a dial up connection?

Surely this trojan is barely more effective than a floppy boot sector virus.

/me dodges slings and arrows of those who still use modems.

Another reason to avoid the virus/trojan/malware propagation utilities m$ markets as IE and Outlook.

You will be surprised as to how many people still have their old dial-up modems plugged into the wall. Many "home" users haven't got a clue what all the cables are behind their PC, so leave everything plugged in when they upgrade to broadband. Which ends up being a perfect combination for these trojans as the broadband can keep flowing, while the trojan makes it's cash.

I guess you are right Mark. I am forever over-estimating the tech savvy of the average "home" user. It has been a while, almost 14 months since I was supporting end users. Something I have very cheerfully and willingly forgotten about.

Life & work is a lot less frustrating now.

Admittedly less people use their dial up modem to access the internet these days but how many people have left the dial up modem connected so they can still fax from the PC?

Surely you didn't look through the article carefully. The virus does not exploit any part of M$' IE/OE , but instead relies on the fact that the user is gullible enough to open the e-mail (and of course, is running some form of Window$).

And while many of us have long ditched dial-up modems for broadband, I do know of many who still use modems. i.e. those little old ladies who only use e-mail to stay in touch with their grandchildren or their friends and don't see the fast speeds as necessary, or the underprivilidged college students who live away from home in dorms and have very limited allowance.

Or used to be, anyway.

hacking is fixing a piece of software, work around problems in code, trying to break code. ( I advice anyone to do that on your own kit/system, unless you have been invited. Breaking into systems that aren't yours is a crime in most countries. )

In contrast, these guys are just robbing people.

I suppose the holder of that premium number can shed some light on these "promotional tactics"

cheers

yes you are right. I did read the article. I just wrongly perceived dial up network connections as part of the IE/OE experience. I accept it is a separate entity.

I still believe that anyone who gets suckered into a ploy through social engineering tricks deserves everything they get.

Isn't it time people had to get a license to own or use a pc, like you do for a car or a motorbike ?

Obviously the scum that produce spam, viruses, trojans et al should be given over to the taliban for stoning practice, but do people still seriously click on anything that offers them a freebie ?

If so, their bloody machines should be confiscated so that they don't continue seeding the web with this shite.

Possibly the RIaa and MPaa and other such leeching organisations should spend their time finding and killing these fuckers instead of going after grannies, kids and dead people.

Obviously, I am not a Guardian reader.