Is your computer infected with the DNSChanger Trojan Horse Virus? If your computer is infected with the virus you will not be able to surf the internet.
Tens of thousands of Americans may lose their Internet service Monday, July 9, because of computer malware that could have taken over their machines. According to the FBI, the number of computers that probably are infected is more than 277,000 worldwide.
How It Started
Criminals learned that if they can control a user’s DNS servers, they can control what sites the user connects to on the Internet. By controlling DNS, a criminal can get an unsuspecting user to connect to a fraudulent website or to interfere with that user’s online web browsing.
[sws_blue_box box_size=”620″] DNS — Domain Name System — is a critical Internet service that converts user-friendly domain names, such as www.fbi.gov, into numerical addresses that allow computers to talk to each other. Without DNS and the DNS servers operated by Internet service providers, computer users would not be able to browse websites or send e-mail. [/sws_blue_box]
November 2011: During the FBI “Operation Ghost Click”, six Estonian nationals were arrested and charged with running a sophisticated Internet fraud ring that infected millions of computers worldwide with a virus and enabled the thieves to manipulate the multi-billion-dollar Internet advertising industry. Users of infected machines were unaware that their computers had been compromised — or that the malicious software rendered their machines vulnerable to a host of other viruses.
March 12, 2012: To assist victims affected by the DNSChanger malicious software, the FBI obtained a court order authorizing the Internet Systems Consortium (ISC) to deploy and maintain temporary clean DNS servers. This solution is temporary, providing additional time for victims to clean affected computers and restore their normal DNS settings. The clean DNS servers will be turned off on July 9, 2012, and computers still impacted by DNSChanger may lose Internet connectivity at that time.
What You Can Do To Protect Your Computer
Scan Your Computer for DNSChanger Malware
Check to see if your computer is infected with the virus. You can do a quick check by going to http://www.dns-ok.us/. If the graphic background is green, you’re clean. If it’s red, you have the Trojan.
Hopefully, after you run a DNS check, this is what you’ll see.
Check Your DNS Settings
The FBI has created a web page form where you can enter your DNS information to check for malicious malware. Check your computer’s DNS settings
Backup Your Computer Files
Hopefully, backing up your computer is something you already do on a regular basis.
[sws_yellow_box box_size=”620″]If you do not have a recent back-up of your important documents, photos, music, and other files, back them up now![/sws_yellow_box]
If you need a really simple back-up solution, I highly recommend BackBlaze. Automated and UNLIMITED backup for as little as $3.96/month.
Learn About DNSChanger Malware
Download this PDF to learn about DNSChanger malware and how it can affect your computer.
If your computer has been infected
Learn How To Remove Malicious Software
Information regarding malicious software removal can be found at the website of the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team: https://www.us-cert.gov/reading_room/trojan-recovery.pdf.
And register as a victim of the DNSChanger malware
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