JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- What if you couldn't check your email, pay bills online, or surf the web?
That's the reality for an estimated 45,000 people in the United States today after a malicious virus infected their computers.
The Malware was created by a team of hackers in 2007 and attached to an online advertisement. By the time it was detected last year, it had infected 570,000 computers worldwide.
The FBI took over and arrested the hackers in early 2012, but just before taking down their server investigators realized it would kick all of the victims offline. A safety server was set up, but turned off by the FBI at 12:01 Monday morning.
For weeks, potential victims were warned of the steps to take to prevent their computers from disconnecting, but an estimated 45,000 computers are still infected.
Users only option to get back on the web is to contact their Internet Service Provider, but should be advised that reconnecting could take some time.
Technology experts are advising all PC users to review their security software settings to be sure it is up to date and working properly.
