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A dialer (
American English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the United States, most widely spoken lang ...
) or dialler (
British English British English is the set of Variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United Kingdom, especially Great Britain. More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in England, or, more broadly, to ...
) is an electronic device or software that connects to a telephone line to monitor dialed numbers and automatically modify them for seamless access to services requiring long national or international access codes. It inserts or alters numbers based on the time of day, country, or area code, enabling users to connect through service providers offering the best rates. For example, it might use one provider for international calls and another for mobile networks. This technique is known as prefix insertion or
least-cost routing In voice telecommunications, least-cost routing (LCR) is the process of selecting the path of outbound communications traffic based on cost. Within a telecoms carrier, an LCR team might periodically (monthly, weekly or even daily) choose between ro ...
. A line-powered dialer draws power directly from the telephone line, requiring no external source. Another type of dialer is
software Software consists of computer programs that instruct the Execution (computing), execution of a computer. Software also includes design documents and specifications. The history of software is closely tied to the development of digital comput ...
that establishes an
Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...
or network connection over analong telephone lines or
Integrated Services Digital Network Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) is a set of communication standards for simultaneous digital transmission of voice, video, data, and other network services over the digitalised circuits of the public switched telephone network. ...
(ISDN). Many
operating systems An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware and software resources, and provides common daemon (computing), services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems scheduler (computing), schedule tasks for ...
 include built-in dialers that use the
Point-to-Point Protocol In computer networking, Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) is a data link layer (layer 2) communication protocol between two routers directly without any host or any other networking in between. It can provide loop detection, authentication, transmissio ...
(PPP), such as WvDial. Many
internet service providers An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides a myriad of services related to accessing, using, managing, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non ...
offer installation CDs to simplify the process of setting up a proper
Internet connection Internet access is a facility or service that provides connectivity for a computer, a computer network, or other network device to the Internet, and for individuals or organizations to access or use applications such as email and the World Wide ...
. They either create an entry in the
operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware and software resources, and provides common daemon (computing), services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems scheduler (computing), schedule tasks for ...
's dialer or install a separate dialer (as the
AOL AOL (formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City, and a brand marketed by Yahoo! Inc. The service traces its history to an online ...
software does). In recent years, the term “dialer” has increasingly been associated with software that initiates calls or connections without the user’s informed consent regarding charges, often with the intent to defraud.


Auto-diallers

Call centre A call centre ( Commonwealth spelling) or call center ( American spelling; see spelling differences) is a managed capability that can be centralised or remote that is used for receiving or transmitting a large volume of enquiries by telephone ...
s use various forms of automatic dialers to place outbound calls to people on contact lists.


Fraudulent dialer

Dialers are necessary to connect to the internet (at least for non- broadband connections), but some dialers are designed to connect to premium-rate numbers. The providers of such dialers often search for
security vulnerabilities Vulnerabilities are flaws or weaknesses in a system's design, implementation, or management that can be exploited by a malicious actor to compromise its security. Despite a system administrator's best efforts to achieve complete correctness, vir ...
in the
operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware and software resources, and provides common daemon (computing), services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems scheduler (computing), schedule tasks for ...
installed on the user's computer and use them to set the computer up to dial up through their number, so as to make money from the calls.  Alternatively, some dialers inform the user about their purpose, with the promise of special content accessible only via the special number. Examples of this content include software for download, (usually illegal)
trojans Trojan or Trojans may refer to: * Of or from the ancient city of Troy * Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans Arts and entertainment Music * ''Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 1890 ...
posing as MP3s, trojans posing as
pornography Pornography (colloquially called porn or porno) is Sexual suggestiveness, sexually suggestive material, such as a picture, video, text, or audio, intended for sexual arousal. Made for consumption by adults, pornographic depictions have evolv ...
, or ' underground' programs such as cracks and
keygens A key generator (keygen) is a computer program that generates a product licensing key, such as a serial number, necessary to activate for use of a software application. Keygens may be legitimately distributed by software manufacturers for lic ...
. The cost of setting up such a service is relatively low, amounting to a few thousand dollars for telecommunications equipment, whereupon the unscrupulous operator will typically take a significant percentage (up to 90%) of the cost of a premium rate call, with very few overheads of their own. Users with DSLs (or similar broadband connections) are usually not affected. A dialer can be downloaded and installed, but dialing in is not possible as there are no regular phone numbers in the DSL network and users will not typically have their dial-up modem, if any, connected to a phone line. However, if an
ISDN Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) is a set of communication standards for simultaneous digital transmission of voice, video, data, and other network services over the digitalised circuits of the public switched telephone network. ...
adapter or additional analog
modem The Democratic Movement (, ; MoDem ) is a centre to centre-right political party in France, whose main ideological trends are liberalism and Christian democracy, and that is characterised by a strong pro-Europeanist stance. MoDem was establis ...
is installed, the dialer might still be able to initiate a connection. Malicious dialers can be identified by the following characteristics: *A
download In computer networks, download means to ''receive'' data from a remote system, typically a server such as a web server, an FTP server, an email server, or other similar systems. This contrasts with uploading, where data is ''sent to'' a remote ...
popup appears when opening a website. *The website provides minimal information about the price, if any. *The download begins automatically even if the cancel button is clicked. *The dialer installs itself as default connection without any notice. * The dialer creates unwanted connections by itself and without user interaction. *The dialer does not show any notification about the price before dialing in (only few do). * The high price of the connection is not displayed while connected. * The dialer cannot be uninstalled, or can only be removed with significant effort.


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 disable the
modem The Democratic Movement (, ; MoDem ) is a centre to centre-right political party in France, whose main ideological trends are liberalism and Christian democracy, and that is characterised by a strong pro-Europeanist stance. MoDem was establis ...
speaker and suppress system messages that normally appear during dial-up connections. Users of
Microsoft Outlook Microsoft Outlook is a personal information manager software system from Microsoft, available as a part of the Microsoft 365 software suites. Primarily popular as an email client for businesses, Outlook also includes functions such as Calendari ...
,
Outlook Express Outlook Express, formerly known as Microsoft Internet Mail and News, is a discontinued email and news client included with Internet Explorer versions 3.0 to 6.0. As such, it was bundled with several versions of Microsoft Windows, from Windows ...
, and
Internet Explorer Internet Explorer (formerly Microsoft Internet Explorer and Windows Internet Explorer, commonly abbreviated as IE or MSIE) is a deprecation, retired series of graphical user interface, graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft that were u ...
are especially at risk if affected 
ActiveX ActiveX is a deprecated software framework created by Microsoft that adapts its earlier Component Object Model (COM) and Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) technologies for content downloaded from a network, particularly from the World Wide W ...
controls and
JavaScript JavaScript (), often abbreviated as JS, is a programming language and core technology of the World Wide Web, alongside HTML and CSS. Ninety-nine percent of websites use JavaScript on the client side for webpage behavior. Web browsers have ...
are enabled, and the latest security patches from
Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...
have not been applied. In March 2004, malicious dialers were reportedly distributed through fake
anti-virus software Antivirus software (abbreviated to AV software), also known as anti-malware, is a computer program used to prevent, detect, and remove malware. Antivirus software was originally developed to detect and remove computer viruses, hence the name ...
.
E-mail spam Email spam, also referred to as junk email, spam mail, or simply spam, refers to unsolicited messages sent in bulk via email. The term originates from a Monty Python sketch, where the name of a canned meat product, "Spam," is used repetitively, m ...
, often appearing to come from a so-called "Antivirus Team" include 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 ActiveX is a deprecated software framework created by Microsoft that adapts its earlier Component Object Model (COM) and Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) technologies for content downloaded from a network, particularly from the World Wide W ...
controls, which in turn install dialers in the background. As a general precaution, links in spam emails should not be opened, and any automatic downloads should be canceled immediately upon detection. Users should also verify the phone number displayed during each dial-up Internet connection to ensure it has not been altered. Another preventive measure against malicious dialers is to block access to premium-rate numbers through the telephone service provider, although this may inadvertently affect certain legitimate phone functions. Running foreign code in a privileged environment is generally discouraged unless the source is verified as trustworthy. Anti-malware software can also provide an additional layer of protection.


German regulatory law

On 15 August 2003, a new law came into effect in
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
called "Gesetz zur Bekämpfung des Missbrauchs von (0)190er/(0)900er Mehrwertdiensterufnummern" ("Law for the combat of misuse of (0)190/(0)900 value added service numbers"). The law includes the following provisions: * Mandatory price disclosures by service providers. * Maximum pricing caps, legitimacy verification, and automatic disconnect mechanisms. * Mandatory registration of dialers. * Enforcement of dialer blocking. * Consumer right to access information from the RegTP (now
Federal Network Agency The Federal Network Agency ( or ) is the German regulatory office for electricity, gas, telecommunications, post and railway markets. It is a federal agency of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action and headquartered in Bo ...
). On 4 March 2004, the
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
Federal Supreme Court in
Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...
 ruled that charges for dialer usage do not have to be paid if the dialer was used without the user’s consent or awareness.


See also

*
Auto dialer In computer telephony an automatic dialler (shortened to an auto-dialler or more simply in context just a dialler, and also known as an outbound dialler) is a computer system that makes outgoing calls from a call centre to customers from call ag ...
* Predictive dialer, a system for dialing many numbers, typically used by call centers *
War dialing Wardialing (or war dialing) is a technique to automatically scan a list of telephone numbers, usually dialing every number in a local area code to search for modems, computers, bulletin board systems ( computer servers) and fax machines. Hacke ...
, automatic scanning of a list of telephone numbers to detect computers and modems, usually for nefarious purposes * Dialer management platform * Silent call


References

{{Information security Telephony Types of malware