How to Detect and Remove the DNSChanger Virus from Your PC

This brief tutorial will show you how to figure out if your PC has the DNSChanger Virus, and how to remove it if so.

In a nutshell, on Monday, July 9th, 2012, the malware “DNSChanger” will render hundreds of thousands of people unable to properly surf the Internet. Though Internet connections will work perfectly fine, the virus will start to send users to web pages they did not intend to go to. For detailed background on DNSChanger, see this article.

To determine if your PC may be infected with DNSChanger, visit http://www.dns-ok.us (link will open in a new window/tab). If the background is “green” (or you see the text DNS Resolution = GREEN) – you’re probably fine. If you see red, proceed immediately to step #1 below.

While the tool at http://www.dns-ok.us may report that you’re “in the clear” – it’s possible that your ISP is ‘attempting to fix the problem’ for you, but that still leaves the DNSChanger Virus on your PC. If you want to double-check just to be safe, follow the steps below. The whole process doesn’t take very long – and you may even find other malware, viruses or trojans that have infected your PC.

1. Head over to the McAfee page and download the Stinger Tool. Once the download has completed, locate the file and double-click it. Stinger will run right away – there’s no installation process, it’s a “standalone” program.

   Once Stinger has opened, simply click the Scan Now button.

2. At this point you may want to grab a cup of coffee. The scan doesn’t take that long, but it’s not very interesting to watch. The duration will depend on a number of factors – the number of files you have, the speed of your computer etc.
3. Once the scan has completed, scroll down and make sure that 0 (zero) files are Possibly Infected, as indicated in the screenshot below. If that’s the case – you’re in the clear and don’t have to worry about your web surfing on July 9th, 2012.

 

4. If Stinger does find any viruses, malware or trojans, you’ll be prompted to follow a series of steps (all very straight forward and almost entirely automated) to remove anything nasty that it found.