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08/13/2003 08:48:08 AM · #1 |
I was one of those unfortunate enough to be hit by the virus. I had photographed a wedding on Saturday, saved all the orginal photos to cd but I didn't save anything I had edited anywhere other than on my hd.
Got home from work Monday and I had this endless looping of restarting going on...I couldn't do anything and of course I panic thinking I am about to kiss about 5 hours of editing goodbye. I check the other computer in the house and it is just fine...and I find an email in it warning about the virus and also stating that the only way to get rid of it is a complete restore...LOL...NOT!!!!!!!!!! The computer geek I once married knew why I was panic stricken and in tears all that work was about to be erased when he suddenly realized there was a possible alternative to save the work...
XP offers a windows restore if you hit F10...it takes a while, does a selective restore only rewriting windows...it doesn't however get rid of the virus but it makes it inactive until the next update. Soon as I was back up and running I got the anti-virus patch and then saved all the wedding photos to cd! Just in case.
But I have heard from so many friends that were also hit with this nasty worm that called Microsoft for assistance and don't ask me why but microsoft is telling them only way to get rid of it is a complete restore. I have everything backed up now and I also know the virus scan healed the worm so I am really wondering why microsoft didn't suggest using F10 followed by an update of the anti-virus program and a complete scan to solve the problem? Anyone know why microsoft would tell them they had to say goodbye to everything on their hardrives when they had it built into the program to be able to rewrite itself in case of a glitch or problem? |
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08/13/2003 09:08:58 AM · #2 |
| I'm a bit confused as I thought the LovSan was a worm and not a virus, meaning that it didn't actually delete or destroy anything on your computer. I thought it just made your computer shut off and do crazy things while you were on the internet and was going to use yours along with millions of others to attack Microsoft. I didn't think it was a malicious computer destroying virus, just a pain in the ass cause it slowed your computer down. I thought all you had to do was run the anti-virus and the microsoft patch. |
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08/13/2003 09:15:57 AM · #3 |
There are two things everyone can do to help prevent problems like this... first, keep your virus software up to date. Second... keep your operating system up to date.. if you are running a microsoft operating system, go to this site at least once a week:
//www.windowsupdate.com
and go through the automatic update process...
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08/13/2003 09:18:09 AM · #4 |
Originally posted by jmsetzler:
There are two things everyone can do to help prevent problems like this... first, keep your virus software up to date. Second... keep your operating system up to date.. if you are running a microsoft operating system, go to this site at least once a week:
//www.windowsupdate.com
and go through the automatic update process... |
LOL. I thought that's how the worm was travelling!? |
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08/13/2003 09:20:58 AM · #5 |
Originally posted by OneSweetSin:
Anyone know why microsoft would tell them they had to say goodbye to everything on their hardrives when they had it built into the program to be able to rewrite itself in case of a glitch or problem? |
Don't tempt me, I could go on for hours ; )
Seriously though - everybody take John's advice. Make it a regular part of your routine to update your OS. Next time the photos might not be there anymore :-/
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08/13/2003 09:21:54 AM · #6 |
Originally posted by JasonPR:
LOL. I thought that's how the worm was travelling!? |
No, the worm is set to start an attack on the Windows Update site on Saturday, so get there before then.
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08/13/2003 09:42:32 AM · #7 |
Originally posted by bod:
Originally posted by JasonPR:
LOL. I thought that's how the worm was travelling!? |
No, the worm is set to start an attack on the Windows Update site on Saturday, so get there before then. |
how do you know so much Bod? is it you doing it? :)
another thing that everyone should be doing is backing up their photos to CD or DVD (or tape or floppy) regularly. I bought a DVD burner for that very purpose so i didn't need 4 disks at a time to do it. Viruses aren't your only fear...crashes happen (yes EVEN to non-windows users) and data can be lost. In one unfortunate incident I ALMOST lost all of my son's first 2 years of baby pix. Managed tp salvage most of them, but there were some extremely tense moments.
Software, computers, etc can all be rebuilt or replaced...photos...not so much.
Pedro
Message edited by author 2003-08-13 09:42:51.
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08/13/2003 10:00:37 AM · #8 |
Originally posted by Pedro:
how do you know so much Bod? is it you doing it? :) |
Heheh, nah, I'm just a geek who spends all day reading IT news sites : )
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08/13/2003 10:23:00 AM · #9 |
My wife and a guy from church are having a problem that sounds related to the virus, but doesn't fit it to a tee from what I've read. They're finding that they can only stay on the Internet for a short period of time and they get dumped.
My wife has looked for the msblast.exe process and hasn't found it. Is this all the same thing, or is there something else going on? Suggestions, fellow geeks? :)
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08/13/2003 10:31:33 AM · #10 |
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08/13/2003 10:42:03 AM · #11 |
Originally posted by alansfreed:
My wife and a guy from church are having a problem that sounds related to the virus, but doesn't fit it to a tee from what I've read. They're finding that they can only stay on the Internet for a short period of time and they get dumped.
My wife has looked for the msblast.exe process and hasn't found it. Is this all the same thing, or is there something else going on? Suggestions, fellow geeks? :) |
My guess is that there is an increased traffic/server load right now (I couldn't load some pages last night), or maybe the sites you are connecting to may be running extra security software, and you are just getting a "regular" time-out as you sit in the traffic jam. |
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08/13/2003 10:49:24 AM · #12 |
Originally posted by OneSweetSin:
Anyone know why microsoft would tell them they had to say goodbye to everything on their hardrives when they had it built into the program to be able to rewrite itself in case of a glitch or problem? |
//www.microsoft.com/security/incident/blast.asp is what they are saying about it now.
John's advice to ensure that you keep up with patches is good. The fix for this latest virus has been available from Microsoft since early this year.
Another good precaution is to get a hardware firewall (~$50) and have it configured properly. With a firewall, anti-virus software and some sensible usage (i.e., don't open/ run attachments you weren't expecting, don't automatically hit 'yes' to every question asked, that kind of thing) you can avoid almost all of the viruses, worms, trojans and the like that bring the 'net to its knees every few months. |
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08/13/2003 10:50:34 AM · #13 |
I, too, was one of the unfortunate ones hit by this bug.....and thank GOD I was was!! I figured I would never get a virus (NOT ME!:) so for a few years now, I didn't bother paying the mere $50.00 or so for any kind of virus protection. So, when I got stuck in the endless shutting down of my computer, I was shocked that anyone could be so cruel (I took it personal!) Anyway, to make a long, boring story short, this was a harmless worm that wasn't designed to do damage...but because I was so scared about losing years and years of pictures, MP3s, and college papers, I promptly got virus protection for my computer. :) (I wonder if it's the anti-virus companies who make these viruses??
Christy
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08/13/2003 10:55:55 AM · #14 |
Originally posted by christyrack:
... I promptly got virus protection for my computer. :) (I wonder if it's the anti-virus companies who make these viruses??
Christy |
Have you also noticed that the vast majority of pop-up ads are from companies which make pop-up blocking software.
If you did this with your local store or restaurant it would be called a "protection racket." |
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08/13/2003 11:00:43 AM · #15 |
Originally posted by christyrack:
I, too, was one of the unfortunate ones hit by this bug.....and thank GOD I was was!! I figured I would never get a virus (NOT ME!:) so for a few years now, I didn't bother paying the mere $50.00 or so for any kind of virus protection. So, when I got stuck in the endless shutting down of my computer, I was shocked that anyone could be so cruel (I took it personal!) Anyway, to make a long, boring story short, this was a harmless worm that wasn't designed to do damage...but because I was so scared about losing years and years of pictures, MP3s, and college papers, I promptly got virus protection for my computer. :) (I wonder if it's the anti-virus companies who make these viruses??
Christy |
While getting the virus software is a great start - I hope you also back up all those years worth of pictures, MP3s and college papers. Hard drives fail, lighting fries motherboards, stuff happens that isn't viruses and can still trash all your data. |
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08/13/2003 11:08:51 AM · #16 |
Originally posted by GeneralE:
My guess is that there is an increased traffic/server load right now (I couldn't load some pages last night), or maybe the sites you are connecting to may be running extra security software, and you are just getting a "regular" time-out as you sit in the traffic jam. |
No, the computer will work fine for a while, and then it'll stop recognizing that she even has a network card. |
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08/13/2003 11:24:32 AM · #17 |
Christy[/quote]
While getting the virus software is a great start - I hope you also back up all those years worth of pictures, MP3s and college papers. Hard drives fail, lighting fries motherboards, stuff happens that isn't viruses and can still trash all your data.[/quote]
At the risk of looking like a complete idiot...how does one go about backing up things? Would I just buy a bunch of cds? And WHICH cds? There's read-write, read, write, and who knows what else. I tried backing my stuff up one time, using my A drive diskettes, but it would only fit a few things on, and then it would ask me to insert another diskette. I've got about 500 MP3s, thousands of pictures, and every paper I ever wrote in college on here (funny I didn't take any computer classes in college). If anyone could get me going in the right direction, I would grateful! :)
Sincerely, The Computer Illiterate |
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08/13/2003 11:33:15 AM · #18 |
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08/13/2003 11:38:37 AM · #19 |
Originally posted by alansfreed:
No, the computer will work fine for a while, and then it'll stop recognizing that she even has a network card. |
Assuming their virus files are up to date and the check comes up clean this sounds like it could be a hardware fault. Either network card or motherboard. If you can find a spare network card try swapping it out.
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08/13/2003 12:32:49 PM · #20 |
Ohhhhh......Thank you Gordon!!! :) |
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08/13/2003 02:56:43 PM · #21 |
I got to say this...I updated my virus scan SUNDAY NIGHT, then ran a scan cause I was having problems with the computer running slow and something just didn't seem right. So updating your anti virus wasn't really going to do a bit of good cause the virus wasn't really recognized til Monday morning! But by Monday night after I did the selective restore I did go back to the anti virus site and download an update with the fix for the virus...so keeping my virus scan up to date really did me no good when the virus wasn't recognized til after it infected my pc!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
As for a firewall, as I am finding out from my cable company worms sometime can get past them...I have a firewall that is part of my cable software and it also left the worm get through. They gave me a new firewall program this morning and told me that they had a lot of complaints about this worm getting through the firewall. |
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08/13/2003 03:04:38 PM · #22 |
This worm launched big time on the 12th.. my virus software had an update for it available on the 11th. If you have a broadband connection it's worth while to set your software to update itself once a day.
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08/13/2003 03:12:50 PM · #23 |
Originally posted by jmsetzler:
This worm launched big time on the 12th.. my virus software had an update for it available on the 11th. If you have a broadband connection it's worth while to set your software to update itself once a day. |
I did update on the 11th both AVG and Norton, and neither picked it up. Monday night after I did the selective restore AVG found it right away after I downloaded the update they had out Monday afternoon. |
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08/13/2003 03:38:03 PM · #24 |
Originally posted by Gordon:
Originally posted by christyrack:
I, too, was one of the unfortunate ones hit by this bug.....and thank GOD I was was!! I figured I would never get a virus (NOT ME!:) so for a few years now, I didn't bother paying the mere $50.00 or so for any kind of virus protection. So, when I got stuck in the endless shutting down of my computer, I was shocked that anyone could be so cruel (I took it personal!) Anyway, to make a long, boring story short, this was a harmless worm that wasn't designed to do damage...but because I was so scared about losing years and years of pictures, MP3s, and college papers, I promptly got virus protection for my computer. :) (I wonder if it's the anti-virus companies who make these viruses??
Christy |
While getting the virus software is a great start - I hope you also back up all those years worth of pictures, MP3s and college papers. Hard drives fail, lighting fries motherboards, stuff happens that isn't viruses and can still trash all your data. |
Gordon, you are SO right! I just recovered from a "lightning roast" - thought I had lost 80GB of photos (almost fainted when my husband told me my computer was fried! "Fortunately" it was just the router, cable modem; ethernet card in 1 computer, and modem, ethernet card & motherboard combo in my "big" computer.
Backup everybody!!!
Message edited by author 2003-08-13 15:38:35.
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08/13/2003 03:43:43 PM · #25 |
Originally posted by OneSweetSin:
I got to say this...I updated my virus scan SUNDAY NIGHT, then ran a scan cause I was having problems with the computer running slow and something just didn't seem right. So updating your anti virus wasn't really going to do a bit of good cause the virus wasn't really recognized til Monday morning! But by Monday night after I did the selective restore I did go back to the anti virus site and download an update with the fix for the virus...so keeping my virus scan up to date really did me no good when the virus wasn't recognized til after it infected my pc!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
You need to keep your computer up to date as well as your virus lists.
The fix for the latest worm was available since July 16th.
//www.microsoft.com/security/security_bulletins/ms03-026.asp |
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