Time running our for infected computers

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WASHINGTON, July 5 (UPI) -- Time is running out for computers infected with the DNSChanger malware with the FBI planning to cut infected machines off from the Internet July 9, officials said.

DNS changing viruses reroute a user's Internet traffic through compromised servers, altering user searches and exposing computers to keylogging, ads for fake software and products, and otherwise manipulating the Web browsing experience.

The Domain Name System is the Internet system to translate Web site names into IP addresses.

A court order allowing the FBI to shut down the compromised DNS servers will potentially mean hundreds of thousands of systems still infected with the DNSChanger malware will be left unable to look up sites on the Internet, Slashgear reported Thursday.

Users can determine if their computers are infected by visiting dns-ok.us in their browser. If an infection is reported there are a number of tools available to clean up their computers.

The DNSChanger Working Group established to deal with the problem reported there are still large numbers of computers showing signs of badly routed DNS.