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Update: Systems Infected with DNSChanger To Lose Internet Connectivity on Monday
An estimated 300,000 Mac and PC systems infected with the DNSChanger is set to lose their Internet connection at 12:01 a.m. on Monday.
Those with infected systems will go dark once replacement command and control (C&C) nodes, set up after a November 2011 FBI operation shut down the malware crime ring. During its height, the DNSChanger was estimated to have taken control of over 4 million computers worldwide.
While the leaders of the malware scam were believed to be located in Estonia and Russia, the datacenters seized and replaced by federal authorities were located in Chicago and New York City.
Since the raid, government agencies have been supplying millions of users with ways of purging their systems of the Trojan virus. However, many continue running systems with the DNSChanger, including machines at 12 percent of Fortune 500 companies, according to an infographic by security firm IID.
Even though the ring had been shut down and the C&C control, those infected are still in risk of harm. In many cases, the DNSChanger was bundled with other malware.
Along with the detection tools and fixes available by federal officials, found here, Google rolled out its own detection plan last month. Machines with the DNSChanger Trojan would be notified of the infection when using the Google search function.
And many ISPs are also setting up procedures for those who may lose their Internet connection on Monday. Verizon will place infected users in a "soft-walled garden" starting Monday that will automatically provide additional information on wiping their systems of the malware.