Computer virus warning

Posted Friday, July 6, 2012, at 10:04 AM

I wanted to call your attention to a column which I wrote back in April about a situation that could cause some people to lose Internet access next week.

Basically, some computers are infected with a virus that changed one of their settings and has been causing them to use the wrong Domain Name Server, a sort of Internet directory that converts domain names into numeric addresses. The good news is that the FBI found the culprits and has been running what they intended to be a SPAM server as a legitimate DNS server. But the FBI doesn't want to be in the DNS service forever and has been telling users for months that it will shut down the servers next week. If your computer is infected, it won't be able to connect to the Internet once those servers are shut down.

Here's a link to my column, with more details, including how to find out if you're infected:

http://www.t-g.com/story/1841206.html

Comments
Showing comments in chronological order
[Show most recent comments first]

good article thanks

-- Posted by BellBuckleKid on Sat, Jul 7, 2012, at 11:43 AM

Many years ago while surfing the web, I ran across a mention of an app that would get and save the DNS number for the URL one was currently at. Then whenever one went to that URL, the app would automatically load the DNS, speeding up the connection time. I never downloaded as I didn't know whether it was legit or malware.

-- Posted by Tyger on Tue, Jul 10, 2012, at 10:49 AM

John I. Carney

Interesting idea, and it makes sense. Of course, I imagine that numerical IP addresses are subject to change, such as when you move your site from one web host to another, but I'm sure the app could have some way of dealing with that -- using the numerical address when it works, and then looking up the DNS as a backup when the numerical address doesn't seem to work.

Notes from the Newsroom

John I. Carney

- Recent posts
- Archives
- Blog RSS feed

- Comments RSS feed

- Login

John I. Carney is city editor of the Times-Gazette.

Hot topics

Summer tips
(2 ~ 8:43 PM, Jun 12)

RC and Moon Pie Festival
(1 ~ 9:47 AM, Jun 11)

Street view
(9 ~ 8:12 AM, May 31)

River levels
(2 ~ 8:59 PM, May 6)

Bees
(8 ~ 12:48 PM, May 6)

Home