Bill Williams (IT): Support Site
[home]
|
[profile]
|
[register]
|
[help]
|
[Contact Us]
Revise: Internet Doomsday...The DNS Changer Virus
Note: You must be registered in order to post a Topic or Comment.
To register,
click here
.
Note: Only the poster of this message, and the moderator can edit the message.
Your UserName:
Your Passkey:
Forgot your passkey?
[Click Here]
Subject:
Byline:
for Staff use.
Body Text:
For a guide to
embellishing
the text,
click
here
A virus has been circulating on the Internet which affects Windows, Macs and Mobile Smartphones; the virus changes the settings in your computer/phone so that it no longer uses the DNS server entry supplied by your broadband supplier, but one run by cyber criminals. DNS servers provide to the internet the same sort of service that Directories enquiries provide to the ordinary telephone system i.e. they convert the name you are seeking into the corresponding number. For certain web sites, the fake DNS servers gave you a fake number instead, which sent you to a criminals webpage, which worked as normal, but could have been stealing information and advertising revenue from you. The FBI and Estonian officials caught the criminals and shut down the fake DNS servers, by substituting a real DNS server for each of the fakes, however they do not want the expense of running them for ever and proposes to shut them off on the 9th July 2012. See Telegraph article, which somewhat exaggerates the problem. http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/fbi-warns-virus-victims-face-internet-doomsday-7676060.html [a]http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/fbi-warns-virus-victims-face-internet-doomsday-7676060.html[/a] The difficulty is that IF AND ONLY IF, your computer was at some time infected by this virus, after 9th July it will still be trying to use the faked DNS server addresses and so won't be able to connect to any named place on the Internet. It will be like trying to make a phone call with no phone-book and no Directory Enquiries. So if you have any suspicion that you might have been infected you should test your computer BEFORE July 9th. FBI have provided a test; go to this location https://forms.fbi.gov/check-to-see-if-your-computer-is-using-rogue-DNS [a]https://forms.fbi.gov/check-to-see-if-your-computer-is-using-rogue-DNS[/a] And then click on the relevant URL link in the first column of the table. This will tell you whether or not you are using one of the FAKED servers. Most people will be OK. If you are unfortunate and have been infected, basically you have to remove the virus and then set your computer back to the information that was originally supplied by your broadband supplier. You received this information in a paper letter from your supplier when you had your broadband connected. In many cases it was automatically done for you. If in doubt contact your broadband supplier's help desk. The test page with some additional information is also at: http://www.dcwg.org/detect/ [a]http://www.dcwg.org/detect/[/a] and a page pointing to fix tools is at http://www.dcwg.org/fix/ [a]http://www.dcwg.org/fix/[/a] ~~~~~~ When clear of the virus, or even if you never had it, you might want to consider setting you computer to use the OpenDNS servers instead, these are nice 'clean' servers, which do the opposite of those crim's servers, for all websites which are known by them to be criminal, the OpenDNS servers won't tell you the address, instead they give you the address of a warning page. Read all about it at: http://info.opendns.com/enterprise-web-filter-free-trial.html?_kk=%2Bopen%20%2BDNS&_kt=14de1171-91ba-4ee8-b850-ac4b3d65148a&gclid=CO7Cr9_j0q8CFQHcfAod9R45HA [a]http://info.opendns.com/enterprise-web-filter-free-trial.html?_kk=%2Bopen%20%2BDNS&_kt=14de1171-91ba-4ee8-b850-ac4b3d65148a&gclid=CO7Cr9_j0q8CFQHcfAod9R45HA[/a] Bill. Revised on 26 Apr 2012
Check here to include your profile signature.
Check here Remember Details.
Go to Home Page