INTERNET SHUTDOWN ON MARCH 8 ACCORDING TO FBI (DNScharge infected)

Have you heard that FBI might shut down the Internet next month?


Like many question before it, this desperate warning is floating around blogs and sites. It even names a date: March 8 as the day the FBI might 

shut down the Internet.

But dude common Relax, that’s not really the case.

While yes, an untold number of people may lose their Internet connection in less than three weeks, if they do they only have vicious web criminals(hacker) to blame and certainly not the (FBI).

If people end up in the dark on March 8 it’s because they’re still infected with the malware called DNScharger.

This malware works by replacing the DNS (Domain Name System) servers defined on a victim's computer with fraudulent servers operated by the cyber criminals. As a result, visitors are unknowingly redirected to websites that distributed fraudulent software or displayed ads that put money into the bad guys’ wallet.

The worst thing about this malware is: it can also prevents security updates and disables installed security software.Due to this FBI decided to replaced the rogue servers with valid ones to help protect victims

The FBI started warning people about last November 2011 when a family of DNScharger vruses shut down a long-standing Estonian Web traffic hijacking operation that controlled people’s computer.

The agency said this would be in effect for 120 days. Had it not taken that step and simply shut down the bad servers back in November, Only infected computers would have been immediately blocked from Internet access.

So the current problem isn’t that the FBI will be shutting down the Internet when the 120 days runs out on March 8, it’s that many people and organizations haven’t removed the malware from their computers. In fact, as many as half of Fortune 500 companies and government agencies are delinquent in updating, according to some reports.

So how do you know if your computer or router is infected with DNSChanger?

FBI says: 

the best way to know is to have them checked out by a computer professional, 

which admittedly isn’t very helpful.

However, it does offer a resource paper [PDF] with guidance to make that DYI yourself, although even if you find out your system is infected the FBI says you still need a pro to scrub your machine.

Another alternative is you can use the free Avira DNS Repair Tool to figure out if a computer is using one of the temporary DNS servers. Unfortunately, the tool only works on Windows and doesn't actually remove the Trojan.

Indeed, removing the malware is a challenge, and many people will be cut off from Internet access on March 8.

KrebsonSecurity also notes that the industry and law enforcement group DNSChanger Working Group (DCWG) has a site that can help people check whether their systems are infected.

Need help? network administrators can send a request to one of the members of the DCWG and home users can use the step-by-step instructions at the DCWG Web site to see if they’re infected with the DNSChanger malware.

If you determine your system is infected you can reinstall your operating system, if you want to remain online after March 8.

By Dude

THE PIRATE BAY SOON TO LEAVE (MOST) TORRENTS.

For a half  decade The leading BitTorrent site Pirate Bay soon  will no longer be able to give .torrent files  to download.

The Pirate Bay has confirmed that all torrent files being shared by more than 10 people will be erased on February 29. The decision is causing a small panic among the site’s users, but in reality little will change as all files will remain available through magnet links. The Pirate Bay Said this is merely a 

Step forward in technology 

and confirmed that the site is here to stay.

The first step in this direction will be taken on February 29, the Pirate Bay announced today.

Instead of deleting all torrent files at once, the Pirate Bay crew will start with all files that have more than 10 peers. This is to guarantee that people will still be able to download less popular files, which tend to start slower through magnets link.

While there are fears that this is the end of The Pirate Bay, nothing could be further from the truth. For users of the site the upcoming switch is expected to go smoothly.

People will be able to download all files as usual, but instead of using a .torrent file downloads will be initiated through a magnet link. The actual content of the .torrent file will then be downloaded from other people instead of the Pirate Bay’s servers.

Although it might take a little longer for less popular downloads to get started, all files will remain available. Also, users will still be able to upload .torrent files, which will be converted into magnet links by The Pirate Bay.

The Pirate Bay team said that the transition to a magnet site is 

a step forward in technology,

 and one that will make the site more resistant to being shut down.

Without torrents it takes less bandwidth to host a Pirate Bay proxy site which are used to circumvent ISP blockades in countries like Italy, Ireland, The Netherlands and Belgium. In addition, the Pirate Bay will become much more portable and thus easier to move around.

How easy it is to carry a copy of a torrent-less Pirate Bay became apparent last week, when a user reduced the entire site to 90 megabytes – small enough to fit on a tiny thumb drive. The Pirate Bay team likes the idea of a “portable” backup of the site and said that they are considering releasing an official version in the future.

It’s quite remarkable to see how The Pirate Bay has transformed in recent years. The site is no longer hosting a tracker, and soon .torrent files will be entirely replaced by magnet links. Despite these changes the iconic file-sharing site is picking up new users every week.

The Pirate Bay crew said that users can be assured that they have no intention of going anywhere in the near future. With or without torrents, the site is here to stay.

By Dude

BTjunkie SHUTDOWN FOR GOOD.

BTjunkie, one of the largest BitTorrent indexes on the Internet, has decided to shut down voluntarily today. A combination of legal actions against fellow file-sharing sites and time-consuming projects have led to the dramatic decision that takes out one the main players in the BitTorrent torrent sites.


Founded in June 2005, BTjunkie has been among the top BitTorrent sites for more than half a decade.

The site was never involved in any legal action, and to keep it that way the site’s operators decided to shut the site down for good today. The following message was posted on the BTjunkie homepage a few minutes ago:

This is the end of the line my friends. The decision does not come easy, but we’ve decided to voluntarily shut down. We’ve been fighting for years for your right to communicate, but it’s time to move on. It’s been an experience of a lifetime, we wish you all the best!

Talking to TorrentFreak, BTjunkie’s founder said that the legal actions against other file-sharing sites such as MegaUpload and The Pirate Bay played an important role in making the difficult decision. Witnessing all the trouble colleagues got into was cause for a lot of worry and stress, and those will now belong to the past.

That said, BTjunkie’s owner still thinks there might be a future for other BitTorrent sites.

I really do hope so, the war is far from over for sure, 

he told TorrentFreak.

While BTjunkie was never targeted directly by copyright holders, the site was reported to the US Trade Representative (USTR) November last year. Both the RIAA and MPAA listed the torrent index as a ‘rogue’ site that facilitated mass copyright infringement.

BTjunkie is also one of the search terms censored by Google because it’s piracy related, alongside The Pirate Bay, RapidShare, uTorrent and others.

As a result of the decision to shut down BTjunkie, one of the top 5 torrent sites with dozens of millions of users a month is no more. Judging from previous shutdowns like that of TorrentSpy and Mininova, users will quickly find a new home at other sites.

Nonetheless, it’s the end of an era.

By Dude

EXPERT SAYS : EXPECT MORE CYBER-ESPIONAGE THIS COMING 2012

The security industry expects the number of cyber-espionage attacks to increase this coming 2012 and the malware used for this purpose to become increasingly sophisticated.

By Dude

ADULT DOMAIN .XXX IS OUT NOW.

If you've been really busy this day's, you may have missed the news that the .xxx domain is now finally active and officially running,

By Dude

WINDOWS 8 BETA COMING IN EARLY 2012.

Good news for windows user's Microsoft is on track to releasing Windows 8 on a similar time frame to Windows 7, with the first Beta of the new Operating System appearing in early 2012.

Microsoft has not said officially when it will be release   

Windows 8 or even when a beta version might appear. But two cool sources claim a Windows 8 beta release is coming in the next few months.

Speaking with anonymous sources "Close to Microsoft," The Next Web says Windows 8 beta version will

launch in February. But Win rumors claims the first stable test build of Windows 8 will appear a few weeks earlier in late January, according to its anonymous sources.

Whether it appears in January or February, an early 2012 beta release for Windows 8 is not particularly astounded. Many critics expect Windows 8 to follow a similar release schedule to Windows 7.

We knew in the past  January 2009 beta version of Windows 7 has publicly released. The near-final version of Windows 7 (known as the release candidate) debuted four months later and on October 22 Windows 7 officially launched.

Windows 8 launch in 2012 has also long been expected thanks to leaked documents and public statements by Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer. But there are also indications that Windows 8 may be finished bit more quickly than its predecessor (awesome). 

Nokia executive recently let slip to a French newspaper that the Finish handset maker plans to release a Windows 8 tablet in June 2012.


It's not clear if the Nokia executive meant the company will start producing the tablets or will actually be selling them in stores by June. If he meant the former, that still puts Windows 8's release along a similar schedule to Windows 7. Microsoft released Windows 7 to manufacturers in June 2009 so that device makers could begin incorporating the OS into their products. Windows 7 PCs were available in October of that year.


Windows 8 beta version may not be ready yet, but Microsoft in September released a developer preview of the new OS. If you'd like to try it out, you can go to download the Windows 8 developer preview.

By Dude

FIREOX 8 NOW RELEASE

Firefox 8 officially releases on Mozilla's site on November 8th, Firefox 8.0 final version is already available for download for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

The biggest new feature is that Firefox itself now handles third party add-on installations to avoid security problems from sketchy extensions. Also included in the new version is built-in support to search Twitter messages in the browser's address bar.

Only a few of the normal Firefox mirror sites have version 8 available and the FTP servers will probably be hit hard between now and the official release on Tuesday. If you're not in a hurry you may want to wait for then.

Download Firefox 8.0 free for Windows, Mac, and Linux from Mozilla's FTP server.

By Dude