Troubleshooting ASP.NET Machine Account and Sasser Worm

  • Thread starter Thread starter Mudvaynelethaldosage
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SUMMARY

This discussion addresses issues related to the ASP.NET Machine Account and potential system problems on a Windows XP Professional SP1 machine. The user reported unexpected behavior, including the need to re-enter their password after the screensaver activates and a shutdown initiated by the winlogon.exe process due to lsass.exe terminating unexpectedly. The ASP.NET Machine Account is a system account created during .NET framework installation, and changing its password can lead to system instability. The user is advised to review their security settings and consider uninstalling McAfee due to compatibility issues.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of Windows XP Professional SP1 operating system
  • Familiarity with ASP.NET and its associated accounts
  • Knowledge of system processes, specifically lsass.exe and winlogon.exe
  • Basic troubleshooting skills for antivirus software issues
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the role of the ASP.NET Machine Account in IIS environments
  • Learn about the implications of changing system account passwords in Windows
  • Investigate alternative antivirus solutions compatible with Windows XP
  • Explore methods to check and restore system settings in Windows XP
USEFUL FOR

This discussion is beneficial for system administrators, IT support professionals, and users managing legacy Windows XP systems, particularly those dealing with .NET framework installations and antivirus software compatibility issues.

Mudvaynelethaldosage
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I'm having a few things happen on my computer that I'm curious about. I'm not sure if it's a problem, but it's arroused my suspicion.
Recently, I've noticed that when my pc goes to a screen saver and I move the mouse to use the pc again, I have to click on my account again to log back on. I'm not sure why, perhaps someone changed a setting on my pc, although I'm puzzled at who that could be.
Upon investigation, I noticed that there are 3 accounts on my pc. My administrative account that I use, a guest account which I disabled, and "ASP.NET Machine A..." I've never noticed this before and am really curious. I clicked to change the password because it is password protected (even though I don't know the current password) and got a message saying shutdown initiated by NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM. I had 60 seconds, and lost the majority of that getting a working pen. It listed a couple files which I didn't write down.
Now here's what I found on it in my system log:

The process winlogon.exe has initiated the restart of GRIFFIN-5J6NUSQ for the following reason: No title for this reason could be found
Minor Reason: 0x6
Shutdown Type: reboot
Comment: The system process 'C:\WINDOWS\system32\lsass.exe' terminated unexpectedly with status code -1073741819. The system will now shut down and restart.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp .

I have recently installed Mcfee virus scan and firewall on my system and have had problems with it previously. The VShield On-Access Systems Scanner has issues of some sort with my operating system. Here's the part of the message I get to send an error report when I try to run my antivirus

NT On-Access Scanner service. has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience.


I run Windows XP Professional with SP1. I don't keep it completely updated, as I'm on dial up and live out of town. T


I know I should try uninstalling McFee from my system and use something else.
I'm not sure about the crash I had. From what I could find in a search, 'C:\WINDOWS\system32\lsass.exe' terminated unexpectedly with status code -1073741819, people that have the sasser worm have this problem. I've scanned for sasser and don't have it. It may be possible though that there are other similar worms that the removal tool I used doesn't remove.
Does anyone have any other ideas? I'm going to try a couple more things.

Thank you
 
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The ASP.NET account is created when you install the .NET framework and it's used by the ASP.NET worker process in IIS, you shouldn't delete it, you might need it in the future if you decide to use your IIS, it also shouldn't give you any problems. Changing the password wasn't a good idea because it's a system account and maybe Windows interpreted it as malicious action and decided to shutdown, or maybe it crashed for some reason (changing the password of an active/logged-in service, ...)
Also, Lsass.exe is good and a vital system process, isass.exe is some worm/virus. I don't think you have isass.
There is the option to have the computer lock when it goes to screensaver, for security, so that you have to type the password again. You can change this, right-click on your desktop, select properties, in the screensaver tab make sure the box "on resume, password protect" is unchecked.
If you're curious about changes in your settings you should review the recent history of your computer and see if there's any software that you installed that might have been responsible for it, or, if someone else also uses your computer, ask him/her if he/she changed any settings. But i don't see anything to worry about as it is (except of course for the Mcafee thing).
 
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