How to avoid losing internet access on Monday 7/9



Contributing Writer
Illustration: Swine Flu Credit: Michal Zacharzewski


updated 7/9/12 – if you’re reading this, you’re safe.  These servers were shut down at midnight last night

Hundreds of thousands of people could lose their internet access this Monday due to malware that infected their computer up to a year ago.  The malware in question redirected a half million computers to malicious servers before the group responsible was caught.  To avoid a massive internet outage, the U.S. government contracted to have a company continue to operate the servers so that people had time to fix the problem.  Still, it is estimated that a quarter of a million computers worldwide may still have the malware installed and Monday the government is turning off the stop-gap servers.

To check to see if your computer is infected by the malware you can go to either of two sites set-up to test your computer for free:

From DNS Changer:  http://www.dns-ok.us/

McAfee  http://www.siteadvisor.com/dns_checker.html

If Monday comes and you find yourself without internet access (presumably because of the malware) – contact your internet service provider (ISP) to determine how to fix the problem.

Jim Dougherty

Jim Dougherty

Writer and chief of miscellany at leaderswest.com

I aspire to give people something to think about rather than tell them what to do. My favorite Google Alert is “social media research,” I am increasingly compelled by Gen Z, and I appreciate good writers agnostic of where they write. At one time I was Kred’s 12th most influential social media blogger and Klout’s most influential person on the topic of David Hasselhoff. Transplant from Seattle living in Cincinnati. Haven’t entirely adopted the local sports teams yet.

Jim Dougherty

@jimdougherty

Writer about social media and tech at Leaders West, I also tweet as @leaderswest.

Infographic: Is the value of Foursquare overstated? http://t.co/X6SwuqLLcD – 9 hours ago

Jim Dougherty

Jim Dougherty

  • http://www.freelancewritingdreams.com Samantha Gluck

    Hi Jim,

    Thank you for this helpful post. I checked my computer using the DNS Changer tool and my computer is looking up DNSs properly. I have a Mac, so I don’t think the McAfee tool will work for my bad boy! ;-)

  • http://leaderswest.com Jim Dougherty

    Don’t take this comment in a Pete Cashmore sort of way, but you look really great on this site! ;) Thanks for reading and I’m relieved to know that medical writing will continue uninterrupted on Monday!

  • http://www.freelancewritingdreams.com Samantha Gluck

    LOL! Pete is something else, I tell you what! He’s always chatting (i.e. flirting) with me on G+, but usually shies away from other websites (excepting Mashable, of course). That said, flattery will get you (almost) everywhere when it comes to hanging out on your blog or website. Now you’re not gonna be able to keep me away. ;-)

    Yes, I’ll continue to help my medical and other niche clients with their brand awareness, social media strategy, and of course rockin’ content creation and management on Monday. Sounds very academic and high-brow, but really most people just refer to me as the #disturbanceintheroom.

  • http://leaderswest.com Jim Dougherty

    If Pete just had http://texasdragonslayer.com/ on his reading list he would know to move on. Obsession like that just isn’t healthy either, even on G+. :)

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