DNSChanger Malware Could Leave Millions Without Internet

A recent judgment passed by a federal judge has given users infected with DNSChanger malware a period of four-month to get rid of the infection. Contrary to what was previously speculated, the malicious DNS servers that were later replaced by FBI-controlled ones did not shut down on March 8. The new deadline is expected to be around July, with about half-a-million users at the risk of losing their Internet Connectivity.



Last November, the FBI got hold of six out of seven individuals who were involved in infecting millions of computer wth the DNSChanger malware. Titles as 'Operation Ghost Raid', FBI agents also seized over 100 illegitimate data servers over the US. The DNSChanger malware functioned by tinkering the Domain Name System settings for computers and routers which were replaced by addresses of malicious servers. Once infected, everytime the computers connected to the internet the illegal servers redirected the web traffic, earning them millions.

Now that FBI has convicted the criminals behind the malware attack, the illegal DNS servers are expected to shut down. But in such a case, the infected computers will be at a huge loss as they will be unable to access the internet if the servers go down. The FBI, hence, obtained a court order to set up alternate DNS servers which would temporarily serve the infected users by replacing the malicious servers. The court order was to expire on March 8, but that deadline has been extended to July 9.

A number of tools on the internet can check for DNSChanger malware. One of the quicker ways is to visit  DNSChanger Eye Chart which would tell you if you are one of the infected computers or not.

Source: PCMag Image Credit: Computer911