you ever add something to Favorites, so that you
can make it available offline? I did that once, with scheduling, and
the computer kept dialing out in the middle of the night, over and
over again. It freaked me out until I finally figured out the
problem.

If you're present while it's dialing, try checking task manager (check
applications and processes). That could give you a hint.

Also, there are some excellent tools available from Sysinternals
(www.sysinternals.com) that allow you to view TCP processes, file
processes, and other activity. I highly recommend them for getting an
idea of what's running what on your computer.

 

[Ramesh [MVP]]

In addition:

Stop/Disable the Remote Access Auto connection manager service. Many applications use this service to connect to the internet automatically (without notifying the user).

Dial-up window pop-ups automatically while working:
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k/Autodial.htm

--
Ramesh - Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k

What You Should Know About the Sasser Worm and It Variants:
http://www.microsoft.com/security/incident/sasser.asp


56k Dialup on XP Home, fully patched; Adaware, Spybot S&D, AVG,
ZoneAlarm installed, running, and updated
Damn thing dials up by itself when IE and OE are closed. Just
decides to go online.
My security tools don't find the dialer. How do I find out what
it's connecting to, or what is making it dial out?


<*((((><{
(e-mail address removed)

 

[Robert Aldwinckle]

56k Dialup on XP Home
....

Damn thing dials up by itself when IE and OE are closed. ....
How do I find out what it's connecting to, or what is making it dial out?

Try Task Manager. Ctrl-Alt-Delete while the prompt is on the screen.
Is the prompt listed in the Applications tab? If so, right-click on it and
use Go to Process. That should show you the name of the process
which is doing it. If the process is hidden you might be able to detect
it using tasklist /v (e.g. in a command window.) You can also try
a more specific command which filters on the window's title, e.g.

tasklist /v /fi "WINDOWTITLE eq Dial-up Connection"

but that command syntax sometimes acts a bit flaky. YMMV.


HTH

Robert Aldwinckle

 

[Ramesh [MVP]]

In continuation to Robert's advice:

Tasklist.exe may not be available in XP Home. You may get a copy here:
www.mvps.org/sramesh2k/utils/tasklist.exe

-or-

Get Process Explorer from www.sysinternals.com to track down the application/process causing this.

--
Ramesh - Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k

The Antivirus Defense-in-Depth Guide
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=28734

56k Dialup on XP Home, fully patched; Adaware, Spybot S&D, AVG,
ZoneAlarm installed, running, and updated
Damn thing dials up by itself when IE and OE are closed. Just
decides to go online.
My security tools don't find the dialer. How do I find out what
it's connecting to, or what is making it dial out?


<*((((><{
(e-mail address removed)