Messenger Service "message" question

[Mister Ree]

Hello:

I've seen Messenger Service dialog windows pop up on my machine. They
originate (anonymously?) on the Internet. My guess is that it would be
difficult to trace it.

How can I *send* such messaages (to a particular IP)? I would like to
send them internally (LAN) as well as to family who provide me their
IP address. I can "net send" internally, but not over the 'Net.

Thanks for your time.


Cheers.

 

[Ray at]

You can net send any IP address, but if the IP is not a Windows NT* machine
with the messenger service running and port, uh, 143?, open, the person will
not receive the message. If anyone you're trying to net send is running
Windows XP and has the firewall enabled for his Internet connection, the
port for messenger service messages will be blocked, I believe.

Ray at work

 

[Vince]

Mister Ree,

You can also go into services and shut down messenger
service. If you want to do that here are some
instructions:

right click on My Computer and select "Manage"
expand services and applications and click on the
services icon
In the panel to the right (scroll down) you will see
messenger, right click on it and first choose stop. then
choose properties
Click the drop down menu next to startup type and choose
disabled. This will stop the spam (It's only going to
get worse)
The only other alternative unless you are behind a
firewall is to deal with the spam.

 

[Mister Ree]

Thanks Vince and Ray. I appreciate your assistance.


Cheers.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

From the command prompt, "net send [username] Your Message."
It'll even work if you use Start > Run > "net send [username] Your
Message."

Does the title bar of these pop-ups read "Messenger Service?"

This type of spam has become quite common over the past several
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, such as the Blaster Worm that
recently swept cross 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

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

--
Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH

 

[Mister Ree]

bchambers:

Thank you very much for that informative response. I will look further
into your suggestions (and facts).


Cheers.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

You're welcome.

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

 

[James Arrow]

try to use LanTalk XP
http://www.cezeo.com/products/lantalk-xp/

 

[Trevor Saulnier]

Actually you can disable the "messenger" that is sending you these popups,
it's not actually MSN or Windows Messenger that is sending these. It's a
Messenger service within Windows.

You can turn it off and disable it to make the popups go away.

Get into your Control Panel, then into Administrative Tools, then Services.
When in Services, just scroll down until you see "Messenger". Double-click
on Messenger, then hit the stop button, this'll stop the process and shut it
down. And if you wanted to disable it just change the Startup Type drop down
menu to Disabled.

This should stop your random popups from "Messenger".

- Trevor Saulnier