Today is the day they pulled the plug. Today, if your Internet service provider or your local machine is infected with a DNS-changing virus, you are not reading this posting, because the virus is altering your Internet searches, misdirecting them to false sites. The website for the DCWG (DNS Changer Working Group) explains:
What is the DNS Changer Malware?
On November 8, the FBI, the NASA-OIG and Estonian police arrested several cyber criminals in "Operation Ghost Click". The criminals operated under the company name "Rove Digital", and distributed DNS changing viruses, variously known as TDSS, Alureon, TidServ and TDL4 viruses. You can read more about the arrest of the Rove Digital principals here, and in the FBI Press Release.
What does the DNS Changer Malware do?
The botnet operated by Rove Digital altered user DNS settings, pointing victims to malicious DNS in data centers in Estonia, New York, and Chicago. The malicious DNS servers would give fake, malicious answers, altering user searches, and promoting fake and dangerous products. Because every web search starts with DNS, the malware showed users an altered version of the Internet.
Under a court order, expiring July 9, the Internet Systems Consortium is operating replacement DNS servers for the Rove Digital network. This will allow affected networks time to identify infected hosts, and avoid sudden disruption of services to victim machines.
And what is DNS? you may ask. It's the Domain Name System, which, in a nutshell, allows Internet users to enter user-friendly (OK, semi-user-friendly) URLs (Uniform Resource Locators) like http://ddc.typepad.com/025431/, without having to know that the associated IP address (which indicates the location of the resource) is 204.9.177.195.
Viruses, such as the DNS Changer, join worms, spyware, Trojan horses, etc., in 005.84 Malware, where they all appear in the including note. Computer viruses and malware is representative of the many titles classed in this number.
The LCSH "Internet domain names" has been mapped to 004.678 Internet, where works like Domain names: how to choose and protect a great name for your website are classed. As numerically based equivalents, IP (Internet Protocol) addresses should be classed in the same number. Works on the Internet Protocol itself, however, should be classed in 004.62 Interfacing and communication protocols, where a work like IP switching protocols and architectures is to be found.
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