Damned op-up Messenges

[Barbara]

SOS!! About a month or so ago, pop up messages began
appearing on my PC. These are independent of a web
site. Even if I'm not on the net, they just pop up.
It's incredibly aggravating, but I don't know how to make
them stop. I assume something's embedded somewhere, but
have no idea what to do to get rid of them once and for
all.

Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated!

[Jason]

* Barbara >:
> SOS!! About a month or so ago, pop up messages began
> appearing on my PC. These are independent of a web
> site. Even if I'm not on the net, they just pop up.
> It's incredibly aggravating, but I don't know how to make
> them stop. I assume something's embedded somewhere, but
> have no idea what to do to get rid of them once and for
> all.
>
> Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated!

My advice is to scroll down and read any of the bazillions of other
posts on this. That and to read the hourly posting of the FAQ too.


Jason

[Miha Pihler]

Hi Barbara,

You should install and use personal firewall on your PC. You can use any
personal firewall on your PC that you feel comfortable with. There are some
pretty good Free ones out there and WindowsXP come with built in one that
will protect you from
Messenger Pop-Ups.
Follow instructions in:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/using/howto/communicate/stopspam.asp

Also to protect your PC, install and use Antivirus. Don't forget to update
it at least once a week. And to keep your PC healthy, update it regularly.
Visit www.windowsupdate.com

--
Mike
MCSA 2K, MCSE 2K, MCT, ...


"Barbara" > wrote in message
...
> SOS!! About a month or so ago, pop up messages began
> appearing on my PC. These are independent of a web
> site. Even if I'm not on the net, they just pop up.
> It's incredibly aggravating, but I don't know how to make
> them stop. I assume something's embedded somewhere, but
> have no idea what to do to get rid of them once and for
> all.
>
> Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated!

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

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

This particular "sales method" is strikingly similar to the
"protection" rackets offered to small businesses by organized
criminals. Yes, it's a scam; no reputable business would need to
resort to extortion. Particularly since they're trying to sell you a
type of protection that is already available to you free of charge.

This type of spam has become quite common over the past few
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. Install and use a decent,
properly configured firewall. (Disabling the messenger service, as
some people recommend, only hides the symptom, and does nothing to
secure your machine.) And ignoring or just "putting up with" these
messages and the problem they represent 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 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 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?

Equivalent Scenario 1: Somewhere in a house, a small fire starts,
and sets off the smoke alarm. You, not immediately seeing any
fire/smoke, complain about the noise of the smoke detector, and are
advised to remove the smoke detector's battery and go back to sleep.

Equivalent Scenario 2: 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 some of your respondents,
replies, "Well, don't do that."

I'm beginning to think that the people deliberately posting such
bad advice are hacker-wannabes who have no true interest in helping
you secure your system, but would rather give you a false sense of
security while ensuring that your computer is still open to
exploitation.


Bruce Chambers

--
Help us help you:
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH


"Barbara" > wrote in message
...
> SOS!! About a month or so ago, pop up messages began
> appearing on my PC. These are independent of a web
> site. Even if I'm not on the net, they just pop up.
> It's incredibly aggravating, but I don't know how to make
> them stop. I assume something's embedded somewhere, but
> have no idea what to do to get rid of them once and for
> all.
>
> Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated!