Two giants of the Internet want to make sure you can still get to them after July 9.
Google and Facebook are actively scanning the computers of their users to find some of the nearly 1 million people who have been infected with the DNSChanger malware in the U.S. Google is displaying a warning across the top of its search results page, while Facebook has placed a similar warning at the top of its post-login page. If a user’s computer is infected, Google and Facebook will know and display the warning. Users who are not infected will see no warning at all.
With so many computers potentially impacted by the DNSChange malware, it is no surprise that these two mega-sites want to help eliminate it. Any machine afflicted with the DNSChanger will not be able to connect to the Internet after July 9.
As reported by CNet, the whole problem goes back to an online criminal ring from 2007 that was tinkering with computers' settings and then directing users to rogue servers that the criminals had set up. These servers then re-directed users to malicious Web sites. Late last year, the FBI arrested the ring and seized the rogue servers. But since so many infected computers relied on the servers to reach the Internet, the agency opted not to shut them down and instead converted them to legitimate DNS machines. Due to the high cost associated with operating these servers, the FBI has decided to shut them down on July 9, leaving any infected computer that has not been fixed with no way to reach the Internet.
The Google and Facebook warnings offer links to information on how to remove the DNSChange malware. Anyone who thinks he may be a victim is encouraged to run a Google search, or log in to Facebook to find out for sure.
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...October 9, 2025, is Leif Eriksson Day. Eriksson, a Viking (Norse) and son of Erik the Red, was born around 970 AD, in Iceland. It is believed that Eriksson (also spelled Ericson, Erikson) sailed to North America (area of Canada) around the year 1000 and named the area Vinland. Although some say the name was for the wild grapes found growing in the area, others say the name means “land of meadows”.He eventually left and returned to Greenland and never sailed back to North America again....
BACK to School. Sharing some geography activities I used with my students to foster geographic Awareness. Perhaps you will find some of interest as you start the school year.
1. A fun way to show our Globally Interdependent World: Assign a partner and have the students check the labels on their tops to see where they are made. Do the same for their shoes. Have the students do a safari search with their partner looking for where things in the room were made...
Perhaps, teachers may find this activity of interest:
A Back to School Activity.
Why Study History:
Show students that everything has a history, even them!
I started the activity by bringing in my childhood toy. It is rather sad looking after all these years. I shared memories about the stuffed animal, a dog, and how I remember...