Images: What you should know about malware threat
Thousands could lose their Internet service Monday unless they do a quick check of their computers for malware. Click through for information and tips.
Thousands of people may lose their Internet service Monday unless they do a quick check of their computers for malware that could have taken over their machines more than a year ago.
Thousands of people may lose their Internet service Monday unless they do a quick check of their computers for malware that could have taken over their machines more than a year ago.
The number of computers that are probably infected is more than 277,000 worldwide, down from about 360,000 in April, according to the FBI.
Of those still infected, the FBI believes that about 64,000 are in the United States.
Users whose computers are still infected Monday will lose their ability to go online, and they will have to call their service providers for help deleting the malware and reconnecting to the Internet.
The problem began when international hackers ran an online advertising scam to take control of more than 570,000 infected computers around the world.
When the FBI went in to take down the hackers late last year, agents realized that if they turned off the malicious servers being used to control the computers, all the victims would lose their Internet service.
A temporary system was set up, but it will be shut down at 12:01 a.m. Monday.
To check whether a computer is infected, users can visit a website run by the group brought in by the FBI.
So, now that it's been explained, what do you need to do?
The site includes links to respected commercial sites that will run a quick check on the computer, and it also lays out detailed instructions if users want to actually check the computer themselves.
