Web could vanish for hordes of people in July, FBI warns

cnet.com ^ | April 21, 2012 | Edward Moyer

[Las Vegas Dave]

The FBI is warning that hundreds of thousands of people could lose their Internet connections come July, unless they take steps to diagnose and disinfect their computers.

The problem is related to malware called DNSChanger that was first discovered way back in 2007 and that has infected millions of computers worldwide.

In simple terms, when you type a Web address into your browser, your computer contacts DNS (or Domain Name System) servers to find out the numerical Internet Protocol (IP) address of the site you're trying to reach, and then it takes you there. DNSChanger fiddled with an infected machine's settings and directed it to rogue servers set up by a crime ring -- servers that handed out addresses to whatever sites the ring chose.

As a U.S attorney said in an FBI press release, the crooks "were international cyberbandits who hijacked millions of computers at will and rerouted them to Internet Web sites and advertisements of their own choosing -- collecting millions in undeserved commissions for all the hijacked computer clicks and Internet ads they fraudulently engineered."

Late last year, however, the FBI disrupted the ring and seized the rogue servers. And since so many infected computers relied on the servers to reach the Internet, the agency opted not to shut them down and instead converted them to legitimate DNS machines.

Running the machines costs the government money, though,so they're being switched off in July. If your computer is infected with DNSChanger then, the Web -- for you -- will no longer exist.

The DNSChanger Working Group (DCWG), the body set up to oversee the servers, has created a Web site to help you diagnose your machine and, if necessary, remove DNSChanger. You can check it out at www.dcwg.org. And it's probably not a bad idea to do so sometime before, say, July 8 (the DCWG says the servers will be shut down the following day).

[GOPJ]

I don’t understand. Why doesn’t the FBI give the fix to Symantec, ZoneAlarm, Norton, Malwarebyes etc?

[GOPJ]

I don’t understand. Why doesn’t the FBI give the fix to Symantec, ZoneAlarm, Norton, Malwarebytes etc?

[itsahoot]

It said you could still be infected....

Yes it did, but not with the DNS Changer, it means other types of infections, since it only checks for the one thing.

[virgil]

I have Norton, and last week I started getting email errors..lots of them. I called Norton for help since I’m no wiz at computers. Spent about an hour with them and they said it was fixed. Well, I don’t get the errors anymore, but today I did a full system scan and had 150 files of Trojan.smoaler and Trojan.gen that were supposedly resolved by the scan. I’ve never had that many attacks before, ever.

[mmichaels1970]

today I did a full system scan and had 150 files of Trojan.smoaler and Trojan.gen that were supposedly resolved by the scan.

Nothing is full-proof. I personally don't care for Norton for a couple of reasons:

1. You have to pay for it every year.
2. Nothing is full-proof...not even software you pay for.
3. Norton seems to have a pretty heavy footprint, in that things just seem to run much slower as Norton enforces its live protection policies.

Now I'm not saying to go out and dump it, but it just isn't my particular tool of choice.

When people bring their computers to me for repair/malware removal, I normally install Microsoft Security Essentials. It's certainly better than nothing, and I prefer it because:

1. It's free.
2. Nothing is full-proof. Might as well get the same adequate protection with a free product.
3. Footprint is generally light, computer seems to behave just as quickly with it as without it.
4. People will gag at this one, but...it's by Microsoft. If I'm trying to protect a computer with a Microsoft OS on it, than who knows the important system files, weaknesses, exploits and such as well as Microsoft would.

In all, I recommend:

1. Have some sort of antivirus protection. Microsoft Security Essentials if you don't want to pay for it.
2. Keep an updated copy of the free scanner from malwarebytes.org. Run an update and scan at least every two or so weeks.

That should be enough for most users to stay relatively safe.

[virgil]

Thanks for the recommendations. My computer is getting old. I’ve had it for about 7 years. It whines. I’m just waiting, waiting for the hard drive to fail. It may be time or a good excuse to get a new one. :-)

[LibertyRocks]

PapaBear, that would have actually required logic. Can’t have logic and rational thought sneaking its way into a bureaucracy! ;)

[Colonel_Flagg]

This isn’t the worst thing in the world. Given the likely Presidential matchup, I won’t have much interest in politics then.

[LibertyRocks]

Only saw one of those items besides this thread... Will have to look into that Navy story.

The Muslim thing with Egyptian law though - that’s got me really scratching my head. I wasn’t aware there were ANY religious, social, or political groups that advocate for acceptance of necrophilia - pretty sure that’s a “no-no” for ALL religions I’m aware of. I’m not naive, and I’m sure there are “cults” or perhaps several individuals in a “group” of some sorts that may participate in such behavior, but to “decriminalize” it... very strange.

[dfwgator]

"We're headin' out West, we heard there might be some Internet there, so we're headin' out Californee-way."

[GOPJ]

What do you think is the best security system?

[GOPJ]

What do you think is the best security system? Don’t you assume if this is bad that the FBI will voluntarily share the information with Norton?

[mmichaels1970]

What do you think is the best security system?

A semi-educated user is best. Other than that, I don't have a favorite as I think they are all imperfect. Microsoft Security Essentials is what I install on every computer I come across without other anti-virus protection. If a client comes to me with Norton, Symantec, Kaspersky, or other, I leave it installed as is.

Don’t you assume if this is bad that the FBI will voluntarily share the information with Norton?

Yes. I would think they would. However, I think the FBI is getting their knowledge from the "working groups" which are probably sharing with Norton and the other antivirus companies already.