All I get is spam ads on Messenger, and I don't IM at
all. Is there a way to just disable the darned thing?

Greetings Bob,

Do these "spam ads" that are appearing have "Messenger Service" in their titlebar? If so,
what you're seeing is the Messenger service built-in to Windows, *not* Windows Messenger
(which are 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


"(E-Mail Removed)" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:046f01c39817$aba346a0$(E-Mail Removed)...
> All I get is spam ads on Messenger, and I don't IM at
> all. Is there a way to just disable the darned thing?