"hi-jacking" of a telephone line and fraudulent telephone calls

[levenern]

There has been much publicity in the consumer media
recently about people being billed for fictitious
telephone calls on premium rate numbers.

Is this an issue relating to Windows security and, if so,
has it been addressed by Microsoft?

 

[Rob Schneider]

Can you please elaborate on what you think Microsoft has do to with your
phone bill? Isn't that an issue between you and your phone service
provider?

Hope this is useful to you. Let us know.

rms

 

[phoenix]

There has been much publicity in the consumer media
recently about people being billed for fictitious
telephone calls on premium rate numbers.

Is this an issue relating to Windows security and, if so,
has it been addressed by Microsoft?

BTW, they're not fictitious calls, they're genuine. The user is installing
a dialler that calls those numbers.

Regards

Bill

 

[Rob Schneider]

Best defense is to follow the normal safe computing practices, then.

Gee I wish someone would outlaw these premium rate phone lines. Since
they are big money makers for the phone companies, can't see that
happening soon.

Hope this is useful to you. Let us know.

rms

 

[Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]]

They may be talking about 'dialers' - software that gets installed on your
computer (frequently when visiting naughty websites) and dials without your
participation. Keep your firewall enabled. Keep your AV software updated.
Run Windows Update frequently. Download AdAware and Spybot and update them &
run scans to check for such parasites - they can generally be removed this
way.

Note - posting your valid e-mail address in a newsgroup post, or in your
news account settings, is a surefire way to get spam and SWEN and other
viruses sent to you....see http://www.mailmsg.com/SPAM_munging.htm for help
in the future, but note that now that your address is out there, there's not
much you can do other than changing your address.

 

[MAP]

-----Original Message-----
There has been much publicity in the consumer media
recently about people being billed for fictitious
telephone calls on premium rate numbers.

Is this an issue relating to Windows security and, if so,
has it been addressed by Microsoft?
.

This is becoming more and more of a problem it has to do
with an unsecured computer.
try these to get rid of the dialer.

http://www.safer-networking.org/ Spybot
www.javacoolsoftware.com/sbdownload.html Spywareblaster
http://www.wilderssecurity.net/spywareguard.html
http://www.lavasoft.de/ Ad-aware
http://www.merijn.org/downloads.html (CWS)cool web
shedder and hijack this
http://www.spywareinfo.com/downloads/bhod/ BHO Demon
www.spywareinfo.com/forums/

 

[phoenix]

Best defense is to follow the normal safe computing practices, then.

Yes, always.

Gee I wish someone would outlaw these premium rate phone lines. Since
they are big money makers for the phone companies, can't see that
happening soon.

Yes, they certainly are but they are being abused.

I don't know if the o/p was talking about a an edition of Watchdog that was
on TV the other night. While channel hopping I came on the article about
internet users that had installed a dialler and their internet connection
was being 'cut' every couple of minutes - so they redialed. Guess what, it
went on for weeks and they had a phone bill of £1000+. I sympathise but
they didn't even think anything was wrong with their connection.

Hope this is useful to you. Let us know.

rms

snip

I suppose the question of who is responsible for being caught in this type
of scam? I believe the user has some responsibility to keep their own
system clean but is that feasible?

Regards

Bill

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

No, this specific issue really has nothing to do with Windows
security; it's OS-independent - although admittedly most exploits are
aimed at Windows users, to get the "biggest bang for the buck." It
has everything to do with careless, uninformed computer users
mindlessly downloading and installing every "freebie" they encounter
on the Internet, or not taking the most basic precautions to secure
their own PCs. Neither Microsoft nor any other OS manufacturer cannot
be expected to protect people from themselves, or to dictate what
specific software a computer user may or may not choose to download
and install. Microsoft, at least, has done pretty much all they can
reasonably be expected to do in this area and provided information and
resources to help computer users secure their own systems, if they so
desire.

There are several essential components to computer security: a
knowledgeable and pro-active user, a properly configured firewall,
reliable and up-to-date antivirus software, and the prompt repair (via
patches, hotfixes, or service packs) of any known vulnerabilities.
The weak link in this "equation" is, of course, the computer user.
All too many people have bought into the various PC/software
manufacturers marketing claims of easy computing. They believe that
their computer should be no harder to use than a toaster oven; they
have neither the inclination or desire to learn how to safely use
their computer. All too few people keep their antivirus software
current, install patches in a timely manner, or stop to really think
about that cutesy link they're about to click.

Firewalls and anti-virus applications, which should always be used
and should always be running, are important components of "safe hex,"
but they cannot, and should not be expected to, protect the computer
user from him/herself. Ultimately, it is incumbent upon each and
every computer user to learn how to secure his/her own computer.

To learn more about practicing "safe hex," start with these links:

Protect Your PC
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/default.asp

Home Computer Security
http://www.cert.org/homeusers/HomeComputerSecurity/

Home PC Firewall Guide
http://www.firewallguide.com/

Scumware.com
http://www.scumware.com/


Bruce Chambers

--
Help us help you:




You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

I contend that the user is roughly 98% responsible, and yes,
protecting oneself _is_ feasible - it merely requires learning.

Bruce Chambers

--
Help us help you:




You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH