Message Pop Ups

[Barb]

I would like to know why and how I get pop up messages on
my computer. I am tempted to go to a Microsoft
competitor because of it. I would appreciate it if
anyone can tell me who to stop them.

 

[Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]]

You need a firewall. This is 'messenger spam', and is not in itself harmful,
but is symptomatic of a larger problem - your compter is entirely exposed to
the Internet. You can disable the Messenger service, but you'll still have
the underlying problem that caused you to get spam. For a standalone
machine, see www.sygate.com for a free personal firewall.

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

 

[Fuzzy Logic]

[posted and mailed]

I would like to know why and how I get pop up messages on
my computer. I am tempted to go to a Microsoft
competitor because of it. I would appreciate it if
anyone can tell me who to stop them.

There are 3 potential sources of pop-ups. Messenger pop-ups are one, the
other is spyware and the last would be web-based pop-ups. Here are some
links to help with each.

Messenger pop-ups:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;330904
http://www.stopmessengerspam.com/

Spyware:

http://www.pcmag.com/print_article/0,3048,a=39275,00.asp

I use Ad-Aware http://www.lavasoftusa.com/support/download/

Browser web pop-ups. These are windows that pop-up or under your browser
window while surfing. I use Free Surfer mk II (works with IE):

http://www.kolumbus.fi/eero.muhonen//FS/Download.htm