ALEXANDRIA, La. – In just a few days, hundreds of thousands of people around the world could be knocked off the internet because of a malicious computer virus called Malware.
The FBI is advising consumers to check their computers to see if they're infected.
The FBI has been on the case since last year when agents busted a ring of computer hackers in Estonia. The scam infected hundreds of thousands of computers around the world, and controlled them through rogue servers.
The hackers would redirect people to different web sites and rack up millions of dollars in illegal fees.
According to computer experts, the challenge for the FBI was if they shut down the hackers' servers, they would wipe out the internet connection for all the victims. So instead, the bureau set up alternate servers, which took control of the infected computers.
That temporary system is shutting down on Monday, which means about 64,000 computers in the United States, will be cut off. The FBI thinks about 50 major U.S. corporations are infected, too.
The FBI is directing users to a special website to see if they're infected, www.dcwg.org. This site will check for the virus and tell you how to fix it.
