[NCLUG] Spy-ware and modem problems

[mike cullerton]

hi connie,

   you've already got one response to your question, and it may have solved
your problem, but i wanted to answer your question from a different angle.
how to troubleshoot these problems in general--a beginner approach. (since
it's only the beginner stuff i really get :)

as usual, the better you learn the tools available to you, the easier it
will be to manage your box (or troubleshoot problems). here's how i would
approach troubleshooting a problem connecting my linux box via dial-up. (it
has been years since i even had a modem in my linux box, so some of this
stuff may be outdated)

whenever you get an error message, the first thing you need to find out is
where did the error come from (which application sent the error message)
since i don't know about your setup, i'll assume you are using ppp and some
dialer to connect to an isp.

ppp doesn't dial the modem, it only maintains the ppp session once a
physical layer connection has been established. it's only the dialer program
that needs to talk to your modem directly. back in the day, we used chat
with ppp to make the modem connection. (you may be using different programs,
but the methodology is the same).

now, each of these programs logs to syslog, and allow you to change the
level of logging, helping you to troubleshoot your connection attempt.
another great place to start of course is the man pages. 'man pppd' and 'man
chat' helped me immensely when i was doing this.

the more you read man pages and snoop around your box, the easier it is.

hope some of this helps,
mike

on 2/26/01 8:02 PM, Connie Seger} at equinelover at earthlink.net wrote:

> Hello to all-
> 
> I'm a new Linux person and can use all the help you veterans can spare.
> First let me digress - I was reading some back issues and saw some were
> concerend with having "spyware" on their machines.  Steve Gibson's program
> Opt Out does a great job and there is one more out there that he also
> recommends called Ad-Aware by Lavasoft.  The easiest place to obtain it is
> through Zdnet.  I scan my pc @ once a month and am amazed what's been put
> there without my knowledge.
> Now my problem.  I run Windows 98 and behind that I have Linux  Caldera 2.3.
> I finally got my modem recognized and was finally able to go to the web on
> Linux. Over the weekend I tried to go on-line with Linux and I get the
> message that my modem is busy.  Have no idea what / where to go next. What
> would be giving out that message.  Windows still uses the modem just fine.
> All suggestions greatly appreciated.
> 
> Thanks,
> Connie Seger
> 
> 
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 -- mike cullerton