Help, computer keeps rebooting

I dont understand why my computer keeps re-booting every time. Today it rebooted about 5 times. Could this be the blaster worm? Im not sure that it is.. help anyone

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Comments

Ghent

Sounds like the symptoms of the worm. Go to Symantec.com and they've got a patch and some info on the virus. If that fixes it, then it was the worm.

Ghent

If your not sure if you've got it or not, here's how to check for the latest version of the virus, check HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
for this value "windows automation"="mslaugh.exe". If you've got that, then you've got it.

Chadae

Ghent: How do I get there? Is this unders the windows folder? Sorry I am not so good with Operating systems yet...

jrowe

if your not to good with windows i wouldn't recommend playing with the registry.

just download the worm removal tool from the following link and run it.
it will tell you if you have the worm and remove it for you.

http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.blaster.worm.removal.tool.html

Ghent

Here's the complete instructions.

Click Start, and then click Run. (The Run dialog box appears.)
Type regedit

Then click OK. (The Registry Editor opens.)

Navigate to the key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

In the right pane, delete the value:

"windows automation"="mslaugh.exe"

Exit the Registry Editor

For more info check out http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.blaster.e.worm.html

Webmaster

And if all the above doesn't help:

www.microsoft.com/security/incident/blast.asp

I agree with jrowe that editing the registry is not recommended for thos that are not "so good with Operating systems yet". Surely it seems easy for someone who has done it before, but it is at least as easy to mess things up.

I know this is not an exam related questions, but just to illustrate: in the past (and perhaps still, it's been a while since I took MS exams) there were exam questions in MS exams that gave two seemingly correct answers, one was configuring something using a Control Panel applet, the other did the exact same thing by editing the registry... you can guess which one of the correct answers was the correct answer.

bellboy

http://www.avast.com/i_idt_171.html will get you a free removal tool for ten worms (including blaster).

Chadae

Thanks for all the help everyone!! I went to the avast.com site and my computer doesn't have any known worms. A microsoft reporting error did show up advising me that it was a device driver error. So I'm running a windows update to see if it remedies the problem. Thanks again--I will update if it works.

bellboy

if your computer is running xp (or windows 2000 or nt for that matter), i would suggest visiting the microsoft website and downloading the blaster patch nayway. you may not have it now, but who knows what might happen in the future

Chadae

Well, I downloaded all the windows update that I needed and the problem is no longer happening. I am also going to get that patch (better safe than sorry) as bellboy suggested. Thanks again everyone.