Official and unofficial pages about fixing the infection. Note that Windows 95, 98, and ME machines are NOT affected by the worm.
- Official page of Blaster info on the Microsoft.com security site. Contains really good step by step instructions on how to clean your system and prevent re-infection.
- Scoble posts an abbreviated list of instructions courtesy Jeff Sandquist.
To recap, if the official site is unreachable:
Step 1 – Patch the machine and turn on the XP Firewall
http://www.microsoft.com/security/incident/blast.asp
[Steps inline:
- Turn on your firewall.
- Update Windows—using either Windows Update or the information in this Security Bulletin.
- Make sure your antivirus software is up to date.
- Remove the worm using a utility provided by, for example, Symantec.]
Step 2 – Remove the Virus from your machine
Copy this file to a floppy disk before you go, run this utility on your mother’s machine and it will scan for the Virus and remove it.
If you forgot to copy it, you can download it from here:
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.blaster.worm.removal.tool.html
Step 3 – Turn on Auto update
Your mother got the Virus because her machine was not properly patched. Turn on automatic download and installation of updates by completing the following steps:
- Open Control Panel, select the System icon
- Select the Automatic Updates Tab
- Turn on Keep my computer up to date option by selecting the check box
- Turn on Automatically download the updates, and install them on the schedule that I specify, by selecting the radio buttons
- Set the date to every day and a time when you know the machine will be turned on.
Now your mother’s machine will automatically check each night if there are any new patches and install them for you.