The plethora of virus and other malware today will either make you paranoid or completely indifferent about the whole thing. Either way, the fact remains that malware and spyware do exist with some having more apparent effects than other, and others being more destructive than most.
While the main reasons people get all jittery about malware and spyware are usually privacy and data issues, one thing that would surely make anyone take notice is suddenly not being able to connect to the Internet. We are so used to being continuously hooked to the Internet that we no longer think about it. Well if the Internet is as essential to you as it is to me, then you’d better pay attention to the virus called DNS Changer.
The DNS Changer is a malware that the FBI first issued a warning on back in November 2011. According to the FBI, the DNSChanger affects your computer by controlling DNS servers and in effect forcing unsuspecting users to fraudulent websites, interfering with web browsing, and making your computer vulnerable to other malware. While that in itself is bad enough for you to take notice and make sure that your computer is not affected by the virus, the fact is that computers that are stil infected by the virus come July 9, 2012 will probably end up losing Internet connectivity.
The reason for this is that the only reason you still have Internet connectivity at all (if you’re affected by the virus) is the FBI was able to get a court order “authorizing the Internet Systems Consortium (ISC) to deploy and maintain temporary clean DNS servers” for those already affected by the virus. These clean servers will be shut down on July 9, by which time you should have cleaned up your own system and restored your DNS settings to what it should be. So if you’re not yet sure if you’re affected by the malware, head to DNS Changer Check Up Site to see if you are in the clear.
Image via DNS Changer Check Up