"Are we all supposed to hire a computer consultant?"
How about reading newsgroups? If you know how to post in them then you must
know how to read them. Your question about 'messenger spam' is asked and
answered in these newsgroups dozens of times a day. The same question. The
same answer. But in order to spare Microsoft from a possible "class action
suite" I'll repeat the answer for you:
Messenger spam is the action of malicious third parties who have learned how
to abuse a valuable feature of Windows XP. These miscreants have no
relationship to Microsoft whatever.
To stop messenger spam, you need only activate Internet Connection Firewall,
for which you can find complete instructions in Help and Support. You can
install a third-party firewall and achieve the same thing, and many other
benefits as well.
You really should get to know the Microsoft Knowledge Base. It's an
invaluable resource for all Microsoft products, and the first place we look
when trying to answer a question. For example, have a look at this Knowledge
Base article:
"Messenger Service Window That Contains an Internet Advertisement Appears"
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;330904
The MSKB is just part of the wealth of knowledge available on the Microsoft
web site. All free. No lawyer needed. But there's much more. You'd be amazed
at how quickly you can solve a problem by typing a brief description of the
problem into Google.
Why hire a computer consultant when there's so much helpful information out
there for free?
Mike Mulligan
