“Your computer appears to be infected” – if you’re among the half-a-million users who might have seen this warning appear on their PCs recently, you’ll be in for a nasty surprise come July 9.

Unless users with infected computers clean up their devices by then, they risk losing internet connectivity, search engine Google is warning as part of a new campaign to rid the world of the dreaded DNSChanger malware.

Starting this week, Google says it is “undertaking an effort to notify roughly half a million people whose computers or home routers are infected with a well-publicised form of malware known as DNSChanger.”

The Domain Name System (DNS) translates familiar web address names like google.com or emirates247.com into a numerical address that computers use to send traffic to the right place. The DNSChanger malware modifies DNS settings to use malicious servers that point users to fake sites and other harmful locations.

DNSChanger attempts to modify the settings on home routers as well, meaning other computers and mobile devices may also be affected. Google says that any users of its search tools who are detected redirecting to DNSChanger’s substituted domains will see the stark warning splashed on top of their search results page.

“We’ve… started showing warnings via a special message that will appear at the top of the Google search results page for users with affected devices,” Google warned on its online security blog (http://googleonlinesecurity.blogspot.com/2012/05/notifying-users-affected-by-dnschanger.html).

Read More http://www.emirates247.com/business/technology/clean-your-computer-by-july-9-or-lose-internet-access-google-warns-2012-05-27-1.460352

See also How to  Protect Yourself From DNSChanger http://www.pcworld.com/article/255137/protect_yourself_from_dnschanger.html