ME and Ophelia

W32.Blaster.Worm discovered on August 11, 2003
Thousands of computers across the world affected

Yesterday afternoon I could not use my computer (Microsoft XP) for more than a few minutes. It shut down after four message boxes appeared on screen:

- System Shutdown - this shutdown was initiated by NT Authority\System

- Windows must now restart - because the Remote Procedure Call Service (RPC) terminated unexpectedly

- Error Signature - with three lines of text

- Generic Host Process for Win 32 Service.

I used Symantec to scan for viruses but none were detected.

The messages increased in frequency, each time shutting down the computer and blocking my use of email.

I telephoned Dell this morning. Many other customers had reported the same problem. It was the Blaster Worm (the process *msblast.exe* is viral) affecting thousands of computers all over the world. Dell had been working all through the night to provide a solution.

Within minutes Dell emailed me links to download patches. As a result, W32.Blaster.Worm was successfully removed from my computer and everything is now working fine.

Thank you to Dell, Microsoft TechNet, and Symantec for providing new safeguards, the W.32.Blaster.Worm Removal Tool, and the following two links:

Microsoft Download details: Windows XP Security Patch: Buffer Overrun In RPC Interface Could Allow Code Execution

Symantec Security Response - W32.Blaster.Worm

Please read above three links NOW!

The following line appeared at the end of the email sent to me by the Technician at Dell:

...what would you attempt to do, if you knew, you would not fail?...