Messenger Service

[Mike]

I have installed XP Prof on my home machine and I keep on
getting these Messenger Service pop ups. How do I get rid
of these?

Please help.

 

[Sarah]

I have installed XP Prof on my home machine and I keep on
getting these Messenger Service pop ups. How do I get rid
of these?

Please help.

right click my computer, properties, MANAGE

select services,
"stop" messenger from running, then right click on it, properties, DISABLE,
apply, ok, you're done

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

It is not a good practice to disable the Messenger Service in Windows XP.
When you disable this service on any operating system, it is no longer
available for receiving legitimate messages, such as administrative alerts
and notifications from antivirus programs.

3 Steps to Help Ensure your PC is Protected
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/

Frequently Asked Questions About Antivirus Software
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/antivirus.asp

Special note if you use AOL:

America Online installs its own connection settings that override
the ones that come with Windows XP. America Online's
connection settings don't include a way to turn on Windows XP's
built-in firewall.

Visit the following web site for instructions on downloading
a FREE firewall program for your computer.

Ref: http://www.updatexp.com/free.html

Consider purchasing a top-notch Internet Security program
that will help protect your PC from future viruses, hackers, and
privacy threats:
http://www.symantec.com/sabu/nis/nis_pe/

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User

Be Smart! Protect your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


|I have installed XP Prof on my home machine and I keep on
| getting these Messenger Service pop ups. How do I get rid
| of these?
|
| Please help.

 

[Michael Hobbs]

He refered to his 'home machine' in the singular.. If he were on a corporate
network I could see maybe the net admin wants messenger service. But on a
home machine? Also. he mentioned getting messenger service pop-ups. Could
someone explain that for me? Is the original poster confusing messenger with
other pop-up's by chance. I finally deactivated msmessenger after being
warned in here several times, but I never got any ads or anything that I
could ever trace to Microsoft's messenger service.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

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

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 most definitely open to other threats, such as the Blaster and
Sasser Worms that still haunt 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

If you're using AOL, you'll either need to find a 3rd party
firewall that is compatible with AOL, or switch to a real ISP that is
compatible with the real Internet. This is because AOL is an on-line
content provider that ignores international Internetworking standards
in favor of its own proprietary products, and has deliberately made
its connection software incompatible with both WinXP's built-in
firewall and WinXP's Internet Connection Sharing feature. AOL's
proprietary connection applet is deliberately designed to preclude
your setting/adjusting any of its properties, to include
enabling/disabling WinXP's ICF and ICS.

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

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

I realize that you're trying to help, and that such an intent is
commendable, but please don't post potentially harmful advice.

Disabling the messenger service, as you advise, is a "head in the
sand" approach to computer security that leaves the PC vulnerable to
threats such as the W32.Blaster.Worm and the W32.Sasser.Worm.

The real problem is _not_ the messenger service pop-ups; they're
actually providing a useful service by acting as a security alert. The
true problem is the unsecured computer, and you're only advice,
however well-intended, was to turn off the warnings. How is this
helpful?

Equivalent Scenario: 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 absolutely essential step towards securing the PC, short of
disconnecting it from the Internet, is to install and *properly*
configure a firewall; just installing one and letting it's default
settings handle things is not always sufficient.


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

 

[David Candy]

Some programs use messenger service to communicate with the user. The problem isn't with messenger service but the fact you are networking with the world. In 9x the default was not to network internet connections but because XP is designed to be networked the default is to network everything. Also the base networking was NetBeui in 9x but TCP/IP in NT (NT4/2000/XP prior to NT4 it was also NetBeui) which is also the same protocol as the internet. So 9x assumed that a TCP/IP connection was going to be used for the internet but XP doesn't as till recently it was likely to be used for a network connection (it's a CORPORATE designed operating system that MS modified a bit and sold to home users to save development costs).

Networks handle file sharing, corporate type email, system administration, automatically finding other computers on the network, or anything a program wants to do. Internet is a collection of protocols for specific tasks (web, news, email, etc).

Networks have their own security but are designed to run within a secure network. By networking your internet connection you are allowing the world access to your computer.

A firewall prevents networking from working. So enable the firewall is one solution. But the correct way is in the connection's properties on the WINS page disable NetBIOS over TCP/IP. NetBIOS is the actual interface to networking, no NetBios no networking available.

Therefore to get messenger popups two things need to be wrong.
1. A firewall is not enabled. A firewall is needed at the interface of a network to the internet. On a standalone computer that is at the computer. Not doing this allows internet and networking security flaws to be exploited.
2. The internet connection is wrongly configured as a network connection (ie allows NetBios over TCP/IP). This allows networking security flaws to be exploited and as the network security assumes a non hostile network this is not a good idea to expose to everyone in the world.