Blaster (computer worm)

Blaster
Technical nameAs Blaster
  • Worm.Win32.Blaster (Global Hauri)
  • W32/Blaster (Norman)
  • W32/Blaster (Sophos)
  • W32.Blaster.Worm (Symantec)

As Lovsan

As MSBLAST

  • Worm.Win32.Blaster (Global Hauri)
  • Win32/Msblast (Microsoft)
  • WORM_MSBLAST (Trend Micro)
Win32.Poza (CA) Blaster (Panda)
Hex dump of the Blaster worm, showing a message left for Microsoft founder Bill Gates by the programmer
AliasLovsan, Lovesan, MSBlast
TypeWorm
Isolation date2004
OriginMinnesota (B variant only)
AuthorsJeffrey Lee Parson (B variant only)
Technical details
PlatformWindows XP and Windows 2000
Ports usedRemote Procedure Call
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Blaster (also known as Lovsan, Lovesan, or MSBlast) was a computer worm that spread on computers running operating systems Windows XP and Windows 2000 during August 2003.[1]

The worm was first noticed and started spreading on August 11, 2003. The rate that it spread increased until the number of infections peaked on August 13, 2003. Once a network (such as a company or university) was infected, it spread more quickly within the network because firewalls typically did not prevent internal machines from using a certain port.[2] Filtering by ISPs and widespread publicity about the worm curbed the spread of Blaster.

In September 2003, Jeffrey Lee Parson, an 18-year-old from Hopkins, Minnesota, was indicted for creating the B variant of the Blaster worm; he admitted responsibility and was sentenced to an 18-month prison term in January 2005.[3] The author of the original A variant remains unknown.

  1. ^ "CERT Advisory CA-2003-20: W32/Blaster worm". CERT/CC. 2003-08-14. Archived from the original on 2014-10-17. Retrieved 2018-11-03.
  2. ^ "MS03-026: Buffer Overrun in RPC May Allow Code Execution". Microsoft Support. Microsoft Corporation. Retrieved 2018-11-03.
  3. ^ "Minnesota Man Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison for Creating and Unleashing a Variant of the MS Blaster Computer Worm". United States Department of Justice. 2005-01-28. Retrieved 2021-02-17.