annoying pop-ups

  • Thread starter Thread starter roadrider
  • Start date Start date
R

roadrider

Why do the pop-up ads from MESSENGER SERVICE keep getting
through? What do I do to stop them?
 
Turn on a firewall, either XP's ICF or Zone Alarm.


message | Why do the pop-up ads from MESSENGER SERVICE keep getting
| through? What do I do to stop them?
 
if you have disabled the messenger service and still
recieve popups then you may have spyware on your system
housing them. download spybot at safer-networking.org and
update and scan on easy and remove spyware and it also
keeps backups should a spyware dependent program stop
working .another popup stopper is toolbar.google.com
,basic install.
to disable messenger start,control panal,performance and
maintenence,administrative tools,services, and disable
messenger.
 
Do not disable the messenger service. It is only a symptom of a larger
problem. The problem is that your computer is insecure. Get a firewall,
and you won't need to disable anything.
 
Ionizer said:
Please do BOTH of these things:

Disable Windows Messenger Service:
http://www.itc.virginia.edu/desktop/docs/messagepopup/
Activate XP's built-in Internet Connection Firewall:
http://www.theeldergeek.com/internet_connection_firewall.htm

Regards,
Ian.
Click to expand...

No, don't do both, just the second. It's important the messenger service is
left running.

If the Messenger service is stopped, messages from the Alerter service
(notifications from your antivirus software, for example) are not
transmitted. If the Messenger service is turned off, any services
that explicitly depend on the Messenger service do not start, and an error
message is logged in the System event log. For this reason,
Microsoft strongly recommends that you install a firewall and configure it
to
block NetBIOS and RPC traffic instead of turning off the Messenger
service.
 
if you have disabled the messenger service and still
recieve popups then you may have spyware on your system
housing them. download spybot at safer-networking.org and
update and scan on easy and remove spyware and it also
keeps backups should a spyware dependent program stop
working .another popup stopper is toolbar.google.com
,basic install.
to disable messenger start,control panal,performance and
maintenence,administrative tools,services, and disable
messenger.
Click to expand...

If the Messenger service is stopped, messages from the Alerter service
(notifications from your antivirus software, for example) are not
transmitted. If the Messenger service is turned off, any services
that explicitly depend on the Messenger service do not start, and an error
message is logged in the System event log. For this reason,
Microsoft recommends that you install a firewall and configure it to
block NetBIOS and RPC traffic instead of turning off the Messenger
service.

This particular "sales method" is strikingly similar to the
"protection" rackets offered to small businesses by organized
criminals. Yes, it's a scam; no reputable business would need to
resort to extortion. Particularly since they're trying to sell you a
type of protection that is already available to you free of charge.

This type of spam has become quite common over the past few
months, 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 may well be open to other threats. Install and use a decent,
properly configured firewall. (Disabling the messenger service, as
some people recommend, only hides the symptom, and does nothing to
secure your machine.) And ignoring or just "putting up with" these
messages and the problem they represent 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

Oh, and be especially wary of people who advise you to do nothing
more than disable the messenger service. Disabling the messenger
service 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 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?

Equivalent Scenario 1: Somewhere in a house, a small fire starts,
and sets off the smoke alarm. You, not immediately seeing any
fire/smoke, complain about the noise of the smoke detector, and are
advised to remove the smoke detector's battery and go back to sleep.

Equivalent Scenario 2: You over-exert your shoulder at work or
play, causing bursitis. After weeks of annoying and sometimes
excruciating pain whenever you try to reach over your head, you go to
a doctor and say, while demonstrating the motion, "Doc, it hurts when
I do this." The doctor, being as helpful as some of your respondents,
replies, "Well, don't do that."

I'm beginning to think that the people deliberately posting such
bad advice are hacker-wannabes who have no true interest in helping
you secure your system, but would rather give you a false sense of
security while ensuring that your computer is still open to
exploitation.
 
Just turning messenger off still leaves the computer open to
hackers/spammers. You MUST run a firewall. In fact, with a
firewall you can leave messenger on and not get popups.


| if you have disabled the messenger service and still
| recieve popups then you may have spyware on your system
| housing them. download spybot at safer-networking.org and
| update and scan on easy and remove spyware and it also
| keeps backups should a spyware dependent program stop
| working .another popup stopper is toolbar.google.com
| ,basic install.
| to disable messenger start,control panal,performance and
| maintenence,administrative tools,services, and disable
| messenger.
|
| >-----Original Message-----
| >Why do the pop-up ads from MESSENGER SERVICE keep getting
| >through? What do I do to stop them?
| >.
| >
 
On Tue, 30 Mar 2004 17:34:50 -0600, "Jim Macklin"

Unless your firewall turns off or has the option to turn off the
correct ports, the messenger service popups will still get through.
ZA does it automatically, some others do not.
 
That's is why ZA is the best firewall. See www.grc.com


| On Tue, 30 Mar 2004 17:34:50 -0600, "Jim Macklin"
|
| Unless your firewall turns off or has the option to turn
off the
| correct ports, the messenger service popups will still get
through.
| ZA does it automatically, some others do not.
|
| >Just turning messenger off still leaves the computer open
to
| >hackers/spammers. You MUST run a firewall. In fact,
with a
| >firewall you can leave messenger on and not get popups.
| >
| >
| >| >| if you have disabled the messenger service and still
| >| recieve popups then you may have spyware on your system
| >| housing them. download spybot at safer-networking.org
and
| >| update and scan on easy and remove spyware and it also
| >| keeps backups should a spyware dependent program stop
| >| working .another popup stopper is toolbar.google.com
| >| ,basic install.
| >| to disable messenger start,control panal,performance
and
| >| maintenence,administrative tools,services, and disable
| >| messenger.
| >|
| >| >-----Original Message-----
| >| >Why do the pop-up ads from MESSENGER SERVICE keep
getting
| >| >through? What do I do to stop them?
| >| >.
| >| >
| >
|
 
No, don't do both, just the second. It's important the messenger service is
left running.

If the Messenger service is stopped, messages from the Alerter service
(notifications from your antivirus software, for example) are not
transmitted. If the Messenger service is turned off, any services
that explicitly depend on the Messenger service do not start, and an error
message is logged in the System event log. For this reason,
Microsoft strongly recommends that you install a firewall and configure it
to
block NetBIOS and RPC traffic instead of turning off the Messenger
service.
Click to expand...

No, Microsoft advises to disable the Messenger Service if you are a
home user:

http://www.microsoft.com/WindowsXP/pro/using/howto/communicate/stopspam.asp

In SP2 they have it turned off by default.
 
If the Messenger service is stopped, messages from the Alerter service
(notifications from your antivirus software, for example) are not
transmitted. If the Messenger service is turned off, any services
that explicitly depend on the Messenger service do not start, and an error
message is logged in the System event log. For this reason,
Microsoft recommends that you install a firewall and configure it to
block NetBIOS and RPC traffic instead of turning off the Messenger
service.

This particular "sales method" is strikingly similar to the
"protection" rackets offered to small businesses by organized
criminals. Yes, it's a scam; no reputable business would need to
resort to extortion. Particularly since they're trying to sell you a
type of protection that is already available to you free of charge.

This type of spam has become quite common over the past few
months, and unintentionally serves as a valid security "alert."
Click to expand...

Don't forget that the Messenger Service would also provide a useful
service to hackers if it is not patched:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?url=/technet/security/bulletin/ms03-043.asp

Setup a firewall first, but if you don't need the Messenger Service,
turn it off. If you need it, patch it. You would also be well
advised to spend $50 and buy a home router.

Be especially wary of people who would insist on having you keep the
Messenger Service on as a "helpful feature" and conveniently
forgetting to inform you that it has a very serious vulnerability that
needs to be patched immediately.

And of particular interest is that Microsoft itself and security
experts are seriously reconsidering the role of the Messenger service:

http://www.infoworld.com/article/03/10/28/HNmessengeroff_1.html

http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,113321,tk,dn110703X,00.asp

http://news.com.com/2100-7355_3-5095935.html

http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/internet/11/07/microsoft.popup.reut/index.html


Here's a link where Microsoft actually outright advises the user to
turn off the Messenger Service:

http://www.microsoft.com/WindowsXP/pro/using/howto/communicate/stopspam.asp


Those who would advise not to turn off the Messenger Service for the
less than trivial unintended side benefit of being a warning is
dispensing advice which contradicts the advice of many real security
professionals.
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.
Click to expand...

If you were protecting your house and you had one door that nobody
ever used and that door was really loud and squeaky, would you:

A: Keep the door unlocked all the time and actually depend on the
loud squeak of the door to be an integral part of your house alarm
system to alert you of an intruder?

or

B. Since no legitimate people would ever use the door, bar the door
shut so that there was no chance no-one could enter through it?
 
Just turning messenger off still leaves the computer open to
hackers/spammers. You MUST run a firewall. In fact, with a
firewall you can leave messenger on and not get popups.
Click to expand...

Good security depends on defense in depth. This means don't depend
solely on a firewall for your security. Harden your system too. By
all means setup a firewall first, but also by all means turn off the
Messenger Service if you don't absolutely need it.
 
Any router (Dlink, Linksys, USRobotics, etc...) automatically blocks all
incoming ports.
Click to expand...

Another great example of defense in depth. For a very secure home
system, use a SOHO router, a personal software firewall, and take
action to harden your system (like turning off unnecessary services).
 
Ill tell you the steps to turn off the messenger service
Control Pane
Administrative Tool
Service
They are alphabetical find Messnger and Highlight it
Right click on it and select propertie
Stop the service and change the startup type to disabled and click Appl
Click to expand...

----- roadrider wrote: ----

Why do the pop-up ads from MESSENGER SERVICE keep getting
through? What do I do to stop them
 
Greetings --

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 Worm
that still haunts 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

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?


Bruce Chambers

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