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Malware threatens to keep millions offline

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  • Description

    Computer virus to shut down Internet access

  • Duration 1:57
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Of thousands of Americans may not be able to get online this morning on their computers because of a computer virus infecting more than half a million PCs.

Rick Leventhal live in -- cities.

About this heading into the weekend -- programs that people needed to employ hundreds check it being best how's it going out there wreck.

Well so -- a little better than it could have been Martha you know some are calling this or have called it an Internet dooms day.

And it's bad but dangers of the could've been a lot worse if you have no Internet today it's because sometime over the past few years you inadvertently downloaded a virus.

Called a DNS changer.

That redirected some four million innocent computer users to rogue web sites that stole personal information like credit card numbers raking in an estimated fourteen million dollars.

And stolen funds.

You think you're going to a web site that is controlled by a legitimate saved merchant location.

And it turns out that you're actually seeing web site.

That is owned by somebody else who wants you to think that you're visiting that actual merchant location to buy shoes to buy books or whatever it might be.

Well last fall the FBI discovered this hacking ring and stepped in.

To keep you on line creating servers the quarantine 626 computer so.

It wouldn't affect others the FBI had to shut these temporary cooling servers down this morning and that's why as many as half a million users have no Internet today -- So what can be able to now have -- been affected by this -- Well you know Internet service providers have been warning people that their computers were infected in the majority did take steps to prevent today shut down.

Users were directed to web site for the could check to see if their computers had the virus but.

Unfortunately it's too late to do that now so.

If you have no Internet today you may not be able to get online to fix it yourself and pretty much -- -- -- you can do is call your Internet service providers customer service.

Department and get ready for a very long way now that hasn't sent to promising now thank you very much it would have to -- -- what would.

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