Diallers

Diallers

Most computer users are aware of viruses that can infect computers, but there are other malicious programs that can not only mess up your computer, but can cost you an awful lot of money.

You may have seen reports in the press about internet users who have received huge phone bills for calls to premium-rate numbers that they did not realise they had made.

These are caused by malicious programs that can change internet access numbers to a premium-rate one leaving users with a huge phone bill.

These calls are made by premium-rate diallers - computer programs that can change your internet access number without your knowledge.

Numerous legitimate companies offer computer-based services that require the use of premium-rate lines.

For example, some websites that offer adult content, games, downloads or online quizzes require you to hang up your usual internet connection and redial to a more expensive number in order to access material.

This means they can offer their content for free making it seem like a good deal to the consumer. The call appears on your phone bill and the revenue is split between the telephone company and the premium-rate company.

When you have accessed one of these sites and your computer attempts to download the premium-rate dialler, a pop-up message will often appear, for example:

"Do you want to download and install the dialler?"

The message should state clearly what the dialler does and how much the call will cost you per minute. (Usually 1.50 per minute).

If you do not want to access premium-rate content, do not click the Yes button when asked. It could end up costing you a lot of money. Click No until these messages go away.

Most premium-rate diallers will require you to select Yes before they download and install themselves on to your computer, but recently there have been several cases of diallers installing themselves without any prior warning.

Some dialler programs may arrive as email attachments. These are not easy to identify and don't ask for your permission before they install themselves.

These programs don't offer any premium web content -they simply reside on your computer, silently making calls to a premium rate number, at your expense.

How to avoid premium-rate diallers:1. BT is now taking the problrem of diallers seriously and has free software available to download that warns users if a modem is dialing a premium-rare or international number.

To download the free software click here

BT is also providing a text message service that alerts people if their phone bill rises sharply. Customers receive the warning either via their landline phone if it is text-enabled or, if not, via a voice message.

2. You can contact your phone provider (for example, BT) to request to have your phone-line barred from making premium rate calls. This will prevent any calls being made without your knowledge.

3. Never click on an email attachment unless you know what it is. It could be a rogue dialler.

4. If you think you have mistakenly clicked on a dialler, listen to your modem. If you hear it disconnect and re-connect, a dialler has probably downloaded.

5. Install anti-virus and firewall software and keep it updated. The more protection you have, the less likely you are to have your PC security compromised. Supanet offers anti-virus software for just £2.49 per month. You can even try it free for 30 days. For more details click here.

6. Make your family aware of the dangers and monitor your childrens use of the PC. Supanet offers parental control software as part of our anit-virus package. To find out more click here.

7. You can search for existing diallers, spyware and other malicious programs on your PC with free software such as Ad-aware and Spybot. These programs will hunt down any suspicious programs, describe what you they do and offer you opportunity of deleting them from your system. It is advisable to do this on a regular basis.

How to complain about premium-rate diallers

If you believe you have been a victim of a premium-rate dialler, you can contact the Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services (ICTIS), a regulatory body that monitors the premium-rate telecommunications industry.

You will need to provide full details, including the premium-rate telephone number listed on your bill.