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:

1. Back in November of 2011, the FBI shut down a criminal operation that would direct unsuspecting users to the operation’s servers
2. There were about 100 servers all told
3. These machines were infecting millions of PCs with the DNSchanger Trojan
4. The DNSchanger would alter the PC’s DNS (Domain Name System) so that websites would redirect users to servers run by the criminal operation
5. 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
6. The servers were supposed to be shut down on March 30th
7. The deadline was extended to July 9th
8. On the 9th, the servers will indeed be shut down. This is it!
9. While a lot of clean-up has been done, there are still about 300,000 PCs that are still infected w/ the trojan
10. 70,000 of those machines are in the US. Is yours one of them??
11. If your machine is infected, you will probably lose access to the internet on that day.
12. 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?

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