DNSChanger virus spells ‘Internet Doomsday’ … The end is nigh, according to the FBI … ‘Internet doomsday’ will strike us all on July 9 …
That’s what the media is hyping about the DNSChanger virus. They are wrong – it’s not the end of the world!
I’ve been dealing with these types of end-of-the-world warnings for over 20 years and I don’t think I’ve ever seen headlines so ridiculous from sources that should know better.
DNSChanger is a real virus and would have been a real problem if it wasn’t taken down November 8, 2011, in an FBI action code-named “Operation Ghost Click” (FBI Website).
Since the FBI circumvented this attack, all the media sources have continue to raise the alarm about this being the worst virus to ever infect your computer!
It’s easy to write scary headlines such as “New Virus makes your hair fall out” , but it’s not so easy to explain in detail what the actual threat is and how it is being addressed. Below is a simple explanation of what this is and some simple recommendations.
DNSChanger – what does it do?
There is an estimated four million computers infected by his virus. The DNSChanger – like its name, was designed to simply just reroute your browser to websites that sell things like Viagra and antivirus products that don’t really work. The people that designed this virus receive commissions from these sales, which can amount to millions of dollars.
Unsuspecting surfers got this virus from clicking on video links (mainly from porn sites) that ask you to download an update for your media player. This update was the virus and embeds itself as a very hard-to-remove root-kit. Very hard to detect and harder to clean. It changes the links in a typical Google search and redirects them to wherever the hackers want them to go. Even if you tried to go to common web addresses that offer antivirus help, on-line scanning, or even news about DNSChanger, you were rerouted. Effectively, your browser belonged to DNSChanger.
DNSChanger – what the FBI did
As threatening as that DNSChanger sounds you no longer need to worry about it since the FBI took DNSChanger down. You might still have to even get the DNSChanger infection, but it won’t redirect your links anymore. The FBI identified all the people directly involved in the scam, six people total and all were arrested. The FBI identified and located the actual DNSChanger servers.
Now, here is the interesting part – instead of just turning off these servers, the FBI instead fixed them by replacing these servers with REAL DNS servers. Instead of these servers redirecting the end-users to the hacker’s chosen addresses, they replaced these redirected links with the actual links. So, even if a user has this DNSChanger infection, their browser will redirect them to the proper website.
Infected PC users might still not know they’re infected. But at least they’re getting to their intended websites
Now the real issue – the FBI is current in a position of running a DNS server farm – which they can only do for a short while – now comes July 9, 2012.
FBI July 9th 2012 DNS Server deadline date
This is the date that the FBI needs to turn off these temporary servers, for a few reasons, but primarily due to the expense of keeping these servers going. What will happen after the FBI turns off these servers is that simply any computers still infected with the DNSChanger virus will suddenly have no internet access until the infection on the user’s computer can be cleaned.
Wake-up Call to check your computer’s antivirus
So, while we wait for the end of the internet world that will never come, here’s something you can do Go to the DNSChanger testing page at the following link: DNSChanger Testing Page.
When you get to the DNS Changer Check-Up page, you’ll see a large graphic — if it’s green, you’re fine; if it’s red, you’re infected.
What to do if your computer is infected.
Call us at 631-422-0969 and we will take care of it for you!
Also, subscribe to my BLOG and FACEBOOK feed to get these kinds of updates in real-time.
Anthony Buonaspina
GRQ Innovations, Inc.
