"Messenger Service"

[Carol]

I'm furious about these ads that are poping up (not
connected to any particular web site) - depite my
firewall.
I find the microsoft help site confusing and aggravating
on this topic.
The messages say they are a new form of advertising
through microsoft and they are appearing every couple of
minutes - the last one was from "teenssexfactory" - just
what I want my kids to see (NOT!)
I want a simple solution to this - not something that
requires resetting all sorts of things (which has led to
major computer problems in the past).
Thanks!

 

[Doug Knox MS-MVP]

Open Help and Support and search for "firewall". This will tell you how to
enable XP's built in firewall. If you have a valid reason not to use a
firewall, click Start, Run and enter SERVICES.MSC Locate the Messenger
entry and double click it. Set it to Stopped and Disabled.

However, the reason they can get to the Messenger Service (not to be
confused with Windows Messenger) in the first place, is that your internet
connection is not secure.

http://www.dougknox.com/xp/tips/winmesspop.htm

 

[John E. Carty]

I'm furious about these ads that are poping up (not
connected to any particular web site) - depite my
firewall.
I find the microsoft help site confusing and aggravating
on this topic.
The messages say they are a new form of advertising
through microsoft and they are appearing every couple of
minutes - the last one was from "teenssexfactory" - just
what I want my kids to see (NOT!)
I want a simple solution to this - not something that
requires resetting all sorts of things (which has led to
major computer problems in the past).
Thanks!

Go Start | Run | services.msc and hit Enter. Double-Click on the Messenger
service and then stop the service and set the Startup Type to Disabled

 

[Tone]

-----Original Message-----
I'm furious about these ads that are poping up (not
connected to any particular web site) - depite my
firewall.
I find the microsoft help site confusing and aggravating
on this topic.
The messages say they are a new form of advertising
through microsoft and they are appearing every couple of
minutes - the last one was from "teenssexfactory" - just
what I want my kids to see (NOT!)
I want a simple solution to this - not something that
requires resetting all sorts of things (which has led to
major computer problems in the past).
Thanks!
.

I run Windows XP Home, and have Zone Alarm for my
firewall, which I have my setting on HIGH, and have the
square checked for BLOCKED INTERNET SERVERS, and most
importantly I use "PopUP Stopper", free to use, from:
www.panicware.com , I know there are better and expensive
ones, BUT GUESS WHAT, no popups, and VERY SIMPLE TO USE.

 

[Lorne Smith]

I run Windows XP Home, and have Zone Alarm for my
firewall, which I have my setting on HIGH, and have the
square checked for BLOCKED INTERNET SERVERS, and most
importantly I use "PopUP Stopper", free to use, from:
www.panicware.com , I know there are better and expensive
ones, BUT GUESS WHAT, no popups, and VERY SIMPLE TO USE.

In your case, it's not PopUP Stopper that's stopping the messenger service
popups, it's the firewall...

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

This particular "sales method" is strikingly similar to the
"protection" rackets offered to small businesses by organized
criminals. Yes, it's a scam; no reputable business would need to
resort to extortion. Particularly since they're trying to sell you a
type of protection that is already available to you free of charge.

This type of spam has become quite common over the past few
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. 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" these messages and the problem they represent 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?

Equivalent Scenario 1: Somewhere in a house, a small fire starts,
and sets off the smoke alarm. You, not immediately seeing any
fire/smoke, complain about the noise of the smoke detector, and are
advised to remove the smoke detector's battery and go back to sleep.

Equivalent Scenario 2: You over-exert your shoulder at work or
play, causing bursitis. After weeks of annoying and sometimes
excruciating pain whenever you try to reach over your head, you go to
a doctor and say, while demonstrating the motion, "Doc, it hurts when
I do this." The doctor, being as helpful as some of your respondents,
replies, "Well, don't do that."

I'm beginning to think that the people deliberately posting such
bad advice are hacker-wannabes who have no true interest in helping
you secure your system, but would rather give you a false sense of
security while ensuring that your computer is still open to
exploitation.


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

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

Please stop posting potentially harmful advice. What are you, a
hacker-wannabe? Why else would you be deliberately posting bad advice?
Do you have a vested interest in keeping other people's PC unsecured?
Are you trying to give people a false sense of security by having them
turn off what are, in effect, valid security warnings, while still
leaving their PCs open to potential exploitation?

Disabling the messenger service, by itself, is nothing more than 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're only advise is to merely
turn off the warnings. How is this helpful?

Equivalent Scenario 1: Somewhere in a house, a small fire starts,
and sets off the smoke alarm. The home-owner, not immediately seeing
any fire/smoke, complains about the noise of the smoke detector, so
you tell him to remove the smoke detector's battery and go back to
sleep, or whatever else he was doing.

Equivalent Scenario 2: You over-exert your shoulder at work or
play, causing bursitis. After weeks of annoying and sometimes
excruciating pain whenever you try to reach over your head, you go to
a doctor and say, while demonstrating the motion, "Doc, it hurts when
I do this." The doctor, being as helpful as you are, replies, "Well,
don't do that."

An essential component of securing a PC against outside attacks,
short of disconnecting it from the Internet, is to install and
*properly* configure a firewall.


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

 

[Richard Mason]

On Tue, 2 Sep 2003, Bruce Chambers wrote in

Please stop posting potentially harmful advice.

In what way is the advice from John E. Carty:

"Go Start | Run | services.msc and hit Enter. Double-Click on the
Messenger service and then stop the service and set the Startup Type to
Disabled"

different to that from Doug Knox:

"click Start, Run and enter SERVICES.MSC Locate the Messenger entry
and double click it. Set it to Stopped and Disabled."

 

[Lorne Smith]

The OP stated he is already running a firewall, so if he is not on a
network where he needs to communicate with other users through a net
send or have alerts from an administrator then there is absolutely no
harm in just disabling this service.

Indeed he did, BUT, if he's getting these messenger alerts, then his
firewall isn't configured correctly so Bruce's arguement stands... Not that
I'm defending him, he can do that himself

and I think you need a valium with a beer chaser

Hmm... That could have "interesting" effects

Lorne

 

[John E. Carty]

Indeed he did, BUT, if he's getting these messenger alerts, then his
firewall isn't configured correctly so Bruce's arguement stands... Not that
I'm defending him, he can do that himself

IF his entire argument was about the OP just needing to properly configure
his firewall, then I'd agree. However, this was not his argument, and
therefore it's still full of holes

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

Then you'd best read it again. My main point was that the OP
needed a properly configured firewall, with the secondary point that
he should ignore bad advice.

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

 

[John E. Carty]

Good point. I'll just choose to ignore you from this point forward