No Internet access Monday!

DHAKA: Nearly three lakh DNSChanger virus-hit computers may lose Internet access from Monday, July 9.

DNSChanger is a malware computer programme that redirect the Internet traffic to fake websites, report agencies.

Servers setup to provide temporary relief to DNSChanger victims will be shutdown on July 9.

As a result, all computers infected with this threat are likely to no longer be able to access the Internet.

‘If users’ computers have the wrong DNS settings for the servers, they will not be able to access websites, send e-mail or use Internet services’, security firm McAfee statement said, reports NDTV.

The ring behind the DNS Changer virus, discovered in 2007, was shut down last year by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, Estonian police and other law enforcement agencies.

Because the virus controlled so much Web traffic, authorities obtained a court order to allow the FBI to operate replacement servers which allow traffic to flow normally, even from infected computers.

But that order expires Monday, when experts say infected computers will face an ‘Internet doomsday’.

Security firms and experts are advising all users to check if their computer is infected immediately, or risk losing Internet access.

BDST: 1825 HRS, JUL 8, 2012

Edited by Robab Rosan, Cultural Affairs Editor