Your computer may be among an estimated 100,000 PCs in the United States that are vulnerable to a software attack that has already infected more than 4 million computers in 100 countries worldwide, according to Department of Homeland Security cybersecurity officials.

On May 8, Under Secretary for the National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD) Rand Beers warned on the DHS Web Blog that users need to take immediate action to protect themselves from a massive, highly sophisticated Internet fraud scheme. The malware known as DNS Changer (short for Domain Name System Changer) is believed to circumvent users’ anti-virus software, allowing cybercriminals to take control of the computers’ domain name systems.

The FBI secured a court order in March to roll out “clean DNS servers” to fight the fraud, and members of the public have until July 9, 2012, to avail themselves of the online disinfection resources. Beers urged users to act immediately by accessing the DNS Changer Working Group website, which provides free PC diagnosis without software uploads.

For more information, or to check your PC for possible DNS Changer infection, please visit http://www.dcwg.org/, or the FBI’s website at:
http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2011/november/malware_110911.

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