Some of you have requested we post an article on the Lsass.exe process – hope this helps!
What is lsass.exe?
“lsass.exe” is the Local Security Authentication Server. It verifies the validity of user logons to your PC or server. Lsass generates the process responsible for authenticating users for the Winlogon service. This is performed by using authentication packages such as the default, Msgina.dll. If authentication is successful, Lsass generates the user’s access token, which is used to launch the initial shell. Other processes that the user initiates then inherit this token.
Lsass.exe has been infected in the past
The Sasser worm exploited a vulnerability in LSASS to spread via a remote buffer overflow in computers running Microsoft Windows XP and Windows 2000. The worm is particularly potent in that it can spread without any interaction with humans, nor does it ‘travel by email’ like many other worms.
Should the lsass.exe program end, for example, by the Sasser worm’s effects, then a countdown timer will appear on the screen, advising the user to save his work and close all programs before Windows shuts down. Read more…
Do you have the April 1st Conficker worm?
The Conficker worm, sometimes called Downadup or Kido has managed to infect a large number of computers. Specifics are hard to come by, but some researchers estimate that millions of computers have been infected with this threat since January. If you are unable to reach certain web sites, you may be infected. In that case you will need to get to a computer that is not infected, download the Conficker removal tool and run it on the infected machine before new antivirus software. Symantec has created a detailed technical analysis of the threat here.
What does the Conficker worm do?
The Conficker worm has created secure infrastructure for cybercrime. The worm allows its creators to remotely install software on infected machines. What will that software do? We don’t know. Most likely the worm will be used to create a botnet that will be rented out to criminals who want to send SPAM, steal IDs and direct users to online scams and phishing sites.
The Conficker worm mostly spreads across networks. If it finds a vulnerable computer, it turns off the automatic backup service, deletes previous restore points, disables many security services, blocks access to a number of security web sites and opens infected machines to receive additional programs from the malware’s creator. The worm then tries to spread itself to other computers on the same network.
How does the worm infect a computer?
The Downadup worm tries to take advantage of a problem with Windows (a vulnerability) called MS08-067 to quietly install itself. Users who automatically receive updates from Microsoft are already protected from this. The worm also tries to spread by copying itself into shared folders on networks and by infecting USB devices such as memory sticks. Read more…
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