FBI: Hundreds of Thousands To Lose Internet Monday

[Brother_Bliss]

FBI: Hundreds of Thousands To Lose Internet Monday

Posted: Jul 06, 2012 9:21 PM EDT

Updated: Jul 06, 2012 9:21 PM EDT

By Michael Konopasek, News 9 - bio | email

OKLAHOMA CITY - The FBI says Americans are just days away from an internet shut down that is expected to target hundreds of thousands of people. The FBI says those who have the virus don't even know it. Luckily, there are some simple steps to take to find out.

For the past year, the malware has been targeting both PCs and Macs. The FBI says infected computers are directed to specific servers halfway around the world. In order to fix it, agents will need to shut those servers down and that's the problem.

Think of it as an illness the computer world has been dealing with for the past year. The symptoms have not been severe yet, but the FBI says the hourglass is almost empty.

"This was an internet fraud scheme," said James Finch, special agent in charge of the FBI in Oklahoma City.

Read more about the virus and what you can do about it.

In November 2011, six people were arrested in Estonia for corrupting 4-million computers globally, including about 500,000 computers in the United States. On Monday, the bureau will be shutting down the malware servers.

"It was definitely financially motivated," Finch said. "The bad guys made [more than] $14-million."

The FBI says the cons made that cash by directing users to websites for marketing purposes.

Checking to see if your computer has the virus is easy. Just go to this website. One you're there click "detect" and scroll down to the language you prefer. If you receive a green color, your computer is fine. If you receive a red color, follow additional instructions to get rid of the virus.

"It doesn't hurt to go to one of these sites and check," Finch said.

If you have the virus and don't take care of it before Monday, the FBI says you will need to contact your internet service provider to get back online. The FBI says since the virus hit the U.S., about 150,000 computers have been restored.

Article Source: http://www.news9.com/story/18968979/fbi-hundreds-of-thousands-to-lose-internet-monday

[Brother_Bliss]

I just went to the checker site and got the green light of approval. I am not infected.

[ava]

I just checked, got green. Need to check the other computer though now.

Thanks, I heard this on the news earlier today as well.

[Spydar]

I got the green light

[Hallett 82]

My computer had better not be infected . . it is exactly a month old today. It is still on 4hr feeds during the night too.

Now off to check if hubby is infected. (I mean his computer) .

[trottigy]

It looks like this turned out to be another Y2K thing - http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-no-signs-of-trouble-from-internet-doomsday-virus-20120709,0,5123832.story

"As of Sunday the number of machines using the clean servers was down to 211,000, with about 42,000 in the United States, according to the FBI.

That is a tiny fraction of the world's more than 1 billion Internet users, said Luis Corrons Granel, technical director with the research lab of anti-virus software maker Panda Security. "Not a big impact," he said.

The number of users who lost Internet service was likely far fewer than the 211,000 who accessed the temporary server on Sunday, said Hypponen, of F Secure.

That is because many Internet service providers, including AT&T Inc and Time Warner Cable, set up their own servers so their customers with infected machines could continue to access the Internet.

"It's the 9th of July, and the Internet has not exploded into bits and pieces," remarked one Twitter user."

[barbara10]

Well, so much for this Internet thing. Two days later and haven't heard anything further. (I did go to the website and got the green light at about 8P.M. Sunday night, just to be on the safe side.) I wonder what's next?

[TJ]

Well, so much for this Internet thing. Two days later and haven't heard anything further. (I did go to the website and got the green light at about 8P.M. Sunday night, just to be on the safe side.) I wonder what's next?

Maybe this?

[rbrown1205]

It is scarey that we have become so dependent on the computer for information and communication. Newspapers are suffering from lower circulation, and the post offices are closing down or expanding their services to include other things. The internet, which now allows us to watch programs online, is even threatening the profit base of network television and movies.

A large scale virus infection threat like this is becoming more ominous, each time that it happens. It's great that it wasn't as widespread as expected, but the fact that it happens still, and tech people haven't figured out a way to prevent it, is even an even worse thought.

[rbrown1205]

In a country with 380 million people, 47,000 computers may not make a difference--unless it's YOUR computer!!!

http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-dns-changer-47000-20120709,0,777095.story