DNSChanger malware set to kick 277,000 computers off the web Monday

Anyone who hasn’t scanned their computer for malware some time during the past year should seriously do so before this coming Monday. That’s because the FBI estimates that roughly 277,000 computers worldwide — including 64,000 computers in the United States — will be knocked offline on July 9th due to a piece of malware that first started infecting PCs more than a year ago. Per The Associated Press, the malware in question was originally part of data-stealing scam that would rewrite machines’ DNS information to reroute sensitive data traffic such as credit card information to hackers’ servers. Although the FBI has successfully disrupted the scheme, it will shut off the hackers’ servers on Monday, meaning any user that still has the malware on his or her computer won’t be able to access the Web once they’re turned off. Anyone concerned that a machine might be infected can use the DNS Changer Check-Up website to see if the computer is still looking up IP addresses properly.

Read