Vicious Malware – DNSChanger

Jul7

Are You Affected?

DNSChanger is malicious software (“malware”) that modifies your PC’s connections to the internet. This malware modifies a computer’s Domain Name Service (DNS) settings and thereby directs the computers to receive potentially improper results from rogue DNS servers hosted by the hackers.

In other words, when you think you’re going to a secure website; you’re not. Which of course can compromise your logins, identity, financial accounts and more.

There are many sites that offer to help search your PC to see if you have been infected with this malware. If you’re like me, you should be suspicious of all these websites. How can you tell the good ones from a Hacker’s site trying to get information from your computer or infect a computer that hasn’t been infected.

Here’s a piece of advice for the PC novice. NEVER click on a link without looking at where it’s going to take you. Many scam sites and emails will attempt to show you the link, but the code behind the text is totally different. So it pays to look at where you’re really going. When you hover your mouse over a link, either in email or through a browser, you will be able to see where the link is going to go. In email, you’ll usually see some type of pop-up or line in your web browser you’ll usually see the link pop up at the bottom of the window.

The FBI has provided a PDF for information on how to determine your DNS settings, along with other technical details about DNSChanger here: FBI DNS-Changer-Malware. If you are infected, this page will also provide websites you can visit to correct the problem.

You can also go to the FBI’s website to check your computer and determine if it’s using the rogue DNS or not by going here: Rogue-DNS-Checker

The FBI Site will ask you for your IP Address. If you don’t know how to find your public IP; or if you’re using a wi-fi service (like Xfinity), you can ask Google to find your IP. Simply go to Google and type in: My IP Address. Google will show you the public IP you’re coming from.

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