Search form

Back to Blog

Web Giants Warn of Malware

FBITwo 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.

More

Around the World in 30 Days: April 2017

C. M. Rubin’s Monthly Global Education Report

Innovation guru Clay Christensen has his eyes on Parenting. In a revealing interview with CMRubinWorld this month...

The Global Search for Education: Hey...

It’s called the economy of life-long learning - aka the digital age, aka the fourth industrial revolution. And we’re just at the beginning. Newer and newer technologies are creating accelerating changes impacting the way we live, work, produce and consume. Within the next decade, it is expected that more than a trillion sensors...

The Global Search for Education: Global...

So search engine giant Google had this neat idea a few years ago to allow its engineers to spend 20% of their time working on things that really interested them – the goal being to inspire creativity and indirectly increase productivity. Some significant innovations came out of Google’s 20% time. Well-publicized “20% products”...

The Global Search for Education: Is...

A good life is not one that is free from struggle, but one in which people have the tools to overcome what life throws at them. By that logic, a good parent is one who immerses his child in lots of small, authentic opportunities to navigate and conquer challenges.” 

— Clay Christensen

Clayton...

"Weighing the Pig" in U.S....

Recently, I had the opportunity to learn about the British educational system from a visiting professor from Cambridge University. When the issue of standardized testing came up, she used a memorable analogy. She said schools spend too much time “weighing the pig, expecting it to grow.” The expression, which apparently originated from a story by a farmer to his son in the early 1900s, teaches that the activity of weighing or measuring does not produce results or improve performance—it simply...

The Global Search for Education: New...

“Perhaps the most distressing threat to student well-being is bullying, and it can have serious consequences for the victim, the bully and the bystanders.” — Andreas Schleicher

“When disenfranchised youth from the heart of our countries, who have ticked all the boxes of formal education, join the...

TREES! Free Interactive Notebook...

TREES! Interactive Notebook Activity by Gail Skroback Hennessey

Click here for a free downloadable version. 

Arbor Day 2017 is...

Considering Teacher Evaluation Models

First, I’m not theoretically against evaluating teachers or the idea of holding professionals accountable. Evaluation systems can provide teachers, new and experienced, with new perspectives and consistent feedback that helps them grow and perform at higher-levels. I have personally received feedback that dramatically changed my teaching practice. As a supervisor of undergraduates who are training to become teachers, I know the value that comes from being evaluated by others in the field....

The Global Search for Education: First...

“The divide between ‘refugees welcome’ and ‘refugees not welcome’ seems to be a global phenomenon in which refugees are viewed as outsiders and the public education system is understood as primarily serving national citizens.” — Elizabeth Buckner

In a new global study of ...

The Global Search for Education: How...

“I was exposed to even more sites than I was currently aware of. It was a great place to exchange ideas.” 

— Linda Bean

A new era of personalized professional development is penetrating New York schools. Online learning methods that in the past enriched students are now...

Pages