Popup Ads

[Reggie]

Hello

I constantly have these popup ads that shows up on my desktop and I'm not
even surfing the net, and can't take it anymore can someone help and tell
how can I get rid of these popup ads on my desktop. What is the best
software to use I try PopUp Cop but no prevail?


Reggie

 

[Mark Dormer]

Download Adaware http://www.lavasoftusa.com/support/download/
Install and run it.

You may be interested in the Microsoft Antispyware program
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx

If that doesn't help post again

Regards
Mark Dormer

 

[Lizzie]

It sounds like these could be messenger ads if they're popping up when
you're not on line. You'll need to disable the messenger service in XP. Go
to Administrative Tools, Services, locate the one named Messenger, and
disable it. It will not affect anything else you do and has nothing to do
with MSN Messenger.

 

[Reggie]

That services is already disabled and the popup ads on my desktop are still
poping up.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Hello

I constantly have these popup ads that shows up on my desktop and I'm not
even surfing the net, and can't take it anymore can someone help and tell
how can I get rid of these popup ads on my desktop. What is the best
software to use I try PopUp Cop but no prevail?


Reggie

What specific kind of pop-ups are you seeing? There are at least
three varieties of pop-ups, and the solutions vary accordingly.

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

This type of spam has become quite common over the couple of
years, 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
swept across the Internet last year and the currently active Sasser
Worm. 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, Pop-Up Stopper
from http://www.panicware.com/, or the Google Toolbar from
http://toolbar.google.com/. Alternatively, you can upgrade your WinXP
to SP2, to install IE's pop-up blocker. Another alternative would be
to use another browser, such as Mozilla or Firefox, which has pop-up
blocking capabilities. (But I'd avoid Netscape; it carries too much
extraneous AOL garbage.)

3) To deal with pop-ups caused by any sort of "adware" and/or
"spyware,"such as Gator, Comet Cursors, Xupiter, Bonzai Buddy, or
KaZaA, and their remnants, that you've deliberately (but without
understanding the consequences) installed, two products that are
quite effective (at finding and removing this type of scumware) are
Ad-Aware from www.lavasoft.de and SpyBot Search & Destroy from
www.safer-networking.org/. Both have free versions. It's even
possible to use SpyBot Search & Destroy to "immunize" your system
against most future intrusions. I use both and generally perform
manual scans every week or so to clean out cookies, etc.

Additionally, manual removal instructions for the most common
varieties of scumware are available here:

PC Hell Spyware and Adware Removal Help
http://www.pchell.com/support/spyware.shtml

More information and assistance is available at these sites:

Blocking Ads, Parasites, and Hijackers with a Hosts File
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm

The Parasite Fight
http://www.aumha.org/a/parasite.htm


--

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]

It sounds like these could be messenger ads if they're popping up when
you're not on line. You'll need to disable the messenger service in XP. Go
to Administrative Tools, Services, locate the one named Messenger, and
disable it. It will not affect anything else you do and has nothing to do
with MSN Messenger.

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

Merely disabling the messenger service, as you suggest, is a
dangerous "head in the sand" approach to computer security that leaves
the PC vulnerable to threats such as the W32.Blaster, W32.Welchia, and
W32,Sasser worms.

The real problem is _not_ the messenger service pop-ups; they're
actually providing a useful, if unintentional, service by acting as a
security alert. The true problem is the unsecured computer, and your
only advice, however well-intended, was to turn off the warnings. Was
this truly 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've been, replies, "Well, don't do that."

The only true way to secure 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 no
good. Unfortunately, this does require one to learn a little bit more
about using a computer than used to be necessary.

--

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

 

[Lizzie]

Bruce,

I understand what you are saying, but I am giving the same advice this
newsgroup gave me when I had what sounded to me like the same problem this
person is having. I have no potential security issue with my computer
because those popups are disabled.

Are you saying that normal users shouldn't provide suggestions to this
newsgroup based on a similar experience? Are MVPs the ONLY people that
should respond?

 

[Gordon]

Lizzie wrote:
|| Bruce,
||
|| I understand what you are saying, but I am giving the same advice
|| this newsgroup gave me when I had what sounded to me like the same
|| problem this person is having. I have no potential security issue
|| with my computer because those popups are disabled.

You DO have a potential security issue if the ONLY thing you have done is
turn off Windows messaging. Just doing that does not secure your computer
from outside influences - you need a firewall as your first line of defence.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Bruce,

I understand what you are saying, but I am giving the same advice this
newsgroup gave me when I had what sounded to me like the same problem this
person is having. I have no potential security issue with my computer
because those popups are disabled.

If *all* you have done is disable the messenger service, without having
first installed/enabled a firewall (or completely and permanently
disconnected the computer from the Internet), then you do still have a
very severe security issue.

My point was that doing nothing more than disabling the messenger
service to stop the pop-ups does nothing to protect the computer from
worms such as Blaster, Welchia, and Sasser.

The problem is that turning off the Messenger Service does *not*
block the wide open TCP and UDP ports that the spammers used (and that
the aforementioned worms use) to deliver the spam to the Messenger
Service for display. With the Messenger Service disabled, those spam
deliveries are still continuing, but they're simply not being displayed.
It's rather like pulling the battery out of a noisy smoke detector to
silence it, rather than looking for and eliminating the source of the
smoke that set it off in the first place.

Are you saying that normal users shouldn't provide suggestions to this
newsgroup based on a similar experience? Are MVPs the ONLY people that
should respond?

No, not at all. People get to become MVPs only by providing
consistently helpful and technically accurate advice; at one time, all
of the MVPs were exactly like you - normal users, if perhaps a bit more
experienced than others. By all means, continue to offer assistance.
In this one case, I thought your answer incomplete, and offered
correction. Please don't misinterpret this as a deliberate attempt to
discourage your participation.


--

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

 

[Lizzie]

I understand. I didn't give a "complete" answer as you were able to give,
and that doesn't mean that I shouldn't post. Based on my knowledge, that
was the best answer I could give, because I didn't know the "bigger
picture". It is the experts like you that can expound on that. Actually,
your explanation was very interesting to me.

There are several people in this newsgroup whose arrogance shows when they
post a response to a question. I thought earlier today that you might be
one of them, but you are not and I do respect your opinion. If I ever do
post another answer, I'll make a statement to the effect that I am not an
expert.

My own computer is as secure as I can make it, short of staying off the
internet. I've had a firewall and the adware/spyware catchers and an
antivirus software installed since Day 1, so that is probably the reason I
had no trouble after I disabled the Messenger service and posted the answer
that solved the immediate problem for me.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I understand. I didn't give a "complete" answer as you were able to give,
and that doesn't mean that I shouldn't post. Based on my knowledge, that
was the best answer I could give, because I didn't know the "bigger
picture". It is the experts like you that can expound on that. Actually,
your explanation was very interesting to me.

And, now that you've had the situation explained, you'll also be able
to provide a more complete answer, in the future. Most of us learn
something new nearly every day we read these newsgroups.

There are several people in this newsgroup whose arrogance shows when they
post a response to a question. I thought earlier today that you might be
one of them, but you are not and I do respect your opinion.

Thank you for the kind words, but you weren't entirely wrong, here. I
can seem arrogant, sometimes. I don't do it intentionally, but I lack
people skills and often come across as arrogant and abrupt. And I'll
readily and proudly admit that I won't "suffer fools gladly." Nor do I
make any effort to be politically correct.

If I ever do
post another answer, I'll make a statement to the effect that I am not an
expert.

There are times when such a caveat is wise, and others when it will be
unnecessary. You'll learn as you go. When in doubt, you could always
preface a statement with something like, "In my experience, ...."

My own computer is as secure as I can make it, short of staying off the
internet. I've had a firewall and the adware/spyware catchers and an
antivirus software installed since Day 1, so that is probably the reason I
had no trouble after I disabled the Messenger service and posted the answer
that solved the immediate problem for me.

That's good. You're taking the proper precautions, and that would
explain why you've suffered no ill effects from disabling the messenger
service.



--

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