Windows Patch

[Rose Mary Cascio]

I keep getting a popup screen when I am using the internet
that says that all windows versions have a messenger
service problem and that I need to download a patch from
www.windowspatch.net. I can't see that this location has
anything to do with Microsoft, and it wasn't accessible
when I went to access the site sometime after I had
received this popup message, but it was accessible when I
entered the site immediately after clicking on the popup
message. Is this popup message a legitimate microsoft
problem or is this a bogus popup screen?

Thanks,
Rose Mary Cascio

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

No, it isn't a legitimate "Microsoft" warning, although the
potential threat is real, and you're obviously unprotected. It's
simply an unscrupulous advertiser trying to panic you into
unnecessarily buying their "service." Any and all patches you need
are available free of cost from Microsoft.

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

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

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