way too many pop ups

[Guest]

a couple weeks ago I started getting a large volumn of
pop ups. I cant figure out how to stop this. it use to
not be this way. probably 3 a minute

 

[Jim Macklin]

Turn a firewall ON.

XP has a firewall, but most people, myself included
recommend Zone Alarm from
www.zonelabs.com The free version works just fine.


| a couple weeks ago I started getting a large volumn of
| pop ups. I cant figure out how to stop this. it use to
| not be this way. probably 3 a minute

 

[Chris Lanier]

Stopping Advertisements with Messenger Service Titles
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/using/howto/communicate/stopspam.asp

You might also consider doing a virus and spyware scan if they are web
popup's

 

[dev]

(e-mail address removed) said:

A couple weeks ago I started getting a large volume of
pop ups. I cant figure out how to stop this.

If these are "Messenger" pop-ups, they can be banished by enabling the XP
built-in firewall (which should be done anyway). See HELP & SUPPORT for
easy instructions.

If this is a program that has been inadvertently installed on your PC,
running ADAware may enable its removal. http://www.lavasoftusa.com
Read the instructions, download, install and run the program. The basic
utility is free.

If the pop-ups are site-related - the page that is being visited - then a
pop-up blocker may help. http://google.com Search for "ad blocker".
Or install and use a new-generation browser that has pop-up blocking,
such as NetScape "streamline Navigator only" from http://sillydog.org/narchive

It will selectively block pop-ups and images, and is much more customizable
than I.E. For more...
sis the newgroup.

Or visit http://mozilla.org for links to browsers using similar technology.

 

[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 year, 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 almost 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/. 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) 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
http://security.kolla.de/. 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.


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

 

[Graeme]

-----Original Message-----
a couple weeks ago I started getting a large volumn of
pop ups. I cant figure out how to stop this. it use to
not be this way. probably 3 a minute
.
Use Google bar which has a non pop-up button on

it....Easily downloaded from Google.

 

[P Diddy]

Hi,

There are at least 3 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 past year, 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. Install and use a decent, properly
configured firewall. (Merely disabling the messenger service, only hides
the symptom,
and does almost 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


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/. 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) To deal with pop-ups caused by any sort of "adware" and/or
"spyware," 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
http://security.kolla.de/. Both have free versions. It's even
possible to use SpyBot Search & Destroy to "immunize" your system
against most future intrusions.

 

[Kevin Davis³]

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 year, 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 almost 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?

And be especially wary of people who absolutely refuse to acknowledge
the dangers of leaving the Messenger Service enabled (if not needed)
and throwing all kinds of links at you but excluding this one:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?url=/technet/security/bulletin/ms03-043.asp

 

[Kevin Davis³]

Hi,

There are at least 3 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 past year, 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. Install and use a decent, properly
configured firewall. (Merely disabling the messenger service, only hides
the symptom,
and does almost nothing to truly secure your machine.) And ignoring or just
"putting up with"
the security gap represented by these messages is particularly
foolish.

It is incorrect that turning the Messenger Service off does nothing to
secure your system. There is one known very serious vulnerability
associated with running the service. If you have a real need to keep
the service on, then make absolutely sure that you patch it.

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?url=/technet/security/bulletin/ms03-043.asp


Don't be reassured by those who might toss out phrases like "an known
exploit has not been published yet". Why? Because at least one proof
of concept exploit was offered today. This service or any service if
found to be unneeded should be turned off. It is a basic security
practice to do so. There is a possibility that more serious
vulnerabilities exist in this service. And if there is, it is just as
likely that the hackers find out about it well before any honest
security experts. There is no need to be unnecessarily exposed to
this risk.

If you don't know how to determine whether you need it or not, leave
it on, but make sure to patch your system (see the link above).