Windows Messenger Pop-ups - Disable?

[Fran]

I forgot to mention that this is for Windows XP Home
Edition.

Please email if you can. Thank you!

[Jonathan Kay [MVP]]

Greetings Fran,

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


"Fran" > wrote in message ...
> I forgot to mention that this is for Windows XP Home
> Edition.
>
> Please email if you can. Thank you!