popups and firewalls

[Robert]

I have XP Home, cable modem, spyware blaster, and
Adaware. I have tried msn popup blocker, google, yahoo,
and several free popup blockers. I have tried sygate
firewall, zonealarm firewall, my messenger service is
shut off, and I still get popups. Some are titled web
page dialog. When I log onto msn to get my email off the
hotmail address, I seem to get attacked by popups, and
cannot finish sending an email. It seems to stop my
computer unless I start banging on my keyboard trying to
type 1111 words per minute. Then, nothing gets typed in,
til the attack stops, then I have to delete all the
letters that all of a sudden appear. Should I get rid of
hotmail email address?? I have Norton anti-virus, all
programs are up to date. Love spyware blaster, seems to
work great. Have CDShredder also. Yesterday, while
trying to get my hotmail email, google search engine
jammed me and appeared on the left part of my screen as a
search engine. I did not ask google to do that, nor do I
have google on my pc. I have deleted google, yahoo, msn
popup blocker, aol popup blocker, sygate firewall, and am
about to delete Zonealarm Pro. Any ideas?? Thanks

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

There are at least three varieties of pop-ups, and the solutions
vary accordingly. Which specific type(s) is troubling you?

1) Does the title bar of these pop-ups read "Messenger Service?"

This type of spam has become quite common over the past year or
so, and unintentionally serves as a valid security "alert." It
demonstrates that you haven't been taking sufficient precautions while
connected to the Internet. Your data probably hasn't been compromised
by these specific advertisements, but if you're open to this exploit,
you most definitely open to other threats, such as the Blaster,
Welchia, and Sasser Worms that still haunt the Internet. Install and
use a decent, properly configured firewall. (Merely disabling the
messenger service, as some people recommend, only hides the symptom,
and does little or nothing to truly secure your machine.) And
ignoring or just "putting up with" the security gap represented by
these messages is particularly foolish.

Messenger Service of Windows
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;168893

Messenger Service Window That Contains an Internet Advertisement
Appears
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=330904

Stopping Advertisements with Messenger Service Titles
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/using/howto/communicate/stopspam.asp

Blocking Ads, Parasites, and Hijackers with a Hosts File
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm

If you're using AOL, you'll either need to find a 3rd party
firewall that is compatible with AOL, or switch to a real ISP that is
compatible with the real Internet. This is because AOL is an on-line
content provider that ignores international Internetworking standards
in favor of its own proprietary products, and has deliberately made
its connection software incompatible with both WinXP's built-in
firewall and WinXP's Internet Connection Sharing feature. AOL's
proprietary connection applet is deliberately designed to preclude
your setting/adjusting any of its properties, to include
enabling/disabling WinXP's ICF and ICS.

Whichever firewall you decide upon, be sure to ensure UDP ports
135, 137, and 138 and TCP ports 135, 139, and 445 are _all_ blocked.
You may also disable Inbound NetBIOS (NetBIOS over TCP/IP). You'll
have to follow the instructions from firewall's manufacturer for the
specific steps.

You can test your firewall at:

Symantec Security Check
http://security.symantec.com/ssc/vr_main.asp?langid=ie&venid=sym&plfid=23&pkj=GPVHGBYNCJEIMXQKCDT

Security Scan - Sygate Online Services
http://www.sygatetech.com/

Oh, and be especially wary of people who advise you to do nothing
more than disable the messenger service. Disabling the messenger
service, by itself, is a "head in the sand" approach to computer
security. The real problem is _not_ the messenger service pop-ups;
they're actually providing a useful, if annoying, service by acting as
a security alert. The true problem is the unsecured computer, and
you've been advised to merely turn off the warnings. How is this
helpful?

2) For regular Internet pop-ups, you might try the free 12Ghosts
Popup-killer from http://12ghosts.com/ghosts/popup.htm, Pop-Up Stopper
from http://www.panicware.com/, or the free Google Toolbar from
http://toolbar.google.com/, which is what I use.

3) To deal with pop-ups caused by any sort of "adware" and/or
"spyware,"such as Gator, Comet Cursors, Xupiter, Bonzai Buddy, or
KaZaA, and their remnants, that you've deliberately (but without
understanding the consequences) installed, two products that are
quite effective (at finding and removing this type of scumware) are
Ad-Aware from www.lavasoft.de and SpyBot Search & Destroy from
www.safer-networking.org/. Both have free versions. It's even
possible to use SpyBot Search & Destroy to "immunize" your system
against most future intrusions. I use both and generally perform
manual scans every week or so to clean out cookies, etc.


Bruce Chambers
--
Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. - RAH

 

[Robert]

I already tried google toolbar, still had problems.
Messenger service is off. The popup titles vary, but are
heavy on "web page dialog". I am no longer with AOL, but
have cable modem service.I will try the 12 ghosts popup
killer. Is a free firewall not good enough?? Am I
getting what I paid for?? Is the only good firewall a
paid for firewall??

 

[Jon Conner]

I have found 12 Ghosts pop-up killer to be excellent, and
on top of that, it is free! My choice of a firewall is
Sygate. It appears to use the least resources and is
easily configurable.

Jon

 

[Robert]

I am using 12 ghossts and still getting popups -- titled
web page dialogue