Messenger service

[Guest]

I keep getting pop ups from a " messenger service " how do I stop them !

 

[MAP]

-----Original Message-----
I keep getting pop ups from a " messenger service " how do I stop them !
.
Turn on your firewall

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

In

I keep getting pop ups from a " messenger service " how do I stop
them !

You apparently don't have a firewall installed. You are therefore
subject not only to things like these messenger service popups,
but also much more nasty stuff.

You can enable the built-in Windows XP firewall, or, download and
install a better one such as the free version of ZoneAlarm. To
enable the built-in firewall, go to Control Panel, double-click
Networking and Internet Connections, then click Network
Connections. Right-click your connection, then click Properties,
and on the Advanced tab, click the option "Protect my computer
and network..."

 

[Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP Windows Shell/User\)]

You could install a firewall, most have free versions for home use:
http://www.agnitum.com/
www.zonelabs.com
www.sygate.com
http://www.tinysoftware.com/home/tiny2?la=EN
http://www.kerio.com/kerio.html

Or you could try turning off messenger service though a firewall is the best
defense as it will protect you from many other types of intrusions.
Open Control Panel, open Administrative Tools, open Component Services,
select Services (Local) in the left pane, scroll the list that will appear
in the right pane to Messenger, select it, right click select Properties,
select "Disabled" from the Startup type dropdown list, click apply and ok.

 

[Shenan Stanley]

I keep getting pop ups from a " messenger service " how do I stop
them !

I am SUPPOSING that is a request or question.... No question mark, so you
COULD be just telling us excitedly..

Although some people complain about this "long list" of things I give, if
you do these things (some periodically) then I truly believe (because I see
it every day from others I have suggested it to) that you can keep your
machine spyware/adware/malware/virus/trojan free and running much better
than it likely does by the time you ask this question on a newsgroup like
this one. (I won't mention "popup free", because you WILL hit a web page
where a popup is truly necessary and needed by you. But I will say "less
popups guaranteed. No Messenger Popups for sure.")

So, that being said, here is the list:

Turn on that firewall...
http://www.microsoft.com/WindowsXP/home/using/howto/homenet/icf.asp
(It has been reported that it now works with AOL 9.0+)


Make sure you have all the updates (critical) installed from:
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/
(Scan for updates, Review and Install)


Get rid of the spy/ad/mal-ware..
(Yes - using MORE than one of these..
I recommend at least the first three. Also..
UPDATE the definitions for them before using.)

Spybot Search and Destroy
http://www.safer-networking.net/

Lavasoft AdAware
http://www.lavasoft.de

CWSShredder
http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/downloads.html

Hijack This!
http://mjc1.com/mirror/hjt/

I also like "The Cleaner" and "SpywareBlaster" and "SpywareGuard".
- http://www.moosoft.com/
- http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/

The first is a PAY product, but useable for 30 days - it has found and
eliminated problems in the past the others did not. The latter two are
prevention mechanisms. I like SpywareGuard for those with enough processor
to have something running like antivirus software - and it prevents browser
hijacking quite well.


And Assortment of Others:
http://www.merijn.org/downloads.html


After you cleanup your PC somewhat of spy/ad/mal-ware, verify your antivirus
software is updated and run a full scan of your computer. If you have no
antivirus software - get one NOW! Grisoft AntiVirus:
http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_dwnl_free.php


Empty your Temporary Internet Files and shrink the size it stores to about
80 to 120MB (seems to be an optimal size for the normal user)

- Open ONE copy of Internet Explorer.
- Select TOOLS -> Internet Options.
- Under the General tab in the "Temporary Internet Files" section,
do the following:
- Click on "Delete Cookies" (click OK)
- Click on "Settings" and change the
"Amount of disk space to use:" to something between 80MB
and 120MB. (Betting it is MUCH larger right now.)
- Click OK.
- Click on "Delete Files" and select to
"Delete all offline contents" (the checkbox) and click
OK. (If you had a LOT, this could take 2-10 minutes or
more.)
- Once it is done, click OK, close Internet Explorer
- Re-open Internet Explorer.


Uninstall any software you do not use often/ever. (If you have something
installed but never use it, uninstall it.) If you go through Control
Panel -> Add/Remove Programs and see things you seldom if ever use, it is to
your advantage to remove it.


Also, if you are tired of Web Page Pop-Ups/Unders.. You could try the
Google Toolbar.
http://toolbar.google.com/


Stop loading applications at logon.. run MSCONFIG and look under the startup
tab for things you DON'T want to startup! Search the Internet with Google
to discover what things are safe to remove and what things may even be
malware infecting your computer.


Better control your email and lessen the amount of time you spend dealing
with SPAM:
SpamBayes
http://spambayes.sourceforge.net
or
Spamihilator.
http://www.spamihilator.com

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

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 undoubtedly 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

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?


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

 

[BP]

Ken, when you install Zone Alarm, should you disable the XP firewall (before
installation?) or can they run together?

: In : Drew <[email protected]> typed:
:
: > I keep getting pop ups from a " messenger service " how do I
: stop
: > them !
:
:
: You apparently don't have a firewall installed. You are therefore
: subject not only to things like these messenger service popups,
: but also much more nasty stuff.
:
: You can enable the built-in Windows XP firewall, or, download and
: install a better one such as the free version of ZoneAlarm. To
: enable the built-in firewall, go to Control Panel, double-click
: Networking and Internet Connections, then click Network
: Connections. Right-click your connection, then click Properties,
: and on the Advanced tab, click the option "Protect my computer
: and network..."
:
: --
: Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
: Please reply to the newsgroup
:
:

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

In

Ken, when you install Zone Alarm, should you disable the XP firewall
(before installation?) or can they run together?

Although some people succesfully run more than one firewall at
the same time, I recommend against doing so. Doing so provides no
more protection than a single good one, wastes CPU cycles, and
presents the possibility of conflicts between them.

 

[Kevin Davis³]

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?

Don't forget that the Messenger Service would also provide a useful
service to hackers if it is not patched:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?url=/technet/security/bulletin/ms03-043.asp

Setup a firewall first, but if you don't need the Messenger Service,
turn it off. If you need it, patch it. You would also be well
advised to spend $50 and buy a home router.

Be especially wary of people who would insist on having you keep the
Messenger Service on as a "helpful feature" and conveniently
forgetting to inform you that it has a very serious vulnerability that
needs to be patched immediately.

And of particular interest is that Microsoft itself and security
experts are seriously reconsidering the role of the Messenger service:

http://www.infoworld.com/article/03/10/28/HNmessengeroff_1.html

http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,113321,tk,dn110703X,00.asp

http://news.com.com/2100-7355_3-5095935.html

http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/internet/11/07/microsoft.popup.reut/index.html


Here's a link where Microsoft actually outright advises the user to
turn off the Messenger Service:

http://www.microsoft.com/WindowsXP/pro/using/howto/communicate/stopspam.asp


Those who would advise not to turn off the Messenger Service for the
less than trivial unintended side benefit of being a warning is
dispensing advice which contradicts the advice of many real security
professionals.

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.

If you were protecting your house and you had one door that nobody
ever used and that door was really loud and squeaky, would you:

A: Keep the door unlocked all the time and actually depend on the
loud squeak of the door to be an integral part of your house alarm
system to alert you of an intruder?

or

B. Since no legitimate people would ever use the door, bar the door
shut so that there was no chance no-one could enter through it?