It sounds like some kind of virus-related problem to me. Go to this thread:

http://www.daniweb.com/techtalkforums/thread5690.html

Get Spybot and Ad-Adware; do the online virus scan as well.

After you run those, if you still have a problem, get hijackthis from here:

http://www.merijn.org/files/hijackthis_sfx.exe

Close all browser windows, scan with hijackthis, save the log, then copy and paste it in a new thread in the Virus forum along with the problem and steps you've already tried.

In the meantime, try disconnecting your modem (unplug it) when you don't actually need internet access.

thankyou very much for taking the time to help ,

I will give it a go. I've scanned with Norton and nothing was found. Norton is usually very thorough, despite its annoying querks.
But I haven't done an online virus scan.
I also forgot to mention that the problem persists when the modem is unplugged.
In another bizzare twist, my next door neighbour has just revealed she has the same problem. We both have the same ISP (Freeserve, which is now Wanadoo).
Does this shed a different light on the matter?

Many thanks again.

the plot thickens...
In fact its beginning to be quite a challenge for the best techie out there.
I did an online scan on the webroot site. It found two adware spies and 52 adware cookies. Nothing too bad. I bought, downloaded and installed Spy Sweeper. I scanned my computer. We quarantined then deleted the 2 adware spies and the 52 adware cookies.

Yet the problem persists!!! aaaaaaaaaaaargh!!!

any one interested in this, cos it sure as hell is unusual!
(being as I'm new here, and dont know my way about yet, feel free to move this thread if you feel it is in the wrong forum)

cheerz

Did you try hijackthis? as per dlh6213 suggestion?

When your modem attempts to dial out is it using your normal ISP number, or is it dialing another number?

I assume you use the modem for a dial up ISP??

SE (Dave)

You don't need to buy programs to fix this ,all the ones we use here are free ,pleas get the hijackthis program advised in the previsous post by ,and scan and post a hijack this log .thanks
also click onthe icon to dial up and uncheck auto dial connection .

No problems in terms of being new to our site whatsoever. However, given the symptoms you've described, I'm moving this thread to our Viruses, Spyware, and Other Nasties forum. The unwarranted and automatic dial-up attempts can definitely be indicative of "unwanted guests" in your system. Let's either confirm or rule out that possibility before proceeding.

thnks again guys,
sorry didnt know what hijackthis was. i've downloaded it now, so will give it a go. Will also check if it is dialling same number as normal (though i'm sure it is). I've tried unchecking the dial automatically box many times, it just reappears, checked.
i'll be back later, no doubt! might not be today though, got to go out. thanks again, much appreciated!

I've ran a hijackthis scan and here is the log.

Logfile of HijackThis v1.99.0
Scan saved at 20:10:10, on 06/02/2005
Platform: Windows ME (Win9x 4.90.3000)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v6.00 (6.00.2600.0000)

Running processes:
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\KERNEL32.DLL
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\MSGSRV32.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\mmtask.tsk
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\MPREXE.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\MSTASK.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\SSDPSRV.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\STIMON.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\COMMON FILES\SYMANTEC SHARED\CCEVTMGR.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\NORTON INTERNET SECURITY\NISUM.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\EXPLORER.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\NORTON INTERNET SECURITY\CCPXYSVC.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\RESTORE\STMGR.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\TASKMON.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\SYSTRAY.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\ptsnoop.exe
C:\PROGRAM FILES\TEXTBRIDGE CLASSIC 2.0\BIN\INSTANTACCESS.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\HAMPANEL.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\WMIEXE.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\DCFSSVC.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\WINAMP3\WINAMPA.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\COMMON FILES\SYMANTEC SHARED\CCAPP.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\HPZTSB09.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\SPOOL32.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\HP\HPCORETECH\HPCMPMGR.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\HEWLETT-PACKARD\HP SOFTWARE UPDATE\HPWUSCHD2.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\HPHMON05.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\HEWLETT-PACKARD\HP SHARE-TO-WEB\HPGS2WND.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\HEWLETT-PACKARD\HP SHARE-TO-WEB\HPGS2WNF.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\MYWEBSEARCH\BAR\1.BIN\MWSOEMON.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\WEBROOT\SPY SWEEPER\SPYSWEEPER.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\GSP\GSPMENU.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\COMMON FILES\MICROSOFT SHARED\WORKS SHARED\WKCALREM.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\RNAAPP.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\ULEAD SYSTEMS\ULEAD PHOTO EXPRESS 2 SE\CALCHECK.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\KODAK\KODAK PICTURE TRANSFER SOFTWARE\PTS.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\HPZIPM12.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\TAPISRV.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\HIJACKTHIS\HIJACKTHIS.EXE

R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Bar = http://www.freeserve.com/iesearch/default.htm
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings,ProxyServer = http=http://www-cache.freeserve.com:8080;ftp=http://www-cache.freeserve.com:8080
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings,ProxyOverride = 127.0.0.1;<local>
R3 - URLSearchHook: (no name) - {00A6FAF6-072E-44cf-8957-5838F569A31D} - C:\PROGRAM FILES\MYWEBSEARCH\SRCHASTT\1.BIN\MWSSRCAS.DLL
O2 - BHO: NAV Helper - {BDF3E430-B101-42AD-A544-FADC6B084872} - C:\Program Files\Norton AntiVirus\NavShExt.dll
O2 - BHO: mwsBar BHO - {07B18EA1-A523-4961-B6BB-170DE4475CCA} - C:\PROGRAM FILES\MYWEBSEARCH\BAR\1.BIN\MWSBAR.DLL
O2 - BHO: MyWebSearch Search Assistant BHO - {00A6FAF1-072E-44cf-8957-5838F569A31D} - C:\PROGRAM FILES\MYWEBSEARCH\SRCHASTT\1.BIN\MWSSRCAS.DLL
O3 - Toolbar: &Radio - {8E718888-423F-11D2-876E-00A0C9082467} - C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\MSDXM.OCX
O3 - Toolbar: Norton AntiVirus - {42CDD1BF-3FFB-4238-8AD1-7859DF00B1D6} - C:\Program Files\Norton AntiVirus\NavShExt.dll
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [TaskMonitor] C:\WINDOWS\taskmon.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [PCHealth] C:\WINDOWS\PCHealth\Support\PCHSchd.exe -s
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SystemTray] SysTray.Exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [LoadPowerProfile] Rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,LoadCurrentPwrScheme
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [CountrySelection] pctptt.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [PTSNOOP] ptsnoop.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [InstantAccess] C:\PROGRA~1\TEXTBR~1.0\BIN\INSTAN~1.EXE /h
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [RegisterDropHandler] C:\PROGRA~1\TEXTBR~1.0\BIN\REGIST~1.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [HaMFrontPanel] C:\WINDOWS\hampanel /Boftware\Intel\HaM
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Dcfssvc] C:\WINDOWS\System32\Drivers\dcfssvc.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [PE2CKFNT SE] C:\Program Files\Ulead Systems\Ulead Photo Express 2 SE\ChkFont.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [WinampAgent] "C:\Program Files\Winamp3\winampa.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [ccApp] "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\ccApp.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [ccRegVfy] "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\ccRegVfy.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [HPDJ Taskbar Utility] C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\hpztsb09.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [HPHUPD05] C:\Program Files\Hewlett-Packard\{D946675D-1D6C-4dc8-9E0D-B4B8EAA30EAA}\hphupd05.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [HP Component Manager] "C:\PROGRAM FILES\HP\HPCORETECH\HPCMPMGR.EXE"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [HP Software Update] "C:\Program Files\Hewlett-Packard\HP Software Update\HPWuSchd2.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [HPHmon05] C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\HPHMON05.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Share-to-Web Namespace Daemon] C:\Program Files\Hewlett-Packard\HP Share-to-Web\hpgs2wnd.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Symantec NetDriver Monitor] C:\PROGRA~1\SYMNET~1\SNDMON.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [MyWebSearch Email Plugin] C:\PROGRA~1\MYWEBS~1\BAR\1.BIN\MWSOEMON.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\RunServices: [LoadPowerProfile] Rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,LoadCurrentPwrScheme
O4 - HKLM\..\RunServices: [SchedulingAgent] mstask.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\RunServices: [SSDPSRV] C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\ssdpsrv.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\RunServices: [*StateMgr] C:\WINDOWS\System\Restore\StateMgr.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\RunServices: [RegisterDropHandler] C:\PROGRA~1\TEXTBR~1.0\BIN\REGIST~1.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\RunServices: [StillImageMonitor] C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\STIMON.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\RunServices: [ccEvtMgr] "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\ccEvtMgr.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\RunServices: [Nisum] C:\Program Files\Norton Internet Security\NISUM.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\RunServices: [ccPxySvc] C:\PROGRA~1\NORTON~2\CCPXYSVC.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\RunServices: [ScriptBlocking] "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\Script Blocking\SBServ.exe" -reg
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [MyWebSearch Email Plugin] C:\PROGRA~1\MYWEBS~1\BAR\1.BIN\MWSOEMON.EXE
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [SpySweeper] "C:\Program Files\Webroot\Spy Sweeper\SPYSWEEPER.EXE" /0
O4 - Startup: GSP Menu.lnk = C:\Program Files\GSP\GSPMENU.EXE
O4 - Startup: Microsoft Office.lnk = C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\OSA9.EXE
O4 - Startup: EPSON Status Monitor 3 Environment Check.lnk = C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\E_SRCV03.EXE
O4 - Startup: Microsoft Works Calendar Reminders.lnk = C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Works Shared\wkcalrem.exe
O4 - Startup: Photo Express Calendar Checker SE.lnk = C:\Program Files\Ulead Systems\Ulead Photo Express 2 SE\CalCheck.exe
O4 - Startup: KODAK Picture Transfer Software.lnk = C:\Program Files\Kodak\KODAK Picture Transfer Software\pts.exe
O4 - Startup: hp instant support.lnk = C:\Program Files\Hewlett-Packard\hpis\bin\matcli.exe
O4 - Startup: MyWebSearch Email Plugin.lnk = C:\Program Files\MyWebSearch\bar\1.bin\MWSOEMON.EXE
O8 - Extra context menu item: &Search - http://bar.mywebsearch.com/menusearc...B_ZNxmk27868GB
O9 - Extra button: Related - {c95fe080-8f5d-11d2-a20b-00aa003c157a} - C:\WINDOWS\web\related.htm
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Show &Related Links - {c95fe080-8f5d-11d2-a20b-00aa003c157a} - C:\WINDOWS\web\related.htm
O9 - Extra button: Messenger - {FB5F1910-F110-11d2-BB9E-00C04F795683} - C:\PROGRA~1\MESSEN~1\MSMSGS.EXE
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: MSN Messenger Service - {FB5F1910-F110-11d2-BB9E-00C04F795683} - C:\PROGRA~1\MESSEN~1\MSMSGS.EXE
O14 - IERESET.INF: START_PAGE_URL=http://www.freeserve.com/
O16 - DPF: {74D05D43-3236-11D4-BDCD-00C04F9A3B61} (HouseCall Control) - http://a840.g.akamai.net/7/840/537/2...ll/xscan53.cab
O16 - DPF: {C2FCEF52-ACE9-11D3-BEBD-00105AA9B6AE} (Symantec RuFSI Registry Information Class) - http://security.symantec.com/SSC/Sha.../bin/cabsa.cab
O16 - DPF: {1D4DB7D2-6EC9-47A3-BD87-1E41684E07BB} - http://ak.imgfarm.com/images/nocache...tup1.0.0.8.cab
O18 - Protocol: cetihpz - {CF184AD3-CDCB-4168-A3F7-8E447D129300} - C:\PROGRAM FILES\HP\HPCORETECH\COMP\HPUIPROT.DLL

First use Spybot S&D. (Version 1.3)
Spybot
Unzip, and update. Install the updates and run. Delete all that it marks in red.
Reboot

Then it’s time for Ad-Aware
Ad-Aware
Install and update by using the globe icon. Restart your computer and run Ad-Aware.
Press scan now and select drives and/or partitions to be scanned. When done select all and click next. Remove all checked items and then reboot your computer.

Please go to this page and read the instructions for how to configure Spybot S&D & Ad-Aware
How To Setup Spybot SD and Ad-Aware