I think I found how to kill messenger without a firewall

[Chris]

http://groups.google.com/groups?dq=&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-
8&group=alt.microsoft.sucks&selm=vbnhu03sh1dd57%
40corp.supernews.com!

Windows messenger spam is annoying, but easy to get rid
of. Do not pay for
this service; you can do it easily yourself. This is a
reprint from a
newsgroup on the fix to this annoying problem, and it
works. Ignore the evil people who who want to make money
off this exploit, and shame on Microsoft for
keeping us all in the dark on how to fix it. Please read
the short
instructions carefully to harmlessly turn this feature off:



"What you're seeing is the Messenger service built-in to
Windows, not
MSN/Windows Messenger (which is 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.
The 'Messenger Service'
was designed to send quick messages (like you're seeing)
across local
networks -- but since the Internet is one large network,
it's been exposed
to everyone.
To get rid of these pop ups, you'll need to disable
the Messenger
service. Click Start,
and then Run. Type services.msc into the box and click
OK. Scroll down to
Messenger, select it by right-clicking it and then choose
Properties. Under
subcategory startup type, click on arrow then choose
Disabled, then choose
the Stop button. After the service is stopped, click OK.
Nothing in Windows
or any real third-party applications should be affected by
this."

 

[Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]]

Now that you've gone and made new friends, note that this is not sensible
advice. When you hear your smoke alarm go off, do you just take out the
batteries and go back to watching TV? No, you find out where the fire is,
and are thankful for having a smoke alarm to have warned you about it.

If one is receiving messenger spam, one needs a firewall. 'Messenger spam',
is not in itself harmful, but is symptomatic of a larger problem - your
computer has ports open from the Internet.

You can disable the Messenger service, but that is unwise as a solution as
you'll still have the underlying problem that caused you to get the messages
in the first place - consider the messages a useful warning that you have no
protection from the Internet.

For a standalone machine, see www.sygate.com for a free personal firewall.

See http://securityadmin.info/faq.htm for more info.

How pray tell is MS keeping you in the dark? This information is widely
available. If you're going to have relations with the internet, you need to
use protection, and that's your responsibility, not MS', not anyone elses'.
Same with antivirus software.

 

[Herb Martin]

Yes, about the only important?? thing you lose is Print
Job notifications.

Of course, I like to send my wife Popup messages when
she's in the office and "lunch is ready" or some such.

YMMV