The 1st Worldwide Internet Security Campaign Offers Anti-Dialer Tools
?? The arrest of five people in Madrid, allegedly involved in a multi-million euro fraud carried out using dialers, demonstrates the extent of the dangers faced by users when they connect to the Internet
?? The free tools available on the campaign’s website (
The arrest of five people in Madrid for allegedly defrauding a large number of Internet users out of 35 million euros, demonstrates the extent of the dangers of Internet threats to the integrity of not just computers but also users’ pockets. These five people apparently committed this fraud using dialers, small programs that disconnect the legitimate telephone connection used to hook up to the Internet Service Provider and re-connects via a premium rate number. As a result, some Internet users have been hit with a phone bill of over 3,000 euros.
Although these five people have been arrested, there is still a large number of unscrupulous opportunists who use this technique and therefore, in order to ensure that you are protected against this kind of fraud, it is essential to install appropriate protection.
The 1st Worldwide Internet Security Campaign, (organized by the Internauts Association and Panda Software) includes information about these types of intruders, as well as the tools needed to prevent them, such as anti-dialers or IT security suites.
The promoters of the 1st Worldwide Internet Security Campaign also advise users to take the following precautions:
– Install anti-dialer software on computers that connect to the Internet via modem to prevent undesirable connections.
– Ask your telephone service provider to disconnect numbers that charge premium rate numbers.
– If you have fallen victim to this kind of fraud, contact the consumer protection office.
In the campaign forum at
An initiative open to all
Available at
Any internaut, company or institution who wants can join in and contribute to promoting the campaign. Anyone who has a website can get the resources needed to spread the word from the campaign website at
All visitors to the 1st Worldwide Internet Security Campaign website can clean their computers of viruses and other intruders using the free tools available on the site, including full versions with free services, exclusive to the visitors to this portal.
Internet users will also have a direct line to security experts through a forum in which they can post any questions they may have. The aim of the forum is to resolve any questions, or problems and collect suggestions about any issues related to Internet security.
According to Victor Domingo, president of the Internauts Association: “Our objective is to reach as many internauts as possible and help them form part of a secure community.”
Jose Maria Hernandez, VP international expansion at Panda Software adds: “At Panda Software we are proud to be participating, in the field which we know best -virus and intrusion prevention-, in a drive to make society safer and more productive through this initiative open to all internet users around the world.”
The problem and the solution
According to Global Reach, there are currently 729.2 million Internet users. Over 86 percent of these users speak one of the eight most widely spoken languages on the Internet.
What’s more, there are over 76,000 viruses currently circulating across the Internet, 1,600 of which, according to data collected by Panda Software, are particularly active and continue infecting computers. In extreme situations, up to 100 new viruses can appear every day and an average of 600 new viruses emerge every month.
The combination of these situations along with other types of threats, such as hackers, spam, spyware, etc., create a feeling of insecurity about the Internet among users and make them feel vulnerable. This feeling is made worse still by worldwide epidemics like those caused by the Netsky, Bagle and Mydoom in 2004.
The 1st Worldwide Internet Security Campaign had been set up to provide an answer to this situation.
The campaign website incorporates all the information about the security problems users could have, as well as details about every threat in circulation and specific solutions for each of them. The portal consists of five comprehensive sections.
The first, Threats, contains all the information users need about all kinds of dangers including viruses, worms and Trojans: what they are, how to recognize them, where they come from, the differences between them, etc.; and intrusions: how hackers can get into computers, how to avoid them and what to do if they slip in. This section also covers junk mail or spam: why it is harmful and how to combat it; spyware: what it is, what it’s used for, the different types and how to avoid or delete it; unauthorized dialers and security holes: what bugs are, the problems they cause, how to detect them and protect against them.
In the Solutions section, users can access all types of free tools for protecting their PCs against the threats described above. From this micro-site they can benefit from the range of free tools for protecting against viruses and intruders. These include full versions with free services, exclusive to visitors to this portal.
In Enjoy the Internet, users can learn the best precautions to take in order to get the most out of the Internet easily and safely. This section explains how to browse the Internet without leaving any traces behind (cookies), for example.
How to use e-mail correctly and what to avoid are some of the other tips users can find, as well as the most secure methods for using online banking services, exchanging files, setting up a good content filter for worry-free Internet browsing and basic guidelines for using wireless networks and digital signatures.
But it not only offers content… users can also have fun with the resources in Entertainment: games, screensavers and wallpaper.
Finally, Internet users can get real-time information about the Global Virus Status, and the development of the Internet threats in circulation in each country, thanks to the monitoring tools that will allow them to find out the new threats they should be aware of and how to protect against them.
About the Internauts Association
The Internauts Association is made up of Internet users who in 1998 decided to form an alliance in order to represent their own interests and get affordable, universal and quality access. From then on, millions of Internet users have had a voice through the Association principally through their portal at
About Panda Software
Panda Software (http://www.pandasoftware.com)