Editing Dialer (section)

=== Installation routes ===
After these modifications, visiting a malicious webpage or opening a harmful email can trigger the automatic installation of a dialer. The script may also disables the [[modem]] [[Loudspeaker|speaker]] and suppress system messages that normally appear during dial-up connections. 

Users of [[Microsoft Office Outlook]], [[Outlook Express]] and [[Internet Explorer]] are especially at risk if affected  [[ActiveX]] controls and [[JavaScript]] are enabled, and the latest security patches from [[Microsoft]] have not applied  In March 2004,  malicious dialers were reportedly distributed through fake [[anti-virus software]]. 

[[E-mail spam]], often appearing to come from a so-called "AntiVirus Team" included download links to executables such as "downloadtool.exe" or "antivirus.exe", which were in fact dialers.

Other methods of infection include electronic greeting cards that redirected users to webpages designed to deceive them into installing [[ActiveX]] controls, which in turn install dialers in the background.

Therefore, links in [[Spam (e-mail)|spam emails]] should never be opened, automatically started [[downloads]] should be canceled as soon as discovered, and one should check on each dial-up to the Internet to see whether the displayed phone number is unchanged. Another way to protect oneself is to disable premium numbers through one's [[Telephone company|phone]] services, but of course this disables all such services.

One should never run foreign code in a privileged environment unless the source is trustworthy. It is also advisable to protect oneself with anti-malware programs.

Therefore:

* Links in [[Spam (e-mail)|spam emails]] should not be clicked.
* Automatically initiated [[downloads]] should be canceled immediately.
* One should verify the dialed phone number each time a dial-up connection is made to ensure it has not been changed.

Another way to protect oneself is to disable premium-rate numbers through [[Telecommunications company|phone]] services, although this will disable all premium services.

Untrusted code should never be run in a privileged environment, unless the source is verified and trustworthy. It is also advisable to protect oneself with reliable anti-malware software.