Potential Malware Alert: Check today

[Thomkal]

Sorry if this is posted elsewhere here, but this was the first I had heard of a malware that will affect your computer tomorrow and cause you not to be able to connect to your internet provider.

There's a link in the link I'm providing that will do a quick check to make sure you are not affected by it. Alternately you can do a search on google search and a warning message will appear at the top of the screen if you are infected. Facebook also will let you know if you are infected. Here's the article about it.

Thousands Could Lose Internet Monday After Malware Attack - WSJ.com

[rowech]

I find this whole thing suspicious and weird. A private company is hired by the FBI to track down a particular malware? What's to say that company didn't create it in the first place, convince the FBI they need to look at it, and then get a nice fat contract for it. In addition, they get how many people to willingly allow this company to look on their computer for this particular thing and then just skip on by without looking at anything else? Maybe I've ready too many techno thrillers.

Just seems bizarre. Not to mention, if we assume 10% of the population has a computer, you're look at a .008% chance of actually being infected.

[sterlingice]

The only thing I can really think is that they didn't know how widespread it was at the time so they confiscated the servers and did the redirect. And since they took that ownership, they're like "crap, we can't just turn these off" so they had to come up with a plan to wean people off them

SI

[EagleFan]

Originally Posted by rowech

I find this whole thing suspicious and weird. A private company is hired by the FBI to track down a particular malware? What's to say that company didn't create it in the first place, convince the FBI they need to look at it, and then get a nice fat contract for it. In addition, they get how many people to willingly allow this company to look on their computer for this particular thing and then just skip on by without looking at anything else? Maybe I've ready too many techno thrillers.

Just seems bizarre. Not to mention, if we assume 10% of the population has a computer, you're look at a .008% chance of actually being infected.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by rowech

I find this whole thing suspicious and weird.

A private company is hired by the FBI to track down a particular malware?

Umm, not as far as I've read anywhere. The FBI took down the scam over a year ago. The private company was hired on after a judge ordered the FBI not to simply shut down the servers they confiscated (which was the original inclination).

Also, the instructions for checking for the infection yourself have been available for months, the private company one-click thing was an alternative for less savvy users. And the feds have been pretty consistent & up front about how few users in the U.S. were likely to be affected at all.

[Thomkal]

I was wondering if anybody was affected? Well I guess we won't know if anyone was if they can't connect to the internet right now.

[Kodos]

They're probably dead.