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.
Family Forums start the first month of school and run each month until the last day of school. Family Forums were something that I used to build reciprocal relationships with the families that I worked with. They were important in my classroom because it allowed anyone that contributed to the child’s school success to become a part of our classroom community. I was able to really bond with the family members of...
I had previously written an article on running a classroom community of learners, but I wanted to take a minute to dive deeper into each category. I truly believe that building a classroom community of learners is important. As we are at the close of a school year, summer is a time for teachers to reflect and change things for the upcoming year. Here are some things to consider.
Scenario...
With every new piece of writing feedback, the pony-tailed girl at table two tapped her scuffed shoes under the table as she rushed to implement my suggestions. Soccer-obsessed Camila started the year penning jumbled sentences and nervously avoiding eyes in class. But her commitment to hard work and using feedback quickly rocketed her to the top of the writing class.
Like so many students, Camila offers an important lesson on what it takes to improve: be coachable. For teachers,...
Having taught in an elementary school named after the great Saint himself, I have celebrated many of these days in a haze of green!
The students would come to school dressed in their greenery and my first order of the day was to take a portrait of each student in my class. I used my ‘good camera’ and took some beautiful photos of the students individually, in groups and then as a whole class.
I would digitally create a placemat collage, for each student, using the pictures...


In this article, I would like to explain how to build relationships throughout the year. As teachers, we want families to be involved, and it is never too late to start building relationships. What can you do at the beginning of the year, the middle of the year, and even the end of the...