Internet shutdown on July 9?

HYDERABAD: Before you hit the button to download anything on to your computer, do ensure that it is not a fake url or an application, which has a Trojan malware. If you have been browsing the web lately and have used the Google search engine, you may find the search results page displays a warning message at the top that states “Your computer appears to be infected”. Along with that is also a small description about systems not being able to connect to the Internet.Well, Google has issued a warning to its millions of users that they could lose the ability to connect to the internet after July 9, due to a computer virus. According to CNET, a tech media website, the message from Google is an effort to help people whose systems are infected with a widespread malware infection called “DNSChanger.” People in the city seem to be unaware of the situation. But, those aware of this have been taking all measures including resisting the temptation to download anything from the internet or surfing random websites. “If my system gets affected, i'll be crippled. I cannot survive without the internet. I would do whatever it takes to safeguard my system,” says Shashank Peddinti, a research student.The DNSChanger malware is a Trojan horse infection that at its peak affected approximately 4 million PC systems worldwide, with about 500,000 of those being in the United States and 20,000 in India. When installed, the malware changes the system’s DNS server settings to point to a rogue DNS network set up by the malware developers.The idea behind the DNS Changer malware is to interfere with this IP address lookup routine and provide a false IP number to the computer. As a result, if you type in the URL of a legitimate website, then the malware developers could redirect you to a fake website that tries to phish information from you, have you click on ads for revenue, or otherwise perform unwanted behavior. The message also includes a link to an information page that generally describes what malware is and how to detect it. Another tech enthusiast and a student Sanket Deshmukh says, “It’s a no dooms day for people on the net. As people can easily format their pcs and later on, it won't matter as all the virus or worms spread on internet mostly affect the software front of your computer. But this is some virus which is burning drives or the hardware component. In the worst case, internet service providers might have a tough time relaying. The internet is too big to get corrupted at an end to end level.”  Commenting on this, Sudeep D’Souza, Chief Technology Officer at Inforica (India) Private Limited, Integration and Professional services firms says, “The DNSChanger Malware is a very real threat that needs to be taken seriously because if it is in your computer then you will not be able to connect to the internet after July 9. One should also note that only users whose systems are infected will not be able to connect to the internet and it is not all the users. The initiative by Google is helpful in alerting users of this threat in case their computers are infected.”  However, one can go on to the notification issued by Google and follow the step by step instructions to rectify or restore the DNS settings of affected by the virus.