Washington, July 6 (ANI): Millions of Internet users across the globe could be taken offline on Monday by a virus hidden on their computers, according to a report.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has claimed that the virus named 'DNS Changer' will cause over 350,000 computers to lose web access on July 9.
The FBI first gave details about the virus last November, when it announced the arrest of the malware's authors.
According to The Washington Post, the virus, as its name indicates, affected computers' abilities to correctly access the Internet's DNS system, essentially, the Internet's phone book.
The virus would redirect Internet users to fake DNS servers, often sending them to fake sites or places that promoted fake products.
According to the paper, if you are infected with the virus, then you've got a longer, but not impossible, process ahead of you.
The DNS Changer Working Group (DCWG) said that those infected with the virus should first back up any important files.
One can do that fairly easily with an external hard drive or even a thumb drive.
The group also recommends people to use multiple tools to make sure they have a wider net of virus definitions to choose from.
Scanning the computer regularly for viruses is a good idea to make sure that virus definitions are up-to-date, the group said. (ANI)
