Re: Virus Help

From: Malke (malke_at_nospoonnotreally.com)
Date: 08/07/04 

Date: Fri, 06 Aug 2004 18:52:42 -0700

Jennifer wrote:

> I attempted to use my laptop today to get on the
> internet. When I turned it on, a system error appeared.
> When I went online, a window popped up that a
> sasser.exe??? error happened and the computer would shut
> down in 30 seconds. I managed to find out that Microsoft
> has a fix, but I cannot keep the thing online longer than
> 30 seconds to download it...What can I do...I cannot
> reset anything--I would lose too much. Is the fix
> available on disk?

Sounds like you've gotten caught by the Sasser worm. To stop the
rebooting, go to Start>Run and type "shutdown -a" without the quotes.
For information about the worm, go here:

http://www.sarc.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.sasser.worm.html

Get the worm off your system and then immediately patch XP:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS04-011.mspx -
TechNet bulletin with download links
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com

Install an antivirus program and keep it updated. Install a firewall. XP
has a built-in firewall, or there are free alternatives like Zone Alarm
or Sygate. Be aware that cleanup may be complex - we are now seeing
that infected computers usually have more than one variant of Sasser,
as well as one or more instance of a polybot worm from the
Gaobot/Agobot family.

Malke 

-- 
MS MVP - Windows Shell/User
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Virus Help
    ... a system error appeared. ... >Sounds like you've gotten caught by the Sasser worm. ... >has a built-in firewall, ... >that infected computers usually have more than one ...
    (microsoft.public.security.virus)
  • Re: A Way to Attack Nuclear Plants: Blame Esther
    ... Iran Says It Arrested Computer Worm Suspects ... connection with a damaging worm that has infected computers in its ... had infected computers in its nuclear operations. ...
    (sci.military.naval)
  • OT This computer worm is no April Fools joke
    ... This computer worm is no April Fool's joke ... Personal computers and laptops already infected with Conficker could ... and Windows Server 2008. ...
    (rec.pets.cats.anecdotes)
  • File Destroying Worm Not Causing Much Damage
    ... By ANICK JESDANUN, AP Internet Writer ... One Italian city's government shut down its computers as a precaution ... Sutra" worm. ... Although the worm tries to disable anti-virus software, ...
    (comp.dcom.telecom)
  • "Witty" worm
    ... A quickly spreading worm that emerged over the weekend damaged computers at ... Saturday morning, infecting as many as 30,000 computers before subsiding, ... Miami-based Web hosting company. ...
    (microsoft.public.security.virus)