lsass.exe error message - is this the sasser worm?

Factual Questions
1

Running XP Pro.

I have no idea what triggered this - I haven’t downloaded anything recently other than iTunes, etc, and I’ve got NAV running always, but anyway: I think I might have gotten the sasser virus. I boot up my computer; works fine for anywhere from 30 seconds to a few minutes. Then I get an lsass.exe error message saying “Object name not found”. I click OK, and the compute reboots (doesn’t even shut down windows, just restarts.

I’ve run a full virus scan (didn’t find anything), run McAfee Stinger (said it found one infected file and deleted it; problem persists), downloaded the alleged Microsoft patch and installed (didn’t do anything), downloaded SP2 (didn’t have it before, didn’t do anything).

Currently my computer technically works: when the error pops up, I can just drag it basically off the screen and go about my business, and everything’s fine, so I’m not having that bad of a problem running whatever scans/installing patches/etc. However, I’m now at a loss as to what to do. My XP install disk is currently on its way to me from home in NJ, and I’ve heard that the repair function there may or may not help get rid of sasser, which may or may not be what I have.

Any ideas?

2

Only have time for a quick drive-by on this one but you might check this out for starters:

http://ask-leo.com/what_are_lsass_lsassexe_and_sasser_and_how_do_i_know_if_im_infected_what_do_i_do_if_i_am.html

3

I don’t think you have Sasser, Stinger would have caught it.

When did this start? Have you tried doing a System Restore to a savepoint before the problem started?

4

…and in today’s episode of “Computer of the Heart”, we discover that the problem appears to be gone (knock on wood). Not only is this a welcome development as our co-star hunts for a new job, but it also once again proves Ninja’s Law of Computational Science: