Last chance to remove DNSChanger virus before web outage

Admin

Sun, Jul 08 2012, 1:43 am

The FBI is snipping a cyber safety net on Monday that kept thousands of computer users online after their internet connections were hijacked by a piece of malware called DNSChanger, meaning those users could be disconnected from the web if they still haven't removed the virus by July 9.

tens of thousands more worldwide —still believed to have machines infected with the nasty DNSChanger virus, you can spare yourself the misery of being cut off from email, Twitter, Facebook and other online distractions by performing a simple test.

Google, Facebook and the FBI have all issued repeated alerts over the past year about the estimated 650,000 computers worldwide that fell victim to the DNSChanger trojan, but they and media outlets made one last public appeal this week warning of the looming July 9 deadline.

That's when the FBI will shut down the temporary DNS servers it set up to keep the virus-infected computers connected to the internet after it broke up a criminal operation that had rerouted the machines through a system of false DNS servers, manipulating users' web searches in order to direct them to fraudulent websites.

The websites promoted fake products and allowed the cybercriminals to earn money off the sale of these products and advertising.

The temporary servers, operated by the non-profit Internet Systems Consortium, were meant to keep people connected to the web until the virus was removed and the connection through their usual internet service provider was resumed.

DNS Changer check-Up : http://www.dcwg.org/detect/

About: http://www.fbi.gov/news/storie.....10911