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View Full Version : FBI pulling 'net plug 7/9 on 350K USA+ who have DNSChanger Trojan+don't know it.



beefsteak
27th May 2012, 11:38 PM
Isn't this so sweet of the FBI? Gonna save the world one Trojan at a time? All those "nice servers" collecting data
from infected computers is going to go exactly where now?
Yeah, I thought so.

[quote]
'Internet blackout' set for 9 July: FBI to 'pull plug' on 350,000 virus-infected machines - cutting off Web for users in U.S. and UK




Machines infected with virus being 'kept alive' by FBI
Operation costing so much FBI will 'pull plug' on 9 July
350,000 PCs infected, mostly private individuals
80,000 victims in U.S., 20,000 in UK

By Rob Waugh (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=&authornamef=Rob+Waugh) and Christine Show (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=&authornamef=Christine+Show)
UPDATED: 20:56 EST, 25 May 2012

(http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2150236/Google-launches-campaign-warn-THOUSANDS-victims-infected-computers-kicked-internet-weeks.html#comments)


Google has joined an effort to warn thousands of users around the world that the internet will suddenly 'turn off' on 9 July of this year.
The internet search-engine giant will set up alerts visible to the roughly 350,000 PC users with infected computers when they use its search results page as a warning that their machines have an invisible, undetectable 'Trojan' computer virus called DNSChanger.


Google's decision to lend help comes as the FBI, which detected the infection and established 'surrogate' servers to keep infected PCs working, plans to 'pull the plug' in July as a cost-cutting measure.


Warning: Google will set up alerts visible for the roughly 350,000 PC users that their computers are infected with a virus on its search results page
OK...I'm confused...is it 350K or 20K messed up PCs?Laptops?





Around 350,000 PC users have machines infected with an invisible, undetectable 'Trojan' computer virus sending users to unintended and illegal sites





Google plans to alert more than 500,000 people in a week of the virus, which sends users of the Web to unintended - and sometimes illegal - sites.


Damian Menscher, a Google social engineer, wrote in his blog that the search engine's initiative will reach a wider range of people as half the affected computers are owned by those who do not speak English.



'Our goal with this notification is to raise awareness of DNSChanger among affected users,' he wrote. 'We believe directly messaging affected users on a trusted site and in their preferred language will produce the best possible results.'
The search-engine company hopes to reach out to many of the users who have no idea their computers are even infected.


Infected: The Trojan 'DNSChanger' could cause millions - including Fortune 500 companies - to lose their Internet if the FBI shuts down surrogate servers



According to RT Network, servers function by translating traditional website URLs to their ‘numeric counterpart.’


But computers with the Trojan, which originally emerged in Estonia, will send users to fraudulent websites.



And, if the FBI shuts off their emergency servers, millions of people could potentially be without Internet.


The temporary servers set up by the FBI were created to allow companies to remove the worm from their infected servers; those affected had 120 days to get rid of the malware.


After FBI warnings, the number of PCs infected with the Trojan has plunged - and most are in the hands of private individuals, not companies.

Court order: The FBI will retire their surrogate servers by March 8



Ticking clock: The FBI's surrogate servers can run until March 8, at which point they will either have to be shut down or run by a court-ordered extension



Of the 350,000 infected machines worldwide, 85,000 are in the U.S and 20,000 are in the UK.
The malware is especially effective, Gizmodo reports, because it blocks infected users from visiting secure sites that could help them rid of the worm.


Law enforcement officials and the computer industry have been working together in a coalition to fight the malware.



The group, called the DNSChanger Working Group, will examine possibilities to fixing the problem.


If no solution is reached, millions of people could be without the Internet, RT reports.




Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2150236/Google-launches-campaign-warn-THOUSANDS-victims-infected-computers-kicked-internet-weeks.html#ixzz1w8hUIuAs

osoab
28th May 2012, 03:39 AM
Looks like this date has been extended at least once before.

FBI Receives Court Order To Impose Targeted Internet Takeover On March 8th (http://www.thewatchtowers.com/fbi-receives-court-order-to-impose-targeted-internet-takeover-on-march-8th/)


From Beef's OP.



Around 350,000 PC users have machines infected with an invisible, undetectable 'Trojan' computer virus sending users to unintended and illegal sites
If it is invisible and undetectable, how can .gov find it? I am also wondering the FBI is running special servers just for this virus.

beefsteak
28th May 2012, 09:14 AM
Thanks, O. :)

Awoke
28th May 2012, 10:04 AM
Nice of the FBI to go out of their way to "help" all these "victims". LOL.

Twisted Titan
28th May 2012, 03:03 PM
So that is how they are gonna shut down the net

You have A undectable virus and you can't logg back on unless you get a gubbermint approved " key"

Neuro
28th May 2012, 05:50 PM
Looks like this date has been extended at least once before.

FBI Receives Court Order To Impose Targeted Internet Takeover On March 8th (http://www.thewatchtowers.com/fbi-receives-court-order-to-impose-targeted-internet-takeover-on-march-8th/)

From Beef's OP.



If it is invisible and undetectable, how can .gov find it? I am also wondering the FBI is running special servers just for this virus.
I think they will just turn off Internet of people they don't like. An invisible and undetectable virus is a good excuse.

drafter
28th May 2012, 05:54 PM
350k?? In the scheme of how many people use the internet, this is like saying "there's needles out there! so we're going to have to burn everybodys haystack...."

undgrd
29th May 2012, 06:40 AM
I am I the only one that thinks it's the computer owners responsibility to maintain their PC? Why should taxpayers fund a program to keep privately owned, virus infected PC online?

Can we expect new taxpayer funded programs to maintain exhaust systems of negligent owners?
How about cash for PC's?

No Thanks!

Carl
29th May 2012, 07:10 AM
If shutting down the net could kill viruses on pc's then I would've never made a living cleaning viruses off pc's.

You can't kill a virus on a person's pc by removing it from the net, just as you can't clean a virus off a pc through the net. (online virus removal sites like "clean my pc" are a scam)

They would also be shutting down commerce for a large section of the economy.

There's a lot more going on here and I think Twisted Titan is closest to the correct answer...

Carl
29th May 2012, 07:14 AM
Besides, a lot of people run automatic DNS changers so they cant be tracked while on the net.

Mouse
30th May 2012, 12:31 AM
Increasing numbers of cyber-threat news articles, making it seem as though we are all so vulnerable, and the FBI and the alpha soup agency do-gooders are helping us out and protecting us......

Couldn't possibly be a setup for when the "cyber attack" takes down not just the Net, but oopsidentally erases all the digits at the banks?

Oops