Popup Messenger Service

[RD]

Just upgraded to XP, and now there's a hundred popup ads
that say "messenger service" but I'm not even online. Is
this part of XP? and can it be turned off?

 

[My Name]

Shoot the Messenger
http://grc.com/stm/ShootTheMessenger.htm

 

[Robert Moir]

Just upgraded to XP, and now there's a hundred popup ads
that say "messenger service" but I'm not even online. Is
this part of XP? and can it be turned off?

The messenger service is a symptom of a greater problem - you are connected
to the internet either without a firewall, or with an improperly configured
firewall. When you say you are not online, what kind of connection do you
have? If you have ADSL or cable modem connections, you are online pretty
much all the time regardless of whether you have a web browser open or not.

I'd suggest turning on the Internet Connection Firewall, using the
directions in the help file.

 

[purplehaz]

Secure your hacker prone computer:

If they say messenger service in the title bar, these popups have nothing to
do with MSN messenger or Windows messenger. What this is a new way for
spammers to attack your computer and send you pop-up ads. If you receive
these ads it means that your computers netbios ports are wide open to the
internet and this could be a real security problem. What you should do is
install a good firewall that will block the ports the spammers use and stop
the ads. A good place to start is Zone Alarm ( www.zonelabs.com ) for an
inbound/outbound blocking firewall or use the inbound blocking only firewall
built in to XP. If needed configure the XP firewall to block ports 135,
137-139 and 445. Zone Alarm will block these ports by default.

Use this site to test some of your ports security:
https://grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2

You can disable the messenger service, which is the service the spammers
exploit, but it isn't needed to stop the ads and disabling the service will
not secure your computer from outside attacks or block the open netbios
ports.

Note: If the Messenger service is stopped, messages from the Alerter
service (notifications from your antivirus software, for example) are
not transmitted. If the Messenger service is turned off, any services
that explicitly depend on the Messenger service do not start, and an
error message is logged in the System event log. For this reason,
Microsoft recommends that you install a firewall and configure it to
block NetBIOS and RPC traffic instead of turning off the Messenger
service.

If the pop-ups appear while surfing web pages then download and install one
of the many pop-up blocker programs. Search www.download.com for popup
blocker, you'll find many free ones.

Also get a good spyware cleaner -- http://security.kolla.de/

 

[Abhishek Parashar]

Hi,
Do this to resolve the issue. To turn off the Windows
Messenger Service, perform the following steps:

1. Click the Start button, then click the Control Panel
icon.
2. The Control Panel window appears.
In the left windowpane, click the Switch to Classic View
option.
3. Double-click the Administrative Tools icon.
4. The Administrative Tools window appears.
5. Double-click the Services icon.
6. The Services window appears.
7. Scroll down the list in the right windowpane, and
double-click the Messenger listing.
8. The Messenger Properties window appears.
9. Click the drop-down button next to the Startup type:
listing.
10. Click to select the Disable listing.
11. Locate the Service status: listing and click the Stop
button.

I am sure it going to help.


Abhishek Parashar
"Where there is a Pundit, there is a way"

 

[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 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?


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 --

Please stop deliberately posting potentially harmful advice.

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

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

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

Please stop deliberately posting potentially harmful advice.

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

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