Manipulating the internet's domain-name system (DNS) to reduce the impact of criminal malware DNSChanger has proved successful. Extending the technique to deal with other matters, however, represents the thin end of a wedge, according to DNS pioneer Dr Paul Vixie.

The FBI said that in 2007, DNSChanger infected 4 million computers worldwide, altering their settings so that they used DNS servers provided by the criminals, which allowed them to redirect the users to fraudulent websites.