I have messages that come up ,maybe 20 in a row then will
stop for a while, that say to stop pop-ups to look into
their service. I've never done anything but hit the
corner X ,as I feel it,s some sort of extortion racket.
They allways come, gray box, blue top line
saying "Windows Messenger" , very oficial looking.It
seems to start up right after I respond to those little
up-date notices. Finaly I'm afraid to respond to those
notices for fear I'm just letting the guy in for another
barrage. And now I get a messang every time I start up
that there is some important update from Microsoft that I
should download. I've been ignoring it because I,m afraid
of further infestation. Any sugestions?

Greetings Arizona,

Are you sure it said "Windows Messenger", as opposed to "Messenger Service"? If it says
"Messenger Service", what you're seeing is the Messenger service built-in to Windows, *not*
Windows Messenger (whichare two different things) which spammers are exploiting -- this is
not Microsoft, nor can Microsoft control them anymore then they can control spam to your
e-mail inbox.

To get rid of these pop ups, you'll need to disable the "Messenger Service", click Start,
then Run, enter "services.msc"and click OK. Scroll down to "Messenger", select it,
right-click and then choose Properties. Under startup type, choose 'Disabled' and then
choose the 'Stop' button. After the service is stopped, click OK. Nothing in Windows or any
real third-party applications should be effected by this.

Just as a little reminder, make sure you've protected yourself against the latest security
issues by visiting WindowsUpdate and installing the security patches:
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com
(This isn't related to the Messenger Service in any way, just a reminder)
____________________________________________
Jonathan Kay
Microsoft MVP - Windows Messenger/MSN Messenger
Associate Expert
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/
Messenger Resources - http://messenger.jonathankay.com


"Arizona Dave" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:0ce101c397d5$335a4cd0$(E-Mail Removed)...
> I have messages that come up ,maybe 20 in a row then will
> stop for a while, that say to stop pop-ups to look into
> their service. I've never done anything but hit the
> corner X ,as I feel it,s some sort of extortion racket.
> They allways come, gray box, blue top line
> saying "Windows Messenger" , very oficial looking.It
> seems to start up right after I respond to those little
> up-date notices. Finaly I'm afraid to respond to those
> notices for fear I'm just letting the guy in for another
> barrage. And now I get a messang every time I start up
> that there is some important update from Microsoft that I
> should download. I've been ignoring it because I,m afraid
> of further infestation. Any sugestions?