DNS Changing Malware: Is Your PC at Risk?
Digital hackers have created some pretty nasty viruses. Find out what you can do to protect yourself.
On November 8, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Estonian police arrested several cyber criminals involved in “Operation Ghost Click.” Operating under the name of “Rove Digital” these computer villains distributed a DNS changing malware that now affects many computers both PC and Mac.
“DNS is a protocol within the set of standards for how computers exchange data on the Internet and on many private networks, known as the TCP/IP protocol suite,” says Ken Yanzki, a senior computer science major. DNS stands for Domain Name System. If you have used the Internet, chances are you have used a DNS system.
The malware directs effected computers DNS data centers out of Chicago, Estonia, and New York. The outcome being that computer users were sent to malicious DNS servers altering their search results and leading them to possibly dangerous products. Every search starts with a DNS so the Internet shown on effected computers is altered.
Under a court order, on July 9, the Internet Systems Consortium will be operating a replacement DNS server for all the machines affected by the Rove Digital network. Allowing affected networks the needed time to search out infected hosts, and avoid further disruption of services to victim computer systems.
By going to www.dcwg.org you can find out more about this malware. Also, check to see if your computer in infected with nasty DNS malware and learn how to protect your computer against similar threats in the future.
