Hundreds of Thousands May Lose Internet in July

[Mousey]

I thought they'd already taken these offline, but it's been delayed till July... Remember those botnets I'm always worrying about... ?

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WASHINGTON (AP) — For computer users, a few mouse clicks could mean the difference between staying online and losing Internet connections this summer.

Unknown to most of them, their problem began when international hackers ran an online advertising scam to take control of infected computers around the world. In a highly unusual response, the FBI set up a safety net months ago using government computers to prevent Internet disruptions for those infected users. But that system is to be shut down.

The FBI is encouraging users to visit a website run by its security partner,

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, that will inform them whether they're infected and explain how to fix the problem. After July 9, infected users won't be able to connect to the Internet.

Most victims don't even know their computers have been infected, ....

 

[jod5413]

Thanks, Mousey! I somehow hadn't even heard about this. What the Hell is wrong with people, that they think doing this stuff is fun, huh? I checked me out and supposedly am fine. Hope so!

 

[sattty]

thnx..checked mine appears im ok

 

[vinylweatherman]

How come this has yet to receive any publicity outside the US given that most of the infected computers are NOT American.

Worse still, for those who have just heard about it, they are being asked to visit a website to get a "detect and fix" for a problem that has received no prior publicity, nor has affected their web browsing.

This itself is no different in appearance to the standard scam, make people fear they have to do this "right now" or face dire consequences, in this case, no internet.

The website even has a "meaningless" name, just 4 random letters (dot) org - hardly reassuring. The URL gives no clue nor credibilty that this is an official FBI fix, as opposed to another of those scammers who pretend they are an FBI agent and you "need" to do what they say right away.

I don't see this making much of a dent in the non-US infected PCs, as even those who hear of this will more than likely dismiss it as a scam.

In order for it to believed, it needs to be confirmed by a reliable source, not just by "word of internet".

Many scams using this model would INFECT, not fix, computers that were lead to such a site.

Even if this is confirmed as official, it opens the door to scammers pretending another similar threat has been detected and held at bay, and now the FBI (or whoever) is going to shut down the servers and leave infected users with no internet, and they should visit www(dot) [4 random letters] (dot) org to see if they are infected, and if so get it fixed.

Now, if this came as an advisory from my ISP (not just by email either), and/or appeared on mainstream news media, I would believe it.

I would have expected that half a million users suddenly unable to connect to the internet from a given date to be a "headline" story, at least in "tech" news, yet I have not seen a word about it until this thread.

 

[Mousey]

Well dang... I wish I had posted links when I first heard about this back in the winter .... around the holidays I think? I'm always afraid I'm just being a mother hen and repeating what everyone has already seen or read.

Anyway... here's a link to a Feb. article in the Register. The 'clean' DNSChanger was originally scheduled to be taken offline in March (I think) but the Feds got their extention. Too bad they didn't make any moves to let everyone know??

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Here's the FBI webpage about 'Operation Ghostclick'

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[blonde]

thanks for posting! I am going to put my two cents in for what it's worth. First of all there is no way I would let the government or a third party working for the government scan my PC. Something tells me this is another move by Big Brother, I could be wrong, but my gut tells me something is up.

 

[butterflyboogie]

Blonde...you and I think alike on this one. What better way for someone to know every step you make on your computer. They may come right through my door but sang if I will open the door for them. I think I will just take my chances...but thanks Mousey.

 

[Mousey]

Blonde...you and I think alike on this one. What better way for someone to know every step you make on your computer. They may come right through my door but sang if I will open the door for them. I think I will just take my chances...but thanks Mousey.

Just be sure you're using a good AV, don't click where you shouldn't when you're on the web, and do the occasional check up with something like Malwarebytes and you should be fine.

 

[jetset]

I seem to be OK...the checking procedure is quick and easy.

I did some research on this, because initially I thought it might be just another scam, but it appears to be genuine from the several independent sources I followed in making enquiries.

 

[vinylweatherman]

I seem to be OK...the checking procedure is quick and easy.

I did some research on this, because initially I thought it might be just another scam, but it appears to be genuine from the several independent sources I followed in making enquiries.

It does seem genuine, it is just that outside of "nerdy" publications, and businesses, there has been no real effort made to get the news out to the general public who just trust their ISP and its "house" security software to protect them. The issue is that this malware disables security software, so users who think they are OK may not be.

Further, because of the temporary protection from the FBI, no obvious sign of infection has yet arisen on user and business PCs. Most users would have no clue how to check in any case, let alone how to fix it. These are the users most likely to be fooled by the initial source of infection.

The FBI indicate they will do this protection setup again if deemed necessary, so they need to find a way to alert users better. The best way might be via Microsoft, and have them distribute the check & fix tool as part of their regular "malware removal tool" releases. This would ensure large numbers of users received the fix in time purely through having regular Windows updates enabled, which is standard advice for PC users in any case, and what you get by default on a new system.

On the German check site, it seems my PC is OK - so this must be the genuine Casinomeister site

 

[Mousey]

On the German check site, it seems my PC is OK - so this must be the genuine Casinomeister site

And you are....?

Oh yes, it's very real. And I was of the opposite opinion... I thought everyone would know about it by now? LOL But I'm always checking the Tech news...

Let's face it. The PCs that are still infected are no doubt those who have no clue about PCs and basic internet security in the first place. They will go offline in July, then it will be left to their ISP or AV provider to answer the few frantic calls to get those users PCs cleaned up and back online.

What always bothers me about this type of malware is the way it is delivered... usually via a legitimate looking advert injected into a legitimate webpage. Some/most of these malwares do NOT require users to even click on anything. Simply being on that webpage when the infected ad makes its rounds is often enough.

I really and truly think that these fricking rotating ads ... you know the ones that change every time you visit a page, or every few minutes even while you're on the page... should be banned.

Oh... and for safety's sake... never, ever click on an ad out on the web... I don't care where it is or who its for. If I see a Coca Cola ad that has something I want to see, I type the url into browser bar and go to the Coca Cola site on my own.

 

[Jinn]

First of all there is no way I would let the government or a third party working for the government scan my PC.

They don't scan your PC, the website just automatically checks if your computer is finding the IP address of websites correctly. It works instantly, there's no scanning, you only need to visit :

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They definitely can't see or scan the contents of your PC, the website just detects if the PC has been infected with the software that causes incorrect IP address lookups.