Pop-Up Spam Control

[G.G. Biggar, Jr.]

I have started receiving pop-up spam messages. Did I read somewhere that
this is the new form of spam/annoyance? Is there a way to control this in
Windows 2000 Pro without having to resort to firewalls, etc.?

Thanks in advance.

Gordon Biggar
Houston, Texas

 

[Ryan Ondrey]

Firewalls won't even help all that much in the matter, Pop-ups and
pop-unders are nothing new and yes are a huge annoyance. You might want to
run a linux filter with spam assasin, or if your a single user try using
panicware's Pop-Up stopper pro i really recommend that one, it does a great
job. You also might want to run LavaSoft's Ad-Aware on a regular basis,
which gets rid of any spyware which might open you up to more and more
popups.

 

[G.G. Biggar, Jr.]

Thank you much. A number of the pop-ups that I have been receiving are from
firms that claim to prevent such nuisances. Somewhat self-serving, to say
the least.

Thanks again.

Gordon

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

There are at least three varieties of pop-ups, and the solutions
vary accordingly. Which specific type(s) is troubling you?

1) 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?

2) For regular Internet pop-ups, you might try the free 12Ghosts
Popup-killer from http://12ghosts.com/ghosts/popup.htm or Pop-Up
Stopper from http://www.panicware.com/. Myself, I use Norton Internet
Security, which, in addition to containing Norton Anti-Virus and
Personal Firewall, also blocks many of the pop-up adds on the
Internet.

3) For pop-ups caused by some sort of "adware" and/or "spyware,"
such as Gator, Comet Cursors, or Bonzai Buddy, that you've
deliberately installed, two products that are quite effective at
finding and removing scumware are Ad-Aware from www.lavasoft.de and
SpyBot Search and Destroy from http://security.kolla.de/. Both have
free evaluation versions.


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 --

While firewalls can't prevent web pop-ups while browsing the
Internet, they'll certainly stop the messenger service spam that the
OP seems to be describing.

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

 

[G.G. Biggar, Jr.]

Bruce --

Very informative response. The pop-ups over the last few months have been
entitled Messenger Service. This also occurred about a year ago, and
someone in one of the news groups suggested that I revise my settings in
Microsoft's Messenger Service, which I do not use. Your comment about this
being a symptom is now well understood.

Several years ago, I instituted Computer Associates' anti-virus software at
the suggestion of an MVP. It was free then. It has done an excellent job
in protecting my various computers from attack. CA also markets some
firewall software, and I just may install that for starters.

Appreciate all of the good information.

Many thanks.

Gordon Biggar

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

You're welcome.

ZoneAlarm, Kerio, or Sygate firewalls are quite good, and there
are a free versions available.

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