Internet doomsday gets closer

Hundreds of thousands of computers will simultaneously lose access to the internet on July 9 2012, unless their owners check for a virus that may have remained hidden for several years, the FBI has warned.

The so-called "internet doomsday" will come as the bureau turns off a server system its investigators installed in November, when they broke up an Estonian crime ring that was running a global internet advertising scam.

Since 2007, the six men had been using a "Trojan" virus - named after the mythical horse - to seize control of computers all over the world.

The virus, called "DNS Changer", would redirect the web browsers of victims from sites they wanted to visit to ones controlled by the gang.

Revenue from adverts tied to those sites is estimated to have earned the criminals US$14 million ($17.2 million) in commission.

By late last year, when the FBI and Estonian authorities shut down the racket, the virus had seized control of about half a million computers.

However, had the investigators simply closed down the gang's servers, every computer infected would have been unable to access the internet.

The FBI replaced the gang's servers with a surrogate server system, and set up a free website which allows people to check if they are victims of the virus, and then remove it from their machine.

More information here: https://forms.fbi.gov/check-to-see-if-your-computer-is-using-rogue-DNS

Check your DNS here: http://www.dns-ok.us/

Know the risks of having a .COM website domain name

Impossible. Nuts. Unbelievable. Those are some of the more polite reactions Chief Executive of InternetNZ, Vikram Kumar gets when he tells people that having a .com domain name for their website is sufficient for them to be subject to US jurisdiction - which allows for nasty stuff like the US government seizing their website or extradition to USA to stand trial over there based on allegations alone.

With all the recent controversy surrounding Kim Dotcom, it might pay to know the legal risks if you operate your New Zealand website with a .com domain name. Vikram says "The bottom line is, if you have a .com domain name, or other at-risk domain names like .net, you are subject to US domestic laws and jurisdiction. This allows the US government to seize your website or even seek your extradition to USA to stand trial, based on allegations of breaking their laws. You're also at risk from any mistakes and collateral damage."

Read Vikram Kumar's enlightening article in full at the NBR website and be fully informed of the risks. http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/have-com-web-address-know-legal-risks-ck-113355