Dialer (autocompositore)

The dialers are software able to automatically dial a telephone number to the modem without user intervention. The verb to dial means, of course, dial a phone number.
Why would hazard a dialer?

The response is immediate, because in most cases the dialer routes the call to a premium rate telephone numbers (144, 899, 709 etc..), With a considerable additional expenditure in the bill.

Often browsing on the net there may happen to come across sites that tout the ability to get "free" certain services such as mp3, wallpapers for pc or mobile phones, logos, photos and pornographic movies. Once you click on the link that advertises the service will see a screen that invites us to install software.

Some sites, in a transparent manner, inform users that once installed the software will activate links to paid services, indicate the relative cost per minute.

However many of these, in a decidedly fraudulent, communicate hinted, that the user must first install an unspecified program in order to view the requested service. Coming across a dialer is very dangerous, especially for a user who surf the dial-up (ie with 56k modem), since the autocompositore could trigger calls to non-geographic numbers expensive, even without your knowledge.

In fact, with the dial-up user can choose to go on-line with any operator, by dialing the phone number. ADSL connections with the risk of running into a dialer is much reduced (although not completely technically excludable) because the modem does not dial an operator number chosen by the user, but connecting only with a fixed provider through which to browse 'internal internet.

In 2003 the postal police managed to conclude a major operation that led to the arrest of a man believed responsible for having sent e-mail titled "Zelig" that contained a hidden dialers that composed numbers procuring love surprises users once received the phone bill.

The telecom and then decided to defer writing off all of your bills if the users had reached filed a complaint to the prosecuting authorities for the scam suffered. But then the attitude of the telephone has changed and now, even in the face of a complaint or investigation being carried out by the judiciary, however, claims the payment of the bill could go up to suspend the service for outgoing calls if it is not paid for the entire phone bill within 15 days from the prompt.

The use of dialers also knows perfectly legitimate purpose: for example, use a autocompositore to pay, through a telephone bill, a transaction is a telematics system rather safe to make e-commerce transactions, avoiding exposure to the risk of phishing.

However you should always pay close attention to sites that promise free services and that force us to install certain software in order to access those services. In particular it is necessary to always check the contents of the screens that appear during navigation and when in doubt, click no, or cancel it, or to always try to get out when the messages do not appear very understandable.

Mr. Marcello Pirani - legal@anti-phishing.it