You May Unknowingly Have a Virus That will Make the Internet Disappear July 9

I don't generally make a point of writing non-sports stuff for our audience on this site, but I thought this was important enough of a public service item not to share. Hundreds of thousands of people may have a piece of malware on their computer that could kick them off the internet come July 9; and the worst part is, you most of these people don't even know they are infected. How do you know and how do you fix it? Luckily we have the information.

A group of hackers in 2007 unleashed on the web a piece of malware called "DNSChanger", which essentially redirects victims to sites and ads the hackers want you to visit, with the hope they gain a little money or information in the process. The FBI stepped in and shut down the crime ring, taking over the DNS to make sure those infected could access the web as normal.

The problem is that running a DNS is expensive, and the government has set plans to shut down the DNS on July 9, which will shut down the access point infected users have - essentially taking away internet access. The government is directing those concerned they may be infected to http://www.dcwg.org/. The several users have reported problems loading the site, and upon trying to access it myself I experienced the same problem. It is most likely due to visit overload, but we are waiting for an official response from the site manager.

For full information on the virus, how it works, and what you can do about it, check out the full story on our sister site.