Post #86315 by Trader Woody on Thu, Apr 15, 2004 8:24 AM

Something new and similarly horrible are 'dialler' programs that you can download by accident, just by clicking on a pop-up message to get rid of it. What happens is this program automatically re-dials a new connection to the internet via a premium phone line. This is charged at something like $2.50 a minute and you have no idea until the phone bill comes along. As you have supposedly 'agreed' to it being installed (when you clicked on the pop-up), you are legally obliged to pay.

My wife downloaded one just a couple of days ago on a seemingly innocuous 'Lord of the Rings' related site, and had no idea it had happened. I only noticed it because the modem suddenly started re-dialling while I was online, and it took over an hour to disinfect the PC. As it's not really a virus, it doesn't get picked up by the usual programs.

Perhaps someone more tech-savvy could give advice on how to avoid these things.

Trader Woody