Thousands could lose Internet access, tomorrow, July 9th, 2012.
Will you?
Here’s what’s going on and how you can check your computer!
The DNSChanger Virus
Without getting into all the gory details and technical reasons why this is happening, it basically comes down to this:
The shutdown of the temporary DNS servers by U.S. authorities is the last stage in Operation Ghost Click, a two-year international investigation that officially ended in November 2011.
The FBI, along with International law enforcement, tracked down and apprehended six Estonians using a sophisticated system of false DNS servers. They would use these to reroute web browsers of infected computers to the hacker’s sites, so they could do some shady stuff.
Computers were forced to connect to the internet through these servers by a customized virus called DNSChanger that was distributed along conventional channels, such as infected emails, bad websites, and malware scripts.
When the bust occurred in 2011, the FBI setup ‘clean’ servers, so those who were infected with the DNSChanger wouldn’t be suddenly cut off from the web. Until now.
How to Check Your Computer
Here’s why you need to check your computer:
With users no longer being routed toward fraudulent sites after the FBI stepped in, and being sent to the temporary clean DNS server instead, the virus lost most of its bite. However, as long as it remains on a user’s computer, it will continue to force a web browser to try and route through the temporary DNS servers, even when those servers are taken offline.
Checking your computer is easy. Simply visit the DNS Changer Check-Up website, and the page should pull-up like this:
If you didn’t, be sure to visit the DNS Changer Working Group website for more information!
[via CBC News]
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