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Posted: 1:43 p.m. Monday, May 28, 2012

FBI offers online fix for malware that prevents internet access

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ClarkHoward.com and The Clark Howard Show offer more consumer advice.

By Clark Howard


Your computer could have a rampant type of malware on it that could potentially take you offline after July 9.

We've had what seems like a crisis a day for both Mac and PC users in recent weeks. Mac users were recently subjected to the largest attack ever in the Apple world. Now PC users are just around the corner from a widespread computer virus that could render their machines a useless doorstop.

Here's the deal: Months ago, the FBI caught wind of a cybercrime ring operating a series of rogue DNS servers. The servers tricked people's computers into viewing altered versions of the Internet that promoted dangerous and bogus products.

Fortunately, the crooks were caught and now the feds want to pull the plug on the rogue servers come July. When that happens, you won't be able to access the Internet or email if you're on a machine that's infected with this computer virus.

Visit DCWG.org to learn more about the malware, and CHECK YOUR COMPUTER HERE.
If infected, a free fix is available. But there's no way to tell who is infected and who isn't until you check. The number of infected computers is believed to be in the hundreds of thousands.

Editor's note: The DNS Changer Working Group (DCWG) is an ad hoc group of subject matter experts, and includes members from organizations such as Georgia Tech, Internet Systems Consortium, Mandiant, National Cyber-Forensics and Training Alliance, Neustar, Spamhaus, Team Cymru, Trend Micro, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

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