Greetings --
As you haven't provided any specific details or error messages,
the following is the result of having to guess what your problem might
be. There are at least two possibilities:
1) If you connected the PC to the Internet without having first
enabled a firewall, without having first installed an antivirus
application with current virus definition files, and before installing
the KB828471 Hotfix, you're very likely to get infected from any of
the thousands of PCs on the Internet that are constantly broadcasting
the Blaster and/or Welchia worms. It only takes a few seconds of
exposure.
To stay on-line long enough to get the necessary updates, patches,
and removal tools, click Start > Run, and enter "shutdown -a" when the
next RPC countdown begins. This will abort the shut down. Also, make
sure you've enabled a firewall before starting, to preclude any more
intrusions while getting the updates/patches/tools.
MS04-012 Cumulative Update for Microsoft RPC-DCOM
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;828741
What You Should Know About the Blaster Worm
http://www.microsoft.com/security/incident/blast.asp
W32.Blaster.Worm a.k.a. W32/Lovesan.Worm
http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.blaster.worm.html
W32.Blaster.Worm Removal Tool
http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.blaster.worm.removal.tool.html
W32.Welchia.Worm a.k.a. W32/Nachi.Worm
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.welchia.worm.html
W32.Welchia.Worm Removal Tool
http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.welchia.worm.removal.tool.html
McAfee AVERT Stinger
http://us.mcafee.com/virusInfo/default.asp?id=stinger
2) You've apparently contracted the latest worm, W32.Sasser.Worm,
specifically designed to attack people who do not update their
computers promptly and who do not practice "safe hex." In other
words, like Blaster, this worm was developed and distributed _after_ a
patch for the vulnerability was announced and made publicly available.
Further, and also like Blaster, this worm could not affect any
computer whose user had taken the basic precaution of using a properly
configured firewall.
To stay on-line long enough to get the necessary updates, patches,
and removal tools, click Start > Run, and enter "shutdown -a" when the
next Shutdown countdown begins. This will abort the shut down. Also,
make
sure you've enabled a firewall before starting, to preclude any more
intrusions while getting the updates/patches/tools.
What You should Know about the Sasser Worm and its Variants
http://www.microsoft.com/security/incident/sasser.asp
Microsoft Security Bulletin MS04-011
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS04-011.mspx
W32.Sasser.Worm
http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.sasser.worm.html
A tool is available to remove the Sasser worm variants
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;841720
W32.Sasser.Worm Removal Tool
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.sasser.removal.tool.html
McAfee AVert Stinger Virus Removal Tool
http://vil.nai.com/vil/stinger/
As you're using AOL, you'll either need to find a 3rd party
firewall that is compatible with AOL, or switch to a real ISP that is
compatible with the real Internet. This is because AOL is an on-line
content provider that ignores international Internetworking standards
in favor of its own proprietary products, and has deliberately made
its connection software incompatible with both WinXP's built-in
firewall and WinXP's Internet Connection Sharing feature. AOL's
proprietary connection applet is deliberately designed to preclude
your setting/adjusting any of its properties, to include
enabling/disabling WinXP's ICF and ICS.
Bruce Chambers
--
Help us help you:
You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH
