Blaster (computer worm)
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.
Hex dump of the Blaster worm, showing a message left for Microsoft founder Bill Gates by the programmer | |
| Technical name | As Blaster
As Lovsan As MSBLAST
|
|---|---|
| Aliases | Lovsan, Lovesan, MSBlast |
| Type | Worm |
| Isolation | 2004 |
| Point of origin | Minnesota (B variant only) |
| Author(s) | Jeffrey Lee Parson (B variant only) |
| Port(s) used | Remote Procedure Call |
| Operating system(s) affected | Windows XP and Windows 2000 |
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. 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. The author of the original A variant remains unknown.