RPC / NT Authority

P

Pete

I just reformatted my hard drive (Dell Dimension 2350)
and reinstalled Windows XP.

Now whenever I access the internet, my system shuts down
with the following message:

"This shutdown was initiated by NT Authority\System.
Windows must restart because the Remote Procedure Call
Service terminated unexpectedly."

Can anyone help me solve this?

Thanks.
 
S

Shenan Stanley

Pete said:
I just reformatted my hard drive (Dell Dimension 2350)
and reinstalled Windows XP.

Now whenever I access the internet, my system shuts down
with the following message:

"This shutdown was initiated by NT Authority\System.
Windows must restart because the Remote Procedure Call
Service terminated unexpectedly."

Can anyone help me solve this?

You have MSBlaster.
You have not patched (or you did a repair installation and did not repatch)
in a LONG time.
Your firewall is/was not on.

Get rid of Blaster first:
http://www.microsoft.com/security/incident/blast.asp

Once you get there - PRINT IT.. If the shutdown message appears, click on
START, select RUN and type in the following line:

shutdown -a

and click OK.

That will abort the shutdown and you can continue cleaning the machine.

After you have followed Microsoft's fine instructions, do these things to
really clean up the machine.. There is no telling what other parasites might
be hanging out in your computer:

Please Notice that if you use AOL, you should at least upgrade to 9.0 or
greater before doing any of the fixes. I know you can get AOL 9.0 at almost
any convenience store, gas station, super market or other retail outlet in
the world, so this should not be a problem.


Turn on that firewall...
http://www.microsoft.com/WindowsXP/home/using/howto/homenet/icf.asp
(It has been reported that it now works with AOL 9.0+)


Make sure you have all the updates (critical) installed from:
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/
(Scan for updates, Review and Install)


Get rid of the spy/ad/mal-ware..
(Yes - using MORE than one of these..
I recommend at least the first three. Also..
UPDATE the definitions for them before using.)

Spybot Search and Destroy
http://www.safer-networking.net/

Lavasoft AdAware
http://www.lavasoft.de

CWSShredder
http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/downloads.html

Hijack This!
http://mjc1.com/mirror/hjt/

I also like "The Cleaner" and "SpywareBlaster" and "SpywareGuard".
- http://www.moosoft.com/
- http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/

The first is a PAY product, but useable for 30 days - it has found and
eliminated problems in the past the others did not. The latter two are
prevention mechanisms. I like SpywareGuard for those with enough processor
to have something running like antivirus software - and it prevents browser
hijacking quite well.

And Assortment of Others:
http://www.merijn.org/downloads.html


After you cleanup your PC somewhat of spy/ad/mal-ware, verify your antivirus
software is updated and run a full scan of your computer. If you have no
antivirus software - get one NOW! Grisoft AntiVirus:
http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_dwnl_free.php


Empty your Temporary Internet Files and shrink the size it stores to about
80 to 120MB (seems to be an optimal size for the normal user)

- Open ONE copy of Internet Explorer.
- Select TOOLS -> Internet Options.
- Under the General tab in the "Temporary Internet Files" section,
do the following:
- Click on "Delete Cookies" (click OK)
- Click on "Settings" and change the
"Amount of disk space to use:" to something between 80MB
and 120MB. (Betting it is MUCH larger right now.)
- Click OK.
- Click on "Delete Files" and select to
"Delete all offline contents" (the checkbox) and click
OK. (If you had a LOT, this could take 2-10 minutes or
more.)
- Once it is done, click OK, close Internet Explorer
- Re-open Internet Explorer.


Uninstall any software you do not use often/ever. (If you have something
installed but never use it, uninstall it.) If you go through Control
Panel -> Add/Remove Programs and see things you seldom if ever use, it is to
your advantage to remove it.


Also, if you are tired of Web Page Pop-Ups/Unders.. You could try the
Google Toolbar.
http://toolbar.google.com/


Stop loading applications at logon.. run MSCONFIG and look under the startup
tab for things you DON'T want to startup! Search the Internet with Google
to discover what things are safe to remove and what things may even be
malware infecting your computer.


Better control your email and lessen the amount of time you spend dealing
with SPAM:
SpamBayes
http://spambayes.sourceforge.net
or
Spamihilator.
http://www.spamihilator.com
 
K

Ken Blake, MVP

In
Pete said:
I just reformatted my hard drive (Dell Dimension 2350)
and reinstalled Windows XP.

Now whenever I access the internet, my system shuts down
with the following message:

"This shutdown was initiated by NT Authority\System.
Windows must restart because the Remote Procedure Call
Service terminated unexpectedly."


You have the MSBlaster worm. To remove it, do the following:

The following instructions are in three parts

1. Stop it from running

2. Remove it from your system

3. Make sure it doesn't come back



Before beginning, if you have an always-on internet connection,
it's a good idea to disconnect it.



1. Stop it from running

Press Ctrl-Alt-Delete to bring up the Task Manager, then on the
Processes tab, click msblast.exe and then "End process." Reply
"Yes" to the warning message that comes up.

This stops the worm from running, so your system will not shut
down. However, it doesn't remove it, and if that's all you do, it
will start up again the next time you boot.


***

2. Remove it from your system

a. Start the registry editor program, regedit, by going to Start
| Run, and typing REGEDIT
Navigate to HKEY_Local_Machine\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current
Version\Run by clicking the plus signs next to each of the
folders in the left hand pane. When you get to the last of them,
Run, click the word Run itself.

Find an entry called "Windows Auto Update" on the right side.
Right-click it and delete it.

b. Do a Windows search for msblast, and delete all files found.

The worm is now gone, and won't start again the next time you
boot. But if that's all you do, you can get reinfected just as
you did the first time.

***


3. Make sure it doesn't come back

a. Make sure you're running a firewall that prevents worms like
this from getting in. You can enable the built-in Windows XP
firewall, or download and install another one such as the free
version of ZoneAlarm. To enable the built-in firewall, go to
Control Panel, double-click Networking and Internet Connections,
then click Network Connections. Right-click your connection, then
click Properties, and on the Advanced tab, click the option
"Protect my computer and network..."


b. If you've disconnected your internet connection, reconnect it.
Download and install the Microsoft patch at
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=824146 or

That will remove the vulnerability that the worm exploits.


c. Be sure you are running an anti-virus program, and that you
regularly download the latest updated virus definitions.
 
B

Bruce Chambers

Greetings --

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 KB824146 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.

Microsoft Security Bulletin MS03-39
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=824146

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


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
 

Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments. After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.

Ask a Question

Top