What programs can dial the internet?

  • Thread starter Thread starter The Old Fart
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The Old Fart

Whenever I have to use my wifes laptop I find that the machine keeps
trying to connect to the Internet. I have checked checked her dial up
connections as well as the settings for the browser, & email programs
as well & all settings are identical to those found on my PC. Both the
anti virus programs & spyware programs are 100% up to date. Where else
can I look to see what is causing this to happen?
 
Kaspersky av is quite good at detecting keyloggers. Go to
http://home.epix.net/~artnpeg/ and try the KAVDOSNT utility. Use either the
KAVDOSNT.BAT or the KAVDOS.EXE program. First do a data bases download in
normal Windows. Then boot into Safe mode and scan the drive.
Good luck :)
 
In The Old Fart had this to say:

My reply is at the bottom of your sent message:
Whenever I have to use my wifes laptop I find that the machine keeps
trying to connect to the Internet. I have checked checked her dial up
connections as well as the settings for the browser, & email programs
as well & all settings are identical to those found on my PC. Both
the anti virus programs & spyware programs are 100% up to date. Where else
can I look to see what is causing this to happen?
Click to expand...

Why not see where it's trying to go? When it dials just load - let it dial
out - and watch it? Sniffers abound or netstat commands should enlighten you
if your firewall doesn't tell you where it's going. (Various applications
can/will try to connect to the default connection to update. That's
potentially what it is - don't immediately assume malware though,
realistically, it could well be.)

--
Galen - MS MVP - Windows (Shell/User & IE)
http://dts-l.org/
http://kgiii.info/

"At present I am, as you know, fairly busy, but I propose to devote my
declining years to the composition of a textbook which shall focus the
whole art of detection into one volume." - Sherlock Holmes
 
The Old Fart said:
Whenever I have to use my wifes laptop I find that the machine keeps
trying to connect to the Internet. I have checked checked her dial up
connections as well as the settings for the browser, & email programs as
well & all settings are identical to those found on my PC. Both the anti
virus programs & spyware programs are 100% up to date. Where else can I
look to see what is causing this to happen?
Click to expand...

You write that the spyware program is up to date, but have you run a couple
of spyware detection programs such as Spybot and Ad-Aware? These only detect
malware when you run a scan.
 
Why not see where it's trying to go? When it dials just load - let it dial
out - and watch it?
Click to expand...

If it's trying to dial on off shore number that will bill you up to 25
dollars a minute, you'll know why that's not the best idea. :(
 
In Zilbandy had this to say:

My reply is at the bottom of your sent message:
If it's trying to dial on off shore number that will bill you up to 25
dollars a minute, you'll know why that's not the best idea. :(
Click to expand...

Good catch - I often forget that people still leave PCs hooked up to phones
that can dial long distance. (Most phone companies will kill that bill for
you - once - by the way if you ever run into a client who's had that issue.)
*sigh* I make it a point to use a separate line - I'm still one of the folks
broadband won't reach and satellite installers dare not even tread. That
line isn't allowed to dial long distance of any type.

--
Galen - MS MVP - Windows (Shell/User & IE)
http://dts-l.org/
http://kgiii.info/

"At present I am, as you know, fairly busy, but I propose to devote my
declining years to the composition of a textbook which shall focus the
whole art of detection into one volume." - Sherlock Holmes
 
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