Dialers...

[daniel_dynasty]

Most of you have not experienced what a pain in the arse dialers are, dialers are malicious programs (trojans, viruses, etc.) that use your telephone line to call their own number and charge you extremely high rates per minute. No I do not have dial up but my uncle does. Just now he called me up saying there was a $50 charge on his phone bill and I automatically thought of the word dialer that kept on ringing in my head. These things are a pain, not the typical scan, remove, and forget procedure. In fact I might as well reformat the daymed computer and load up Linux or something. Anyways have you guys have a dialer infect a PC in your acquaintance? How large was the bill?

[Athlonight]

Yep, they are quite invasive, seen them on 2 client PC's. One had broadband, one complained about a big bill, but didnt give me a number- these are HELL to get off. usually you have to format, but the curious user will find a way to get it back on

[daniel_dynasty]

Yeah, it really ****es me off, I am seriously thinking about installing Linux, which is most Windows friendly? Linspire, Fedora, what else?

[su root]

Xandros is very good.. but not free. Ubuntu is good for a newbie aswell (don't try to do any server stuff on it though)

No infections here.. last virus that I actually caught was off of a mouse driver disk... that may give you an idea when last that was.. As for clients, they get stuff all the time.. none had diallers that I can remember... or if they did, they were useless (they had broadband & no modems installed).

[TollhouseFrank]

hmm... Linux isn't the answer to everything, guys.

Dialers are a royal pain in the buttocks. They can be gotten rid of quite easily without having to reformat and reinstall your OS.

Also, what dialer did the person get? Most dialers can be associated with a certain type of website. See if you can discuss this with the person who was affected, and see what you can to do persuade them to change thier surfing habits slightly, to prevent a future infestation of the same type.

Anyways, remember, it is ok to get frustrated over a computer and the problems you have with it. However, it isn't really productive to say, at every little problem "I'm formatting and going to Linux". Knee-jerk reactions due to frustration with problems dont' solve anything. Taking some time out from the problem, clearing your mind, and taking another stab at it when you are calm is what solves the problem.

I am quite sure the problem with the dialers, if they are recurring, is due to a certain web-surfing habit, that once cured, can fix the problem.

[Enablingwolf]

I agree, Linux is a good thing, but it won't solve the issue. If they are going to sites that are giving them dialers then Linux might be a big jump. It will cause more support issues in the long run.
Short term: Most dialers can be found by a good Anti-vir program or taken out via the reg. Looking at the surfing history and speaking to the client is a good proactive solution. Discussing tactics or type of sites visited(and bieng confidential about it), even the idea of file sharing. This will lessen the infections in the future will make them want to tell friends and come back to use your services. Formatting should be a last resort. Since it costs more for the client in downtime. A couple-few hours over an overnight type solution.

[su root]

However, it isn't really productive to say, at every little problem "I'm formatting and going to Linux".
If all that they are doing is playing solitare, surf the net, and check email, then Linux is a valid choice in this situation.

I do agree with you that OS changes are not something to take lightly, however, if you find yourself saying to yourself over and over that 'this time, I should switch to linux', it may be time to switch to linux. Linux will solve these problems, (but may replace them with more non-viral ones), as there are very few viruses, trojans and worms for Linux, and a lot less spyware. In this situation, it does not make sense to run windows, which is highly susceptible to all of this.

Sure, education is a better answer, but anyone who has done any computer support will be able to tell you that there are some clients (the majority, usually), that no matter how much you tell them, will still manage to get themselves infected. A friend of mine's father caught Happy99 more times than he has fingers... how many times must you tell the guy, "don't doubleclick the 'happy99.exe' attachment?"

[darkknight187]

something goes wrong and we auto revert to linux, why not start by putting this fellow on FireFox i bet it could handle the problem, spywareblaster (spyware prevention not detect/clean) should also stop alot....

[ghettocomp]

If you have someone who is Noobish Naive with computers and the internet, They always have this problem. Trying to switch them to Linux would only further to frustrate them would probably end their trying to use computers (and put an end to the Free Leftover parts when they want upgrades! :rolleyes: )

I agree with Tollhouse & Enablingwolf the actions that should be taken. just clean out the problem and TRY to educate the user to stay away from their current surfing habits.

But, as su root said; Some people will never learn, as hard as you try, to stay away from certain websites or downloads.
I had one customer that no matter how hard I tried I would keep getting her machine back with so much spyware and dialers on that eventually I Installed a VNC type program so I could clean the machine out from where ever I was (she used Windows ME). It became so much a waste of time to keep returning to her home and fix the problems. (weekly) Seemed she, or someone in her family had quite a taste for the Pron sites.

[daniel_dynasty]

Haha, Window ME. Well my uncle just uses the computer to surf the net, little music, very little work, but most of the time he watches DVDs and other media on his computer. Will Linux be a big hassle for all the formats? .mpg .wma .mp3 .wmp, and other video/DVD formats?

[su root]

Haha, Window ME. Well my uncle just uses the computer to surf the net, little music, very little work, but most of the time he watches DVDs and other media on his computer. Will Linux be a big hassle for all the formats? .mpg .wma .mp3 .wmp, and other video/DVD formats?
Usually not. If the WMA files are DRM (ripped using windows media player) then it's going to be a hastle to get working (easier to just re-rip them to a compatible format). Any major distro will have .mpg, .mp3, DVD, and other video format support. Redhat doesn't distribute an MP3 codec with their version because the MP3 format has licensing issues.

[four4875]

ive seen a few of the dialers on clients' computers, mostly involving porn, and to some number off in south america that charges some insane crap like 13.95 a minute.

any company / organization that implements this kind of thing to rip people off need to be kicked in the face a few times by each person they have ripped off.... but thats jsut my opinion...

[Enablingwolf]

One tactic I remind folks in an attempt to educate someone in good surfing habits is:
Do you do any finacial transactions online, like look at bills or balances? Do you buy stuff online?
Do you want someone whom you have no clue is, watching everything you do?

Try this , this and this.....Now your privacy will be alot better , and someone isn't watching you surf the net.

I have alot of respect for linux, it has saved me more than once. If you can get them to try a livecd and they are comfy using it, then that is a good thing. There is nothing wrong at all converting someone over to linux, you just have to find out if they have the savvy to pass the learning curve. Plus hardware support, if they have ATi, or a Winmodem if they are on dial. It is a choice you have to wiegh for the situation.

[WingsofGOD]

I for one quit suggesting Linux, I got tired of the morons always expecting me to fix everything. Let em have their malware/spyware/trojans/virii...

I'll just keep using Linux and rolling my eyes at them.

[Athlonight]

did you get the dialer with the chick with the big red eye icon ?

[Slackfumasta]

Sell them something like Norton Internet Security, install MS Antispyware, put them on Firefox, disable third party cookies, turn on Automatic Updates so it does it without asking them, and you'll prevent most problems. Of course, you have to teach them that when MS Antispyware pops up a window that says "An unknown program is trying to modify your registry" after they clicked on the ad for Barely Legal Teens, they need to click the Block button because it's trying to do something bad to their machine!

[Enablingwolf]

Having a backup image handy for the quick fix session is a nice idea also.
For the "I refuse to give up my pron click habit" kind of user.

[daniel_dynasty]

Slack: Remember this is a dial up connection, staying up to date with definitions are a pain in the arse, especially if you plug up your one and only phone line. . .

All average users want a seemless and easy to use OS, making them train and break in their new firewall or program is a pain for them and they hate it. I am thinking about giving my uncle a LiveCD and see if he likes it, if so then I will give him the larger version of the distro or install the LiveCD.

[Enablingwolf]

All average users want a seemless and easy to use OS, making them train and break in their new firewall or program is a pain for them and they hate it. I am thinking about giving my uncle a LiveCD and see if he likes it, if so then I will give him the larger version of the distro or install the LiveCD.
I am not bashing or anything. Isn't your comment a contradiction into itself?
I thought I had the market cornered in that area...

You want an easy to use OS with no new software training, basically no learning curve. By converting to Linux you are starting all these non-desirable aspects into motion.
I am not discouraging you from trying this option, but remeber this might not be the best route. Unless this is how your support stategy for your uncles rig is going to be handled. :D Having a good strategy from day one. In a long term support agreement that is layed out between the both of you. Might ease any issues down the road.

[RJARRRPCGP]

hmm... Linux isn't the answer to everything, guys.

Dialers are a royal pain in the buttocks. They can be gotten rid of quite easily without having to reformat and reinstall your OS.

Wrong. :( Because it's likely that the networking DLLs get corrupted too!!! I was unable to access the internet until I reinstalled Windows!!! Seemed to completely kill my internet connection.

[Enablingwolf]

Wrong. :( Because it's likely that the networking DLLs get corrupted too!!! I was unable to access the internet until I reinstalled Windows!!! Seemed to completely kill my internet connection.

He is correct in saying that.
Here is a link to unistall the dll's and reinstall them so a complete wipe is unessesary. If they get corrupt. (For future referances.)
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q181599

[JDXNC]

My parents got nailed with over $180 in charges, they refused to pay it and the phone company told them they would sue them for the amount owed and my parents told them fine... "cancel ALL of our services" which included 2 lines, 2 cell phones, satelite dish and internet access.... all of a sudden the phone company seemed to be willing to call off the charges and they never ended up paying for anything!