Is an ADSL broadband internet set-up vulnerable to 'dialler' viruses?

January 19, 2005 8:30 AM

Is an ADSL broadband (thru-router) internet set-up vulnerable to 'dialler' viruses?
posted by the cuban to computers & internet (3 comments total)

No. Unless you have your modem plugged in as well.
posted by ascullion at 8:37 AM on January 19, 2005

Of course, having the dialler installed in the first place is a bad thing (tm). There's probably plenty with backdoors to ensure you get lots of other bad viruses and/or spyware installed.
posted by shepd at 8:56 AM on January 19, 2005

To be precise, they aren't viruses, but trojans. The answer is no, even for those horrid PPP-over-Ethernet contraptions. The vulnerability is that your telephone will connect anywhere it is told to (and then rack up charges, because the telephone line trusts anything that can emit DTMF); unless the compromised machine is connected to a telephone, the trojan will be ineffective.
posted by majick at 11:22 AM on January 19, 2005