Several months ago, Dr. Data published a warning about the DNSchanger Trojan. Well, D-Day – July 9th – is almost here. In case you missed it, here are the main points about this whole affair:
- Back in November of 2011, the FBI shut down a criminal operation that would direct unsuspecting users to the operation’s servers
- There were about 100 servers all told
- These machines were infecting millions of PCs with the DNSchanger Trojan
- The DNSchanger would alter the PC’s DNS (Domain Name System) so that websites would redirect users to servers run by the criminal operation
- The FBI obtained a court order that allowed the FBI to keep those servers running while users checked their machines for infection by the DNSchanger
- The servers were supposed to be shut down on March 30th
- The deadline was extended to July 9th
- On the 9th, the servers will indeed be shut down. This is it!
- While a lot of clean-up has been done, there are still about 300,000 PCs that are still infected w/ the trojan
- 70,000 of those machines are in the US. Is yours one of them??
- If your machine is infected, you will probably lose access to the internet on that day.
- No more FaceBook, etc.
There is a simple way to tell if your PC has been infected. Point your browser to www.dns-ok.us. If your PC is clean, you’ll see a Green background. If there is a potential problem with your connections, you’ll see a Red background. If you’re colour-blind, find someone who isn’t!! The average user should seek the help of a computer professional – like Dr. Data – to help with the clean-up. If you want to have a go at resolving the problem on your own, here are some suggestions on how to trouble-shoot.
The full story is on the PC Magazine website. A more succinct explanation of why DNSchanger victims deserve to lose the internet may be found on ZDNet.
Time’s a wasting. Check your PC by going to www.dns-ok.us. I just did and my PC is clean. How about yours?