A strange type of virus called a DNS changer is being used to create a botnet out of hundreds of thousands of computers. The ‘DNS’ is the server that your computer uses to connect to the internet, and the DNS changer virus is changing that server for malicious reasons.
The DNS changer virus is being operated by a group of hackers called Rove Digital. It redirects PCs to an altered version of the internet. In most cases, these alterations won’t be noticeable, making the virus difficult for the average PC user to detect. However, the DNS changer virus can also direct people to malicious phishing websites, and it can allow hackers to track every piece of information you enter online. In short, the DNS changer virus is a very bad piece of malware to be infected with.
That’s all old news: in November of 2011, FBI officials raided the headquarters of Rove Digital and shut down the botnet’s malicious DNS data centers. Unfortunately, many PCs relied on these DNS servers in order to get internet access. After all, once the virus has changed your computer’s DNS settings, it will remain that way until manually changed by the user (or until the virus has been permanently removed).
Instead of leaving hundreds of thousands of people without internet access, the Internet Systems Consortium agreed to establish replacement DNS servers that would allow those infected by the DNS changer to continue browsing.
Those replacement DNS servers aren’t free, and the Internet Systems Consortium has decided that enough time has passed for users to clean their PCs of the DNS changer malware. As a result, it will turn off its replacement DNS data centers on July 9, 2012 at exactly 12:01am EDT.
So if your PC suddenly loses internet access on July 9 at 12:01am EDT, then you know that your PC is infected with the DNS changer virus. To fix it, try installing PC error removal software like PC Cleaner Pro. Or, look up how to manually change your DNS settings (Windows makes it fairly easy for anybody to do).