Hotmail pop-ups?

[Helianthus Annuus]

I log into my Hotmail email and I get a pop-up advertising
YourGiftCards.com and I'm thinking to myself, "Doesn't
Microsoft frown on pop-ups?" I mean, I know my Hotmail is
free to use; I have banner ads towards the top which I
don't mind (Microsoft/MSN have to be paid just like
everyone else), but pop-ups are a bit much, no?

I posted this on another thread and someone suggested I
had malware/spyware/adware on my computer. LMAO, sorry,
but that can't be the case because #1. I ran anti-spyware
programs and I'm clean and #2. What possible
spyware/adware would target me for a pop-up ONLY when I
log into Hotmail? That's a pretty stupid spyware program
to create!

I never get pop-ups from any other website unless
I'm "expecting" it (Google.com never gives you a pop-up,
for example, whereas ESPN.com or PCWorld.com do). Thus,
Hotmail, whenever I log in, subjects me to a pop-up which
I'm expecting (for about a year now). Yahoo! email doesn't
do this, so why does Microsoft/MSN feel it necessary to do
so?

I've written "Customer Support" twice and I get the same
canned response (edited for your sanity): "Thank you for
writing to Hotmail Technical Support. I understand the
inconvenience you are facing in accessing your Hotmail
account as you are receiving a Mail page. I'll guide you
in this matter. With regards to your concern, I checked
your account ([email protected]) and it appears to be
functioning fine. I noticed that you are receiving an MSN
Extra Storage advertisement page which is preventing you
from accessing your account. The Mail page you are
referring would be most probably the MSN Extra Storage
advertisement page. However, if you are not referring to
the above page, please reply back to this email with a
detailed description of what you see when you sign into
your account."

First of all, I'm NOT receiving a Mail page or an MSN
Extra Storage advertisement page or whatever they are
talking about, and it's not "preventing [me] from
accessing [my] account." I'm receiving a pop-up for
a "Free $50 Gift Card" from YourGiftCard.com; secondly,
when I DO "reply back" to this canned email reply from
Customer Service, I receive the exact SAME reply again
from Customer Service. Am I communicating with a bot or a
real person through Customer Service? Seems like an
automated reply bot to me!

If MSN/Microsoft want to send me a pop-up when I log into
my free Hotmail email account, fine, but at least own up
to it!!!

Is anyone else having this pop-up or is it just me?

 

[Helianthus Annuus]

I've received a reply from Hotmail (sorry, didn't check my
inbox closely for "unread" messages) and they claim that
Hotmail does not show pop-ups to users, only banner ads.

Upon further "investigation," I've determined the pop-up
to come from yourfreedvds.com

Any comments? A Google search brings up pages I'd rather
not visit.

-----Original Message-----
I log into my Hotmail email and I get a pop-up advertising
YourGiftCards.com and I'm thinking to myself, "Doesn't
Microsoft frown on pop-ups?" I mean, I know my Hotmail is
free to use; I have banner ads towards the top which I
don't mind (Microsoft/MSN have to be paid just like
everyone else), but pop-ups are a bit much, no?

I posted this on another thread and someone suggested I
had malware/spyware/adware on my computer. LMAO, sorry,
but that can't be the case because #1. I ran anti-spyware
programs and I'm clean and #2. What possible
spyware/adware would target me for a pop-up ONLY when I
log into Hotmail? That's a pretty stupid spyware program
to create!

I never get pop-ups from any other website unless
I'm "expecting" it (Google.com never gives you a pop-up,
for example, whereas ESPN.com or PCWorld.com do). Thus,
Hotmail, whenever I log in, subjects me to a pop-up which
I'm expecting (for about a year now). Yahoo! email doesn't
do this, so why does Microsoft/MSN feel it necessary to do
so?

I've written "Customer Support" twice and I get the same
canned response (edited for your sanity): "Thank you for
writing to Hotmail Technical Support. I understand the
inconvenience you are facing in accessing your Hotmail
account as you are receiving a Mail page. I'll guide you
in this matter. With regards to your concern, I checked
your account ([email protected]) and it appears to be
functioning fine. I noticed that you are receiving an MSN
Extra Storage advertisement page which is preventing you
from accessing your account. The Mail page you are
referring would be most probably the MSN Extra Storage
advertisement page. However, if you are not referring to
the above page, please reply back to this email with a
detailed description of what you see when you sign into
your account."

First of all, I'm NOT receiving a Mail page or an MSN
Extra Storage advertisement page or whatever they are
talking about, and it's not "preventing [me] from
accessing [my] account." I'm receiving a pop-up for
a "Free $50 Gift Card" from YourGiftCard.com; secondly,
when I DO "reply back" to this canned email reply from
Customer Service, I receive the exact SAME reply again
from Customer Service. Am I communicating with a bot or a
real person through Customer Service? Seems like an
automated reply bot to me!

If MSN/Microsoft want to send me a pop-up when I log into
my free Hotmail email account, fine, but at least own up
to it!!!

Is anyone else having this pop-up or is it just me?
.

 

[Danny Mingledorff]

In your original post you stated that you ran anti-spyware programs and they
show nothing. Which programs are you running, and have you checked for the
latest updates?

Are you running a firewall?

Have you applied the MS security patches?

Yes, these are pretty basic options, but sometimes we overlook some of the
simple things, like one of my users who disabled his AV updating and then
got miffed when his laptop melted down.

I log into my Hotmail email and I get a pop-up advertising
YourGiftCards.com and I'm thinking to myself, "Doesn't
Microsoft frown on pop-ups?" I mean, I know my Hotmail is
free to use; I have banner ads towards the top which I
don't mind (Microsoft/MSN have to be paid just like
everyone else), but pop-ups are a bit much, no?

I posted this on another thread and someone suggested I
had malware/spyware/adware on my computer. LMAO, sorry,
but that can't be the case because #1. I ran anti-spyware
programs and I'm clean and #2. What possible
spyware/adware would target me for a pop-up ONLY when I
log into Hotmail? That's a pretty stupid spyware program
to create!

I never get pop-ups from any other website unless
I'm "expecting" it (Google.com never gives you a pop-up,
for example, whereas ESPN.com or PCWorld.com do). Thus,
Hotmail, whenever I log in, subjects me to a pop-up which
I'm expecting (for about a year now). Yahoo! email doesn't
do this, so why does Microsoft/MSN feel it necessary to do
so?

I've written "Customer Support" twice and I get the same
canned response (edited for your sanity): "Thank you for
writing to Hotmail Technical Support. I understand the
inconvenience you are facing in accessing your Hotmail
account as you are receiving a Mail page. I'll guide you
in this matter. With regards to your concern, I checked
your account ([email protected]) and it appears to be
functioning fine. I noticed that you are receiving an MSN
Extra Storage advertisement page which is preventing you
from accessing your account. The Mail page you are
referring would be most probably the MSN Extra Storage
advertisement page. However, if you are not referring to
the above page, please reply back to this email with a
detailed description of what you see when you sign into
your account."

First of all, I'm NOT receiving a Mail page or an MSN
Extra Storage advertisement page or whatever they are
talking about, and it's not "preventing [me] from
accessing [my] account." I'm receiving a pop-up for
a "Free $50 Gift Card" from YourGiftCard.com; secondly,
when I DO "reply back" to this canned email reply from
Customer Service, I receive the exact SAME reply again
from Customer Service. Am I communicating with a bot or a
real person through Customer Service? Seems like an
automated reply bot to me!

If MSN/Microsoft want to send me a pop-up when I log into
my free Hotmail email account, fine, but at least own up
to it!!!

Is anyone else having this pop-up or is it just me?

 

[Helianthus Annuus]

"Which programs are you running, and have you checked for
the latest updates?"
I'm running anti-spyware programs like Ad-aware, Spybot
Search & Destroy, etc. and yes, I always check for the
latest updates and/or definitions before running a scan.

"Are you running a firewall?"
Yes.

"Have you applied the MS security patches?"
Yes.

 

[Helianthus Annuus]

This website here seems to indicate that MSN (Hotmail
email, anyone?) does allow advertisers to target users
with pop-ups; whether or not it's allowed on Hotmail
remains to be seen:

http://advantage.msn.co.in/flattened/05C926E5-C86D-4058-
8713-E9314B0654FD.asp

 

[Danny Mingledorff]

"Which programs are you running, and have you checked for
the latest updates?"
I'm running anti-spyware programs like Ad-aware, Spybot
Search & Destroy, etc. and yes, I always check for the
latest updates and/or definitions before running a scan.

"Are you running a firewall?"
Yes.

"Have you applied the MS security patches?"
Yes.

okay...

I googled for "hotmail pop-ups" and found the thread you referenced in an
earlier post. I don't have any better suggestions than what you were
already presented with, unless you were going to run a pop-up blocker.

Good luck.

....danny

 

[Guest]

thank you for replying

after searcing in internet files, it shows the pop-up is
coming from

yourfreedvds.com

also mediaplex (which msn admits is in association with)
is shown

proof that microsoft condones popups?

 

[George Hester]

Well just put yourfreedvds.com in your hosts file. Then you won't be bothered by them anymore. These popups come from MSN.com usually.

To avoid this entirely use Outlook Express to read and send your hotmail not the Web interface.

--
George Hester
__________________________________

I've received a reply from Hotmail (sorry, didn't check my
inbox closely for "unread" messages) and they claim that
Hotmail does not show pop-ups to users, only banner ads.

Upon further "investigation," I've determined the pop-up
to come from yourfreedvds.com

Any comments? A Google search brings up pages I'd rather
not visit.

-----Original Message-----
I log into my Hotmail email and I get a pop-up advertising
YourGiftCards.com and I'm thinking to myself, "Doesn't
Microsoft frown on pop-ups?" I mean, I know my Hotmail is
free to use; I have banner ads towards the top which I
don't mind (Microsoft/MSN have to be paid just like
everyone else), but pop-ups are a bit much, no?

I posted this on another thread and someone suggested I
had malware/spyware/adware on my computer. LMAO, sorry,
but that can't be the case because #1. I ran anti-spyware
programs and I'm clean and #2. What possible
spyware/adware would target me for a pop-up ONLY when I
log into Hotmail? That's a pretty stupid spyware program
to create!

I never get pop-ups from any other website unless
I'm "expecting" it (Google.com never gives you a pop-up,
for example, whereas ESPN.com or PCWorld.com do). Thus,
Hotmail, whenever I log in, subjects me to a pop-up which
I'm expecting (for about a year now). Yahoo! email doesn't
do this, so why does Microsoft/MSN feel it necessary to do
so?

I've written "Customer Support" twice and I get the same
canned response (edited for your sanity): "Thank you for
writing to Hotmail Technical Support. I understand the
inconvenience you are facing in accessing your Hotmail
account as you are receiving a Mail page. I'll guide you
in this matter. With regards to your concern, I checked
your account ([email protected]) and it appears to be
functioning fine. I noticed that you are receiving an MSN
Extra Storage advertisement page which is preventing you
from accessing your account. The Mail page you are
referring would be most probably the MSN Extra Storage
advertisement page. However, if you are not referring to
the above page, please reply back to this email with a
detailed description of what you see when you sign into
your account."

First of all, I'm NOT receiving a Mail page or an MSN
Extra Storage advertisement page or whatever they are
talking about, and it's not "preventing [me] from
accessing [my] account." I'm receiving a pop-up for
a "Free $50 Gift Card" from YourGiftCard.com; secondly,
when I DO "reply back" to this canned email reply from
Customer Service, I receive the exact SAME reply again
from Customer Service. Am I communicating with a bot or a
real person through Customer Service? Seems like an
automated reply bot to me!

If MSN/Microsoft want to send me a pop-up when I log into
my free Hotmail email account, fine, but at least own up
to it!!!

Is anyone else having this pop-up or is it just me?
.

 

[Guest]

don't u find it hypocritical for msn (microsoft) to allow
pop-ups on Hotmail?

-----Original Message-----
Well just put yourfreedvds.com in your hosts file. Then

you won't be bothered by them anymore. These popups come
from MSN.com usually.

To avoid this entirely use Outlook Express to read and

send your hotmail not the Web interface.

 

[George Hester]

No not really. Hotmail is free so you get what you pay for.

 

[Guest]

I do find it hypocritical that MSN (Microsoft) allows
third-party advertisers to submit users of Hotmail to a
pop-up when Microsoft has this very article on THEIR
website
(http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdnmag/issues/02/04/ednote/defa
ult.aspx); also hypocritical that the free MSN Toolbar has
Pop-up Guard to block pop-up ads when Hotmail gives users
a pop-up.

(Of course, this is with the assumption that Hotmail IS
responsible for this pop-up in the first place, and I've
yet to confirm that with 100% accuracy).

Hotmail is free, as you say, so I do get what I pay for,
but remember that banner ads are already included to help
keep it free to me, so why do you feel MSN (Microsoft) are
in the right with pop-ups for Hotmail? Yahoo! Mail is
available for free as well and they do not subject users
to pop-ups. (Banner ads, yes; pop-ups, never.)

 

[Disodium Edta]

In a customer service email sent to me, the reply given
was that "Hotmail [MSN] is not involved with any sites to
send pop up advertisements."

That's interesting, since I found here on this website
(http://msn-cnet.com.com/2100-1024_3-5110805.html) that
Microsoft "...still sells pop-up advertisements that
appear on its MSN network."

I blocked yourfreedvds.com in my browser (along with
numerous other websites that send pop-ups as a result of
my logging into Hotmail), and I am still receiving a new,
different pop-up when I only log into my Hotmail account.

Hotmail does indeed sell pop-up advertisements and I think
it's disgusting that MSN/Microsoft has chosen to engage in
this practice. Other free email services (such as Yahoo!)
do not subject their users to pop-ups, so I don't
understand why MSN/Microsoft feels that it is necessary
when I already have banner ads as part of using Hotmail
for free.

Shame on you, Microsoft/MSN!!!

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

Selling advertising space on a website, even if the ad does "pop
up," and _sending_ pop-up advertising are two very different things.
(And if you don't approve of MSN's advertising practices - remember,
it's a business, not a charity, simply choose another ISP or, even
easier, a different home page.)

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 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

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

In a customer service email sent to me, the reply given
was that "Hotmail [MSN] is not involved with any sites to
send pop up advertisements."

That's interesting, since I found here on this website
(http://msn-cnet.com.com/2100-1024_3-5110805.html) that
Microsoft "...still sells pop-up advertisements that
appear on its MSN network."

I blocked yourfreedvds.com in my browser (along with
numerous other websites that send pop-ups as a result of
my logging into Hotmail), and I am still receiving a new,
different pop-up when I only log into my Hotmail account.

Hotmail does indeed sell pop-up advertisements and I think
it's disgusting that MSN/Microsoft has chosen to engage in
this practice. Other free email services (such as Yahoo!)
do not subject their users to pop-ups, so I don't
understand why MSN/Microsoft feels that it is necessary
when I already have banner ads as part of using Hotmail
for free.

Shame on you, Microsoft/MSN!!!