Internet users in the US and UK need to check that their PC is not one of the thousands infected with DNS Changer this weekend or face being unable to access the Internet on Monday 9 July, 2012.

That’s because the FBI has announced that it is shutting down the temporary servers it installed after discovering the DNS Changer virus in 2007.

Originally, DNS Changer was created by Rove Digital, a group of cybercriminals that used its ability to alter and control Domain Name System (DNS) settings to carry out an online advertising scam.

Once infected, a victim’s web browser would redirect the user to predetermined sites, which earned the group more than $14 million in affiliate and referral fees. But upon the scams detection, the rogue servers were seized and replaced with clean servers provided by the FBI.

While the FBIs intent was to buy more time so that infected users could remove the virus, many are still unaware that their DNS settings have been corrupted. According to the DNS Changer Working Group (DCWG), as of 11 June there are still 69,517 DNS Changer infections in the US and 19,589 in the UK.

Keep in mind that DNS infections on a computer can also spread to laptops, netbooks, smartphones and tablets. That means your digital devices may be connecting to fake, malicious sites without your knowledge – read AVGs blog from the Threat Team for more on how the virus works.

Unsure if your PC is infected? Then take immediate action before Monday!

Visit the DCWG website for a quick diagnosis. For those extra cautious, manually check the IP addresses of the DNS servers that your PC uses – here’s a useful guide from our friends at PCWorld.

Finally, don’t allow hackers to take control of your online browsing habits. Ensure that your antivirus is always up-to-date and that you are running consistent scans in order to detect any malicious activity.

If you discover through the the DCWG website that you need to remove the malware then we suggest you back up your data and then download the latest version of AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 2012 and run a scan to remove the malware. If you already have AVG then check you have the latest version and if not update it and run a scan.