5 free tools to remove Alureon DNSChanger malware

Internet users across the world have been warned that if they have the “Alureon/ DNS Changer bot” virus on their computers, they will lose their Internet connections.

The virus “spoofs” popular websites in an attempt to steal personal information.

The software found its way into thousands of computers worldwide last year. It redirect users away from trusted websites, towards spoof websites in a bid to steal financial and personal information.

When the attack was noticed, the FBI routed infected machines through its server to stop the attacks. But the servers will be taken down. When this happens, computers still infected are likely to lose their internet connection without warning.

About a quarter-million computer users around the world are at risk of losing Internet access on Monday because of malicious software at the heart of a hacking scam that U.S. authorities shut down last November.

Some blogs and news reports hyped the risk of an outage, warning of a potential “blackout” and describing the Alureon malware as the “Internet Doomsday” virus.

Yet experts said only a tiny fraction of computer users were at risk, and Internet providers would be on call to quickly restore service. They said they considered the threat to be small compared with more-prevalent viruses such as Zeus and SpyEye, which infect millions of PCs and are used to commit financial fraud.

But no threat is small if your PC in the one affected. If you are mysteriously unable to login to the Internet this morning, your computer may be one of the quarter-million odd affected by this malware. Here’s what you can do to remove this program from your computer.

If it turns out the reason you are offline is indeed the Alureon malware and not a faulty Internet connection, here are 5 free tools that will remove the DNSChanger malware from your system. Download them on another PC and copy them to the infected PC using a USB drive or a CD.

1) McAfee Stringer
Remove Alureon/ DNSChanger: Yes
Platform: Windows
Price: Free

2) Kaspersky Labs TDSSKiller
Remove Alureon/ DNSChanger: Yes
Platform: Windows
Price: Free

3) Norton Power Eraser
Remove Alureon/ DNSChanger: Yes
Platform: Windows
Price: Free

4) Trend Micro  House Call
Remove Alureon/ DNSChanger: Yes
Platform: Windows
Price: Free

5) MacScan
Remove Alureon/ DNSChanger: Yes
Platform: Mac OS X
Price: Free for 30-days