Facebook begins notifying users whose PCs are infected with the notorious DNSChanger malware

If you happen to open your Facebook account today with a prompt similar to the one you will find in the picture above, then chances are your PC is infected with the notorious DNSChanger malware. Facebook has announced that it has joined a group of security teams from other companies and organizations working to clean up the malicious malware. Hence, users with infected PCs who will visit Facebook will be informed that their computers will be cut off from the Internet on July 9, if they don’t clean them until that time.

In case you’re wondering how diabolical DNSChanger is, the malware is actually a family of Trojan programs that hijack search queries while displaying malicious ads and redirecting users to fake websites. They do this by forcing infected computers to use DNS servers controlled by the attackers.

The malware was first discovered in 2007. But by then, it had already infected millions of computers worldwide. Last year, the group operating DNSChanger were arrested by an international group of law enforcement agencies. However, many computers impacted by the malware remain infected and are currently using interim systems to access the internet.

“As a result of the arrests, all computers still infected with DNSChanger malware will no longer be able to access websites, email, chat, or social networking sites like Facebook, after July 9, 2012 when these temporary systems will be disabled,” Facebook said. If you want to find out if your computer or network is infected with the malware, you check by visiting DCWG.

Gene Ryan Briones
Categories: Web
Tags: Facebook, Security