Hundreds of thousands may lose Internet in July

[FORD]

Hundreds of thousands may lose Internet in July

by Associated Press

Posted on April 20, 2012 at 11:51 AM

Updated yesterday at 12:00 PM

WASHINGTON -- For computer users, a few mouse clicks could mean the difference between staying online and losing Internet connections after early July.

The problem started when international hackers ran an online advertising scam to take control of infected computers around the world. In a highly unusual move, the FBI set up a safety net months ago using government computers to prevent Internet disruptions for those infected users. But that system will be shut down this summer.

The FBI is encouraging users to visit a website run by a security partner that will inform them whether they're infected -- and explain how to fix the problem. After July 9, infected users won't be able to connect to the Internet.

To check and clean computers, try: www.dcwg.org

When you access the site, click on "Detect" in the upper left corner, or on the Green Button next to it.

You will be directed to a new page. Pick your language from the list and click on the link next to it.

If your computer is not infected, you will see a green logo with the message: "DNS Resolution(equals)Green. Your computer appears to be looking up IP addresses correctly!"

If you see that message, you don't need to do anything more.

If you see a message with a red logo saying your computer appears to be infected, you will be directed to a new page. You will be directed to websites that will provide antivirus tools that cybersecurity experts have identified as being effective in removing the malware.

The website also provides information on the case and the malware.

Link

[FORD]

For the record, FORD Country got the "green light"

[Sensible Shoes]

me too

[Dan]

How Dare They.

[Little Texan]

I'm in the clear.

[chefcraig]

Me as well, thanks for the heads-up, FORD.

Then again, I wouldn't be surprised to learn three days from now that this was a hoax set up by the scammers themselves, inviting the public to click onto their malicious site, have their computers hacked, and all done willingly. It would be the perfect crime.

[So this is love]

yeah now big brother will track your every move...this internet thing in the end will turn out like living in Cuba where they know your every move...

[DONNIEP]

Whew! Got the green! Just the thought of losing access to all that pron is disturbing

[Nitro Express]

yeah now big brother will track your every move...this internet thing in the end will turn out like living in Cuba where they know your every move...

Technology is simply a multiplier. It multiplies the good or bad. If it multiplies the bad to an extreme level it actually can destroy the society that created it.

[Light Em' Up!]

Light Em' Up! got the green light! WOO HOO!!!

[katina]

For the record, FORD Country got the "green light"

My two "sudaca" computers got the green light, thanks Ford.

[fifth element]

The fact that the FBI is encouraging this is enough to make me stop and go "hmmmmmmmmmmm?"

[sadaist]

The fact that the FBI is encouraging this is enough to make me stop and go "hmmmmmmmmmmm?"

Totally. Ford, you sure this is on the up-and-up? Seems like a way for big brother to have us click something at one of their sites. I don't like it. Feels wrong for some reason.

[FORD]

Well, I ran a complete scan on my PC after I clicked on that website, so I know it didn't install anything here.

Bottom line here though is that the computers infected with the type of shit they are talking about here are probably the ones running without sensible security in the first place. Linux and Mac users probably have nothing to worry about. Windows users with a proper firewall and a reasonably configured browser who don't download things from anonymous pirate web sites are probably also safe.

Oddly enough, even in 2012 there are still millions out there who probably don't realize this, and are still running Microshit Internet Exploiter on a direct connection to the net (no router) with nothing but the crappy built in Windows Firewall to protect them (in fairness, the Windows 7 firewall is actually pretty decent, but those still using XP really need to look elsewhere (Comodo Internet Security would be my recommendation)

[ashstralia]

Linux and Mac users probably have nothing to worry about.

yeah, i clicked on the aussie link; looks legit, no problemo.

[sadaist]

ok. Just seemed very big brotherish. click this site to make sure you are clean.....yeah sure. LOL. I'll check my 3 computers today. And I can't remember the last time I used IE.

[Northern Girl]

http://www.technolog.msnbc.msn.com/t...arrives-869336


Internet users scanning their Twitter feeds or Facebook accounts Sunday might want to add one more quick click to check their computer for malware.

Thousands of people around the country whose computers were infected with the malicious DNSChanger software more than a year ago faced the possibility of not being able to get online after midnight EDT.

At 12:01 a.m. EDT, the FBI planned to shut down the Internet servers set up as a temporary safety net to keep infected computers online for the past eight months. The court order the agency obtained to keep the servers running expired, and it was not renewed.

A screenshot of the DNSChanger scanning website, showing a clean bill of health. No software installation is required to run the scan, which can be found at dcwg.org.

The problem began when international hackers ran an online advertising scam to take control of more than 570,000 infected computers around the world. When the FBI went in to take down the hackers late last year, agents realized that if they turned off the malicious servers being used to control the computers, all the victims would lose their Internet service.

In a highly unusual move, the FBI set up the safety net. The bureau brought in a private company to install two clean Internet servers to take over for the malicious servers so that people would not suddenly lose their Internet.

The FBI arranged for a private company to run a website — http://www.dcwg.org — as a place where computer users could go to see if their computer was infected by DNSChanger, and find links to other computer security business sites where they could find fixes for the problem. (If you want a quick check of your computer's status, the FBI-authorized dns-ok.us site is fast — no software is required for the scan.)

From the onset, most victims didn't even know their computers were infected, although the malicious software probably has slowed their web surfing and disabled their antivirus software, making their machines more vulnerable to other problems.

Many computer users don't understand the complex machines they use every day to send email, shop and cruise for information. The cyberworld of viruses, malware, bank fraud and Internet scams is often distant and confusing, and warning messages may go unseen or unheeded.

Also, some people simply don't trust the government, and believe that federal authorities are only trying to spy on them or take over the Internet. Blogs and other Internet forums are riddled with postings warning of the government using the malware as a ploy to breach American citizens' computers. That's a charge the FBI and other cybersecurity experts familiar with the malware quickly denounce as ridiculous.

Still, the Internet is flooded with conspiracy theories:

"I think the FBI just wants everyone to go to that website to check our computers so they can check our computers as well. Just a way to steal data for their own research," one computer user said in a posting on the Internet.


Another observed: "Yet another ploy to get everyone freaked out ... remember Y2K."


There also is an underlying sense that this will be much ado about nothing, such as the approach of 2000. The transition to that year presented technical problems and fears that some computers would stop working because they were not set up for the date change. In the end there were very few problems.

Considering there are millions of Internet users across the country, several thousand isn't a big deal, unless you're one of them.

Rep. Jim Langevin, D-R.I., and co-founder of Congress' cybersecurity caucus, said computer uses have a responsibility to practice good sense and make sure their computers are not infected or being hijacked by criminals.

"These types of issues are only going to increase as our society relies more and more on the Internet, so it is a reminder that everyone can do their part," he said.

FBI officials have been tracking the number of computers they believe still may be infected by the malware. As of Wednesday, there were about 45,600 in the U.S. — nearly 20,000 less than a week ago. Worldwide, the total is roughly 250,000 infected. The numbers have declined steadily, and recent efforts by Internet service providers may limit the problems on Monday.

Tom Grasso, an FBI supervisory special agent, said many Internet providers have plans to try to help their customers. Some may put technical solutions in place that will correct the server problem. It they do, the Internet will work, but the malware will remain on victims' computers and could pose future problems.

Other Internet providers are simply braced for the calls to their help lines.


By Monday, if you can't read this online, those customer support lines will be your only solution.

[Northern Girl]

I ended up junking my last computer because of this fucker. I wouldn't think there would still be anyone still with it, but I guess so.

The www.dns-ok.us link is the easiest check.

[Satan]

HellCast are screwing with the Infernonet so much lately that I wouldn't have any damned idea if I was infected by this shit or not.

Thank all that's unholy that I knew about this months ago and made sure that everything internally here at Hell's head office was secured.

[Blaze]

<3 2 u.

[FORD]

Doomsday bump....

[chefcraig]

Monday’s Internet ‘blackout’ appears to fizzle out

By Dylan Stableford, Yahoo! News

The Great Internet Blackout of 2012, which the FBI feared could impact thousands of Internet users, came and went with little more than a whimper on Monday, as the so-called "Doomsday" deadline passed with few reports of outages.

At 12:01 a.m. EDT, the FBI shut down temporary servers it had set up to handle Web traffic for thousands of computers infected with a virus spread by a ring of cyber criminals the bureau busted last year. Those using the estimated 200,000 computers still infected with the virus were expected to lose their Internet connection after the servers were closed down.

But Monday's big "blackout" failed to materialize.

"The impact seems to have been limited," CBS MoneyWatch.com said. According to the FBI, 41,800 of the 211,000 worldwide computers infected with the virus were in the United States, but U.S. Internet providers reported vastly fewer victims.

In Australia, the "anticipated chaos at ISPs did not eventuate and, at worst, caused little more than a modest increase in calls to helpdesks," according to theaustralian.com.

In the U.K., "security firms reported no significant outages linked to the DNS Changer virus," the Daily Mail reported, "as many Internet service providers have either implemented a fix or contacted customers with steps to clean their computers."

Many Internet service providers had made temporary arrangements to keep those customers affected by the virus online. Online security firms, Facebook and the FBI offered free diagnostic checks for users whose computers may be infected. And the problem, security experts said, was relatively easy to fix.

Meanwhile, media hype over a potential "blackout" threatened "to obscure what has been a highly successful effort—one of few to date—to stamp out a global online scam and malware infestation," Paul Roberts wrote on threatpost.com. Six people were arrested in Estonia and charged with Internet fraud in the sting. A seventh, who was living in Russia, remains at large.

[DONNIEP]

Thank Satan all of my usual internet pron sites are working

[ZahZoo]

My damn "play at home" (non-work) computer couldn't access the internet this morning... wasn't any dad gum malware though...

I guess the power supply died in it's sleep sometime between Saturday afternoon and Monday morning after powering down to go out. RIP...

Now the next big decision... replace power supply on 6 year old system or spring for a new one... hmmm