exiting Windows Messenger

[Jeff]

How do I exit or "turn off" Windows Messenger? I have
two children, and periodically, very suggestive messages
pop-up on the screen, thanks to Windows Messenger. I'd
rather they not read some of this, but I can't figure out
how to prevent these messages from appearing. I never
signed-in to begin with, but I guess I'm in,
nonetheless. Can anyone help me?

[Jonathan Kay [MVP]]

Greetings Jeff,

If these "popups" that appeared had "Messenger Service" in their titlebar, what you're seeing
is the Messenger service built-in to Windows, *not* Windows Messenger (which are two
different things) which spammers are exploiting -- this is not Microsoft, nor can Microsoft
control them anymore then they can control spam to your e-mail inbox.

To get rid of these pop ups, you'll need to disable the "Messenger Service", click Start,
then Run, enter "services.msc"and click OK. Scroll down to "Messenger", select it,
right-click and then choose Properties. Under startup type, choose 'Disabled' and then
choose the 'Stop' button. After the service is stopped, click OK. Nothing in Windows or any
real third-party applications should be effected by this.

However, if they're an actual Messenger conversation, there has been an upsurge in some
Messenger (that is .NET Messenger) spam this past month. This conversation did go through the
Messenger server, but you may not be aware that anyone can actually send you a message
through the .NET Messenger network without being on your contact list. For example, if you
right-click your Messenger icon, choose "Send an Instant Message", the Other tab, you can
actually type in a Passport e-mail address and send a message to them, without being on their
contact list.

However, you can change this behavior, so that people will have to add your to their contact
lists before they can send you a message (note, if it's arriving using the 'group' method of
Messenger spam, this will only block the group spam in MSN Messenger 5), open up the main
Messenger window, click Tools, then Options, then the Privacy tab, click 'All other users'
(or 'All users' in MSN Messenger 5) and then click the Block >> button.
____________________________________________
Jonathan Kay
Windows MVP, Messenger
Associate Expert
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/
Messenger Resources - http://messenger.jonathankay.com

"Jeff" > wrote in message
...
> How do I exit or "turn off" Windows Messenger? I have
> two children, and periodically, very suggestive messages
> pop-up on the screen, thanks to Windows Messenger. I'd
> rather they not read some of this, but I can't figure out
> how to prevent these messages from appearing. I never
> signed-in to begin with, but I guess I'm in,
> nonetheless. Can anyone help me?

[buggs]

Then why have i never seen this? i have never seen this.


"Jonathan Kay [MVP]" > wrote in message
...
> Greetings Jeff,
>
> If these "popups" that appeared had "Messenger Service" in their titlebar,
what you're seeing
> is the Messenger service built-in to Windows, *not* Windows Messenger
(which are two
> different things) which spammers are exploiting -- this is not Microsoft,
nor can Microsoft
> control them anymore then they can control spam to your e-mail inbox.
>
> To get rid of these pop ups, you'll need to disable the "Messenger
Service", click Start,
> then Run, enter "services.msc"and click OK. Scroll down to "Messenger",
select it,
> right-click and then choose Properties. Under startup type, choose
'Disabled' and then
> choose the 'Stop' button. After the service is stopped, click OK. Nothing
in Windows or any
> real third-party applications should be effected by this.
>
> However, if they're an actual Messenger conversation, there has been an
upsurge in some
> Messenger (that is .NET Messenger) spam this past month. This conversation
did go through the
> Messenger server, but you may not be aware that anyone can actually send
you a message
> through the .NET Messenger network without being on your contact list.
For example, if you
> right-click your Messenger icon, choose "Send an Instant Message", the
Other tab, you can
> actually type in a Passport e-mail address and send a message to them,
without being on their
> contact list.
>
> However, you can change this behavior, so that people will have to add
your to their contact
> lists before they can send you a message (note, if it's arriving using the
'group' method of
> Messenger spam, this will only block the group spam in MSN Messenger 5),
open up the main
> Messenger window, click Tools, then Options, then the Privacy tab, click
'All other users'
> (or 'All users' in MSN Messenger 5) and then click the Block >> button.
> ____________________________________________
> Jonathan Kay
> Windows MVP, Messenger
> Associate Expert
> http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/
> Messenger Resources - http://messenger.jonathankay.com
>
> "Jeff" > wrote in message
> ...
> > How do I exit or "turn off" Windows Messenger? I have
> > two children, and periodically, very suggestive messages
> > pop-up on the screen, thanks to Windows Messenger. I'd
> > rather they not read some of this, but I can't figure out
> > how to prevent these messages from appearing. I never
> > signed-in to begin with, but I guess I'm in,
> > nonetheless. Can anyone help me?
>
>

[Jonathan Kay [MVP]]

Hi,

You might not see the "Messenger Service" spam if you already have the Messenger Service off,
behind some type of NAT or have a firewall established.

As for the actual .NET Messenger spam, it can usually be compared to the amount of Hotmail
e-mail spam you get -- usually only [known] @hotmail.com and @msn.com Passports are effected
by this (but in no way is it limited).
____________________________________________
Jonathan Kay
Windows MVP, Messenger
Associate Expert
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/
Messenger Resources - http://messenger.jonathankay.com


"buggs" > wrote in message ...
> Then why have i never seen this? i have never seen this.
>
>
> "Jonathan Kay [MVP]" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Greetings Jeff,
> >
> > If these "popups" that appeared had "Messenger Service" in their titlebar,
> what you're seeing
> > is the Messenger service built-in to Windows, *not* Windows Messenger
> (which are two
> > different things) which spammers are exploiting -- this is not Microsoft,
> nor can Microsoft
> > control them anymore then they can control spam to your e-mail inbox.
> >
> > To get rid of these pop ups, you'll need to disable the "Messenger
> Service", click Start,
> > then Run, enter "services.msc"and click OK. Scroll down to "Messenger",
> select it,
> > right-click and then choose Properties. Under startup type, choose
> 'Disabled' and then
> > choose the 'Stop' button. After the service is stopped, click OK. Nothing
> in Windows or any
> > real third-party applications should be effected by this.
> >
> > However, if they're an actual Messenger conversation, there has been an
> upsurge in some
> > Messenger (that is .NET Messenger) spam this past month. This conversation
> did go through the
> > Messenger server, but you may not be aware that anyone can actually send
> you a message
> > through the .NET Messenger network without being on your contact list.
> For example, if you
> > right-click your Messenger icon, choose "Send an Instant Message", the
> Other tab, you can
> > actually type in a Passport e-mail address and send a message to them,
> without being on their
> > contact list.
> >
> > However, you can change this behavior, so that people will have to add
> your to their contact
> > lists before they can send you a message (note, if it's arriving using the
> 'group' method of
> > Messenger spam, this will only block the group spam in MSN Messenger 5),
> open up the main
> > Messenger window, click Tools, then Options, then the Privacy tab, click
> 'All other users'
> > (or 'All users' in MSN Messenger 5) and then click the Block >> button.
> > ____________________________________________
> > Jonathan Kay
> > Windows MVP, Messenger
> > Associate Expert
> > http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/
> > Messenger Resources - http://messenger.jonathankay.com
> >
> > "Jeff" > wrote in message
> > ...
> > > How do I exit or "turn off" Windows Messenger? I have
> > > two children, and periodically, very suggestive messages
> > > pop-up on the screen, thanks to Windows Messenger. I'd
> > > rather they not read some of this, but I can't figure out
> > > how to prevent these messages from appearing. I never
> > > signed-in to begin with, but I guess I'm in,
> > > nonetheless. Can anyone help me?
> >
> >
>
>

[Chuck]

On Tue, 20 May 2003 08:09:01 -0700, "Jeff"
> wrote:

>How do I exit or "turn off" Windows Messenger? I have
>two children, and periodically, very suggestive messages
>pop-up on the screen, thanks to Windows Messenger. I'd
>rather they not read some of this, but I can't figure out
>how to prevent these messages from appearing. I never
>signed-in to begin with, but I guess I'm in,
>nonetheless. Can anyone help me?

Is this Messenger Service, or MSN / Windows Messenger, spam? The two
are totally different.

Do these popups have "Messenger Service" in the titlebar? If so, what
you're seeing is the Messenger Service in Windows which spammers are
exploiting.

To get rid of these pop ups, you need to disable the Messenger
Service. Click Start, then Run, enter "services.msc"and click OK.
Scroll down to "Messenger", select it, right-click and then choose
Properties. Hit the Stop button, then change Startup type to
Disabled, and hit OK. Stopping the Messenger Service doesn't affect
any applications in Windows - just the ability to send text messages
from computer to computer.

Another way to rid yourself of Messenger Service spam would be to put
yourself behind a NAT router.

If these popups are actually MSN / Windows Messenger messages, that's
another story. You need to block messages from anybody not in your
contacts.

To do this, hit Tools - Options and go to Privacy. Select "All other
users" (should be under "My Allow List"), and hit Block, then OK.
This will mean anybody not in your contacts will always see you as
Offline, and will never be able to add you to their contacts list.


Chuck Croll

Spam sucks - PLEASE get rid of the spam before emailing me!

[buggs]

I get tons of hotmail.com spam and never even gave my hotmail address to
anyone. i used to get tons of msn messanger spam porn sites normal IM
windows, not from the messanger service in win xp. i have never turned off
the messanger service in win xp and never once got a messanger service pop
up. i am behind a linksys router though if that has anything to do with it.


"Jonathan Kay [MVP]" > wrote in message
...
> Hi,
>
> You might not see the "Messenger Service" spam if you already have the
Messenger Service off,
> behind some type of NAT or have a firewall established.
>
> As for the actual .NET Messenger spam, it can usually be compared to the
amount of Hotmail
> e-mail spam you get -- usually only [known] @hotmail.com and @msn.com
Passports are effected
> by this (but in no way is it limited).
> ____________________________________________
> Jonathan Kay
> Windows MVP, Messenger
> Associate Expert
> http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/
> Messenger Resources - http://messenger.jonathankay.com
>
>
> "buggs" > wrote in message
...
> > Then why have i never seen this? i have never seen this.
> >
> >
> > "Jonathan Kay [MVP]" > wrote in message
> > ...
> > > Greetings Jeff,
> > >
> > > If these "popups" that appeared had "Messenger Service" in their
titlebar,
> > what you're seeing
> > > is the Messenger service built-in to Windows, *not* Windows Messenger
> > (which are two
> > > different things) which spammers are exploiting -- this is not
Microsoft,
> > nor can Microsoft
> > > control them anymore then they can control spam to your e-mail inbox.
> > >
> > > To get rid of these pop ups, you'll need to disable the "Messenger
> > Service", click Start,
> > > then Run, enter "services.msc"and click OK. Scroll down to
"Messenger",
> > select it,
> > > right-click and then choose Properties. Under startup type, choose
> > 'Disabled' and then
> > > choose the 'Stop' button. After the service is stopped, click OK.
Nothing
> > in Windows or any
> > > real third-party applications should be effected by this.
> > >
> > > However, if they're an actual Messenger conversation, there has been
an
> > upsurge in some
> > > Messenger (that is .NET Messenger) spam this past month. This
conversation
> > did go through the
> > > Messenger server, but you may not be aware that anyone can actually
send
> > you a message
> > > through the .NET Messenger network without being on your contact list.
> > For example, if you
> > > right-click your Messenger icon, choose "Send an Instant Message", the
> > Other tab, you can
> > > actually type in a Passport e-mail address and send a message to them,
> > without being on their
> > > contact list.
> > >
> > > However, you can change this behavior, so that people will have to add
> > your to their contact
> > > lists before they can send you a message (note, if it's arriving using
the
> > 'group' method of
> > > Messenger spam, this will only block the group spam in MSN Messenger
5),
> > open up the main
> > > Messenger window, click Tools, then Options, then the Privacy tab,
click
> > 'All other users'
> > > (or 'All users' in MSN Messenger 5) and then click the Block >>
button.
> > > ____________________________________________
> > > Jonathan Kay
> > > Windows MVP, Messenger
> > > Associate Expert
> > > http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/
> > > Messenger Resources - http://messenger.jonathankay.com
> > >
> > > "Jeff" > wrote in message
> > > ...
> > > > How do I exit or "turn off" Windows Messenger? I have
> > > > two children, and periodically, very suggestive messages
> > > > pop-up on the screen, thanks to Windows Messenger. I'd
> > > > rather they not read some of this, but I can't figure out
> > > > how to prevent these messages from appearing. I never
> > > > signed-in to begin with, but I guess I'm in,
> > > > nonetheless. Can anyone help me?
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
>
>

[Jonathan Kay [MVP]]

Hi,

Hotmail spam (and .NET Messenger spam) is primarly based upon dictionaries, they essentially
"guess" at addresses.

As I said in my previous message, yes, your router is filtering them out (a router is a NAT).
____________________________________________
Jonathan Kay
Windows MVP, Messenger
Associate Expert
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/
Messenger Resources - http://messenger.jonathankay.com

"buggs" > wrote in message ...
> I get tons of hotmail.com spam and never even gave my hotmail address to
> anyone. i used to get tons of msn messanger spam porn sites normal IM
> windows, not from the messanger service in win xp. i have never turned off
> the messanger service in win xp and never once got a messanger service pop
> up. i am behind a linksys router though if that has anything to do with it.
>
>
> "Jonathan Kay [MVP]" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Hi,
> >
> > You might not see the "Messenger Service" spam if you already have the
> Messenger Service off,
> > behind some type of NAT or have a firewall established.
> >
> > As for the actual .NET Messenger spam, it can usually be compared to the
> amount of Hotmail
> > e-mail spam you get -- usually only [known] @hotmail.com and @msn.com
> Passports are effected
> > by this (but in no way is it limited).
> > ____________________________________________
> > Jonathan Kay
> > Windows MVP, Messenger
> > Associate Expert
> > http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/
> > Messenger Resources - http://messenger.jonathankay.com
> >
> >
> > "buggs" > wrote in message
> ...
> > > Then why have i never seen this? i have never seen this.
> > >
> > >
> > > "Jonathan Kay [MVP]" > wrote in message
> > > ...
> > > > Greetings Jeff,
> > > >
> > > > If these "popups" that appeared had "Messenger Service" in their
> titlebar,
> > > what you're seeing
> > > > is the Messenger service built-in to Windows, *not* Windows Messenger
> > > (which are two
> > > > different things) which spammers are exploiting -- this is not
> Microsoft,
> > > nor can Microsoft
> > > > control them anymore then they can control spam to your e-mail inbox.
> > > >
> > > > To get rid of these pop ups, you'll need to disable the "Messenger
> > > Service", click Start,
> > > > then Run, enter "services.msc"and click OK. Scroll down to
> "Messenger",
> > > select it,
> > > > right-click and then choose Properties. Under startup type, choose
> > > 'Disabled' and then
> > > > choose the 'Stop' button. After the service is stopped, click OK.
> Nothing
> > > in Windows or any
> > > > real third-party applications should be effected by this.
> > > >
> > > > However, if they're an actual Messenger conversation, there has been
> an
> > > upsurge in some
> > > > Messenger (that is .NET Messenger) spam this past month. This
> conversation
> > > did go through the
> > > > Messenger server, but you may not be aware that anyone can actually
> send
> > > you a message
> > > > through the .NET Messenger network without being on your contact list.
> > > For example, if you
> > > > right-click your Messenger icon, choose "Send an Instant Message", the
> > > Other tab, you can
> > > > actually type in a Passport e-mail address and send a message to them,
> > > without being on their
> > > > contact list.
> > > >
> > > > However, you can change this behavior, so that people will have to add
> > > your to their contact
> > > > lists before they can send you a message (note, if it's arriving using
> the
> > > 'group' method of
> > > > Messenger spam, this will only block the group spam in MSN Messenger
> 5),
> > > open up the main
> > > > Messenger window, click Tools, then Options, then the Privacy tab,
> click
> > > 'All other users'
> > > > (or 'All users' in MSN Messenger 5) and then click the Block >>
> button.
> > > > ____________________________________________
> > > > Jonathan Kay
> > > > Windows MVP, Messenger
> > > > Associate Expert
> > > > http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/
> > > > Messenger Resources - http://messenger.jonathankay.com
> > > >
> > > > "Jeff" > wrote in message
> > > > ...
> > > > > How do I exit or "turn off" Windows Messenger? I have
> > > > > two children, and periodically, very suggestive messages
> > > > > pop-up on the screen, thanks to Windows Messenger. I'd
> > > > > rather they not read some of this, but I can't figure out
> > > > > how to prevent these messages from appearing. I never
> > > > > signed-in to begin with, but I guess I'm in,
> > > > > nonetheless. Can anyone help me?
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
>
>