The estimated reading time for this post is 3 minutes
On Monday Internet access will be blocked for thousands of people around the world. This isn’t an urban myth, instead this is the result of computer hackers in Estonia who were nabbed by an FBI sting last year. Since 2007, the thieves infected 4 million computers in over 100 countries, including 500,000 computers in the US. The hackers collected over $14 million dollars until they were caught by the FBI.
What Happened
These hackers created malware called DNSChanger that redirected Internet traffic through their servers. DNS stands for Domain Name System. DNS takes an Internet address and directs the computer to the proper server so when you type in an address such as google.com, your computer heads to Google’s home page. But the malware redirected computers to malicious websites that looked like real websites.
When the FBI caught the hackers, it intended to shut down the servers immediately but realized that those people who were infected by DNSChanger would be cut off from the Internet if the servers were shut down. So the FBI activated temporary replacement servers to give people a chance to debug their computers. But on Monday, July 9, called “Internet Doomsday” by the media, those temporary FBI servers will be shut down for good.
Think of it like a road trip. Hackers sent traffic on a detour through their tunnel so they could rob from the travelers. The FBI was going to shut down the tunnel but then realized that travelers would hit a dead-end. So the FBI replaced the tunnel with a temporary tunnel that will be open until Monday. After Monday the temporary tunnel will be closed and those still infected with the malware will hit the dead-end and won’t be able to connect to the Internet.
What You Need to Know
- The malware spread worldwide. About 300,000 computers were found be infected as of June 11, including 58,000 in the US.
- The malware hit both computers and routers.
How to Test to See If You’re Infected
To see if you’re infected, go to this website if you’re in the US: DNS Checker. Make sure to check this from each of your computers and from your home router. To check your computer in other countries, visit this website: Check Your DNS.
If you see the screen above, your Internet should not be blocked on Monday. If you get a red screen, either your computer or your router is infected.
Note that if you get a green screen, you may still be infected with DNSChanger. Some Internet service providers anticipated problems with the FBI’s solution and rerouted their Internet traffic. In the analogy I used above, some Internet service providers built their own tunnels so detoured traffic wouldn’t hit a dead-end on Monday.
What to Do If You’re Infected
If you believe your computer has been infected, check out this site: How to Detect and Fix a Machine Infected with DNSChanger, which will help you find out if your computer is infected and how to repair it.
If your computer isn’t infected, your router still may be. Check out this site if you suspect that your router is infected: How to Find, Remove DNSChanger From Your Router.
If you believe your computer is infected and you need help, check with a computer specialist. If find out that your router is infected, contact your Internet service provider so they can help you debug your router.
Make sure to keep an eye on your bills and your bank statements to make sure your financial data wasn’t hacked.
Additional Information
You can find additional information from the FBI website.
Bottom Line
Check now to see whether you have been infected by the DNSChanger malware. If you find that you can’t access the Internet on Monday, consult with your Internet service provider or a computer service professional to regain access to the Internet and clean your computer.
Have you heard about Internet Doomsday? Have you checked your computer? Let us know in the Comments section below.
* Cyber Attack image by marsmet 501
Hi Carolyn,
I’m OK. I had trouble with my DNS a while a go and changed to Open DNS; and trouble with that and I’m back to detecting the DNS from my ISP. I just checked my router to make sure! The IP’s of my DNS servers aren’t on the FBI’s dodgy list! I think you ill get a lot of readers for this post, I did for my problems with open DNS.
The rain’s stopped in England, I might be able to take pictures this weekend after all. I might take my tripod with me this week; I’ll look more professional!
I’m in front with my blogs too, I wrote my psychology blog and scheduled it for Monday, earlier. I have one scheduled for tomorrow too!
Hi Mike, I’m glad you’re not infected. These types of posts are not my favorite to write, but I had a request for an article on the topic from a Wonder of Tech reader and I agree that people need to be told.
I am actually watching the rain delay at Wimbledon now. One think I always admired about the Brits is how rarely they cancel plans because of the rain. But with some things, such as the Wimbledon and photography, the show can’t go on! :-“
Wow, I have read about the hackers, but I had no idea that this was still going around. I am not infected. I am not sure if that’s because I am using a Mac or not, but so far I haven’t had any problems after I started using a Mac. I had problems all the time with viruses, trojans etc.. when I used a PC 🙂
Hi Jens, I’m so glad you’re not infected. I really hope no Wonder of Tech reader discovers they have been infected. But I thought it was important to let people know just in case they were.
Because routers could be infected as well as computers, even Mac users are affected. But Macs have traditionally been safer from viruses than PC’s.
I had no idea that routers could get infected. Keep writing about news like this. I am sure I am not the only one that needs to get updated 🙂
Thanks you, Jens. It’s good to know this was helpful. Sometimes I don’t realize what people don’t know so I am very grateful to The Wonder of Tech reader who requested an article on this issue.
Informative indeed Carolyn!
I did read about the coming problem in the Newspapers yesterday, though they never really explained everything so well. I guess there’s nothing we all can really do about it is there? Yes if we are infected then there would be a problem, though I wonder for how long? Will we be without the Internet for a number of days or is it just for the 9th I wonder?
I guess I better check out if I am infected by going through the links you mentioned.
Thanks so much for sharing and letting all of us know about such important information. 🙂
Hi Harleena, Great question. No, if you’re off of the Internet on July 9th, you’re off until you rid your computer/router of the virus. The FBI is taking down their temporary servers for good. They can’t keep up the server forever so they decided on Monday being the date they would shut them down.
I hope you’re not affected by this, Harleena.
And you said red is a good thing, right? Nah….I’m green and clean. Of course, this is my office computer too and they do a good job of keeping it all cleaned up for me.
Excellent, Bill. That’s great news. Stay green and clean!
Thanks for telling me about this I just tested and very happy that I am not infected by this virus.
Hi Rajnish, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! I’m so glad you weren’t infected. That’s great news, thanks for letting us know!
Hi Carolyn
I am pretty sure that I am not affected and if I am I know how to fix it. It is however a bit spooky that they have been able to infect routers too…!
I guess that the Internet was not designed to handle this kind of attacks when many of the protocols we still use today were designed.
Hi Thomas, I’m very glad that the FBI was able to catch these thieves, but I’m sure there are more like them out there. This may be just the first of many stories like this one. Hackers are getting increasingly sophisticated with their skills.
I hope you are in the green, Thomas! 🙂
I had been hearing about this off and on for awhile but always kept forgetting to check to make sure my computer was OK! Thank you for the link and I am malware free!
I feel sure there are going to be a few people not to happy when the FBI shuts the site down.
Aaron
Hi Aaron, Yes, I am sure there are some people who won’t know why they can’t access the Internet tomorrow. But the FBI can’t keep their servers open forever so we’re lucky that they gave us months to clear up the problems.
I’m happy that you were malware free, Aaron! 🙂
I hate the people who have done this. Some people work from home, accessing the net is their bread and butter, and they thought they can get away from it. Good for them.. Justice has been served. btw, thanks for the DNS checker you have included. Cheers mate!
Hi John, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! Yes, malware is a very serious problem that is affecting people both at home and in the workplace. I’m glad the FBI has caught this ring, and I hope they are able to succeed in catching more of these criminals.
I hope you are in the green, John, and that your computer is safe from this malware. Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts.
Hi, thanks for the tip on cheking the computer. Jerry was in the green.
Hi Jerry, I’m so very happy to hear that good news! Stay green and clean! :-bd
Very interesting post once again, this is very helpful and thank you for sharing this information with us.
I’ve been listening to the news about this case all weekend, and I figured I would just hold my breath on Monday. But your post allowed me to confirm proactively that my DNS was not impacted, and now I feel a wee bit more informed about what was actually going on.
Scary to think how vulnerable we are! You may not enjoy writing these posts Carolyn, but this information really helps so many people to feel more protected, so thank you!
Yet another Excellent chunk of information Carolyn. 🙂
Hackers have always created problems and this one is of much importance to be seen forward as their are millions of internet users and shutting down their access will create problems.but its for their well being,right.
I have checked my DNS and it working fine ……i will share this article with my colleages as well.
Although the FBI has catched the thieves they are not able to totally remove this problem permanantly.Yes, they have temporarily provide alternate server service but for how long it will work.Hope they will find some way to protect the internet users soon and they don’t have to shut the servers down.
Thanks for sharing this tend to be known information.
Hi Aditya, I’m glad you found this information valuable and that your DNS is working well. The server has been shut down and luckily, no reports of Wonder of Tech readers being affected. The most important thing the FBI can do is to catch these thieves so I’m glad they’re busy doing that instead of running servers.
Thanks for sharing this article, Aditya! 🙂
Carolyn,
Thank you for the link of DNS checker, actually was looking for it as friend of mine complained his system got infected.
I smile when I got big green sign.
John.
Avoid or be extremely cautious when clicking on links and the opening of suspicious material as well as the using the best available security measures to always keep away from the attacks.
Hi George, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! You’re right, it’s important to avoid clicking on suspicious links. I hope you stayed safe during the Olympics!