A hefty, unknown, charge on your phone bill, could mean that your PC is infected with malware (malicious software). A Trojan dialler has wormed its way into your computer. At intervals it will use your telephone to make calls to 0900 numbers, or other pay-to-phone numbers.
Both Telecom/Xtra and TelstraClear provide information on their websites about Trojan diallers. If your computer is connected to the telephone system, via a modem, it will pay to read these articles. Xtra provide much more information than TelstraClear, and this information, is still valid, for the most part, for connections to any company. It doesn’t matter which ISP you use, your modem will dial these numbers using your telephone company, not the ISP. For instance, people using Actrix or Orcon, will still fall victim.
Recently a Whakatane couple, Nicole and Danis Mazar, received a $1200 phone bill from Telecom. To add insult to injury Telecom wants them to pay. If it happens to you, your telephone company will expect you to pay for these calls. TelstraClear state this, quite plainly, on their website. Needless to say the Mazars are not happy.
The Consumers’ Institute is of the opinion that the telcos should be prepared to waive the charges, where it can be shown they were caused by illegal software. The problem is that the 0900 numbers are not operated by the telephone companies, but administered by a company called Oneseek NZ Ltd, who are responsible for the collection of the charges and payments to the provider.
It would be nice to see Oneseek, take the initiative from British Telecom who are blocking calls to numbers known to be suspect.
It is a very simple matter to protect yourself from Trojan diallers. The easiest method is to remove your modem connection from the phone socket, and convert to TelstraClear/Paradise cable, or Xtra Jetstream. It is also an expensive option if you only use the Internet rarely.
For those not wanting to take such a radical step do the following:
* Ask your telecom provider to block 0900 calls
* Install Spybot, see the eStuff Spybot article
* Keep your virus and spyware scanners up-to-date
* Install a pop-up window blocker, see the eStuff pop-up article
* The safest way to close a pop-up window is with a right-click on the pop-up icon in the taskbar, at the bottom of your screen, then select “close” from the menu that appears. On some pop-ups even a the “close” or “No” button may install the Trojan
* Remove your modem from the phone connection, when not in use, or if you are not going to use the Internet for a prolonged period.
