Mickey said:
I keep getting a pop up form this service that ells me I have x amount or
errors found and that I need to go to this web page or that and download a
reg. repair or an update, but when I do it seems as though these are a way of
selling something
not a way of fixing the problem.
How do I get rid of this problem and what is it anyway????
It's a scam, plain and simple. It's from a very unscrupulous
"business." They're trying to sell you patches that Microsoft provides
free-of-charge, or a useless "product" that will install adware/spyware,
and using a very intrusive means of advertising. It's also demonstrating
that your PC is very unsecure.
Does the title bar of these pop-ups read "Messenger Service?"
This type of spam has become quite common over the past few years,
and unintentionally serves as a valid security "alert." It demonstrates
that the computer user hasn't been taking sufficient precautions while
connected to the Internet. The user's data probably hasn't been
compromised by these specific advertisements, but if he/she's open to
this exploit, he/she may well be open to other threats, such as the
Blaster Worm that swept across the Internet years ago and the Sasser
Worm that followed shortly thereafter, both of which can still be
contacted. 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 the
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
Oh, and be especially wary of people who advise the user 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 the user's been advised to merely turn off the warnings. How is
this helpful?
--
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
