Dial -UP Modem Hi-Jacking

[willby]

Hi,
A friend recently had some serious modem hi jacking which only came to light when his two monthly phone bill arrived.
He only has dial-up. Should the normal anti-virus programmes prevent this or is there some specialist software he could get?
Willby

[Evo]

Should the normal anti-virus programmes prevent this or is there some specialist software he could get?

As I understand it, regularly updated anti-virus software should find and remove most of these - the older the malware, the more likely it is to be found and removed successfully.

Where anti-virus software falls down sometimes is with the latest threats - which are sometimes missed, sometimes detected but unremovable (in the latter case, there is often a threat-specific removal tool) - and with the curious distinction between viruses and spyware: there are some things that you certainly don't want on your comptuer that don't seem to be targeted by anti-virus software. This is decreasing a bit, but it's why we usually advise both anti-virus and anti-spyware software (e.g. AdAware, SpyBot Search & Destroy or Microsoft's Anti-spyware beta).

[willby]

Hi
Thanks for replies. Will check his pc to see if his Spyware etc is up to date.
Regards
Willby

[rotorcraig]

Once you've got rid of the nasty stuff on his PC, you can install some BT software which makes sure [or tries to make sure] that your PC modem can only dial free and local numbes.

Link is here

RC

[frostbite]

If you simply phone BT and ask, they will block your line from dialling all premium-rate numbers within a few hours of asking.

Bang go the calls to the sex lines too!

[Air-Geko]

I've been pretty impressed with my Panda AV. My understanding is that it's more widely used on your side of the pond than over here, but I wouldn't be suprised if it starts to make a name for itself against the likes of Symantec and McAffee...

For anti-spyware, the best is clearly "counterspy" by sunbelt software.

Air-Geko