Back Door Security problem.

[Chase Peteigney]

I keep getting undesired popups that I can't seem to get
away from. They try to solicit me to buy anti-spam and
popup programs. Is there a way to close out this back
door that people seem to be able to circumvent my
firewall with? Or is this simply another O/S that
Microsoft has duped me with? You'd figure by now these
people who program windows would get the damned thing
right.

Chase

P.S. My sincere thanks for anyone who can help me out
here.

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

Chase;
No need to pay for the fix.
For Messenger Service ads:
You need to install or enable a firewall:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;EN-US;Q330904&
Disabling Messenger Service can be a good idea, but it does not solve
the real problem.
The ads are not the real problem, the ads are only a symptom.
The real problem is open ports that allow unwanted traffic into the
computer.
Disabling Messenger does nothing for the open ports.
The firewall controls the traffic.

Internet Connection Firewall will not work if you have AOL.
AOL is not compatible with Windows XP Internet Connection Firewall
(ICF)
If you have AOL, you should contact AOL and/or get a 3rd party
firewall.

Disable Messenger Service:
Start/Control Panel, click Administrative Tools, click Services.
Go down to "Messenger".
Right click "Messenger" and select Properties.
Then under Start-up select DISABLE
Click OK and follow prompts

 

[Shenan T. Stanley]

I keep getting undesired popups that I can't seem to get
away from. They try to solicit me to buy anti-spam and
popup programs. Is there a way to close out this back
door that people seem to be able to circumvent my
firewall with? Or is this simply another O/S that
Microsoft has duped me with? You'd figure by now these
people who program windows would get the damned thing
right.

Advice on Popups and their elimination:

http://www.fracas.net/newsgroups/generaladvice.html#popups
or
http://tinyurl.com/el9s

You may want to look over the whole page.

--
Shenan Stanley
"Just trying to help"
-------------------------
How to use XPs Help and Support
http://tinyurl.com/fltf

How to Use the Microsoft Product Support Newsgroups
http://tinyurl.com/fkja

How to use Google
http://www.google.com/help/basics.html
http://tinyurl.com/fkmc
-------------------------