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General discussion

Automatic modem dialing

Nov 25, 2003 5:03AM PST

I have a Windows ME operating system and recently after leaving the web I noticed that now everytime I boot the computer the system automatically dials into the web (via modem). This is not what I want to happen but I have been unable to find what is causing this condition and correct it.

Discussion is locked

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Re:Automatic modem dialing
Nov 26, 2003 8:08AM PST

install some firewall software and have it notify you what is dialing. chances are it is either a virus or spyware. you might as well run a complete virus scan while you are at it and download some spyware and adware scanners onto your system to clean them out.

Herb...

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Re:Re:Automatic modem dialing
Nov 26, 2003 9:18AM PST

Some legit programs have options that let you automatically access the internet via some sort of setting. Prime examples are download managers and email programs. If you have said program running at startup, and such option is enabled, AND your modem can dial without your explicit consent (another option somewhere in Windows), this might be you problem.

Like Herb said, download a spyware finder (there are many good ones, I use "spybot - search and destroy") to see if that's what you're dialing into. If it is, you may be the target of some hefty phone bills in the near future (often, pornographic sites will dial you into a remote server, then charge an insane amount of money per minute). If that's not the problem, check for the afformentioned symptomatic programs and look in their settings to see if they're the culprit

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