Disable messenger and Antivirus

[phil]

I have read that you can disable messenger in windows to
stop the pop up messages from appearing. An article in
the microsoft knowledge base however says that this might
not be a good idea. It states that you won't get messages
from your antivirus software as well as other programs.
What exactly does that mean and if I have norton antivirus
running, do I not want to disable messenger??

[Gary Tsang]

For Messenger Service ads:
You need to install or enable a firewall:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;EN-US;Q330904

Disabling Messenger Service can be a good idea, but it does not solve the
real problem.

The ads are not the real problem, the ads are only a symptom of a larger
issue. The real problem is open ports that allow unwanted traffic into the
computer.

Disabling Messenger does nothing for the open ports. You would need a
firewall that controls the traffic.

The above solution will not work if you have AOL as is not compatible with
Windows XP Internet Connection Firewall (ICF). If you have AOL, you should
contact AOL and/or get a 3rd party firewall.

Disable Messenger Service:
Start/Control Panel, click Administrative Tools, click Services.
Go down to "Messenger".
Right click "Messenger" and select Properties.
Hit the Stop Button under Service Status section
Then under Start-up select DISABLE
Click OK and follow prompts

Check this link:
http://www.aumha.org/a/noads.php
Run Ad-Aware (free version) or Spybot to check for spyware:
http://www.lavasoft.de/
Or
http://spybot.eon.net.au/

For internet pop-ups, try one of these:
http://www.panicware.com/
http://www.bysoft.se/sureshot/stopthepop/index.html
http://www.popupbuster.com/PopUpBuster/
http://www.kolumbus.fi/eero.muhonen/FS/
http://www.endpopups.com/
http://www.adshield.org/



--
Gary Tsang


"phil" > wrote in message
...
> I have read that you can disable messenger in windows to
> stop the pop up messages from appearing. An article in
> the microsoft knowledge base however says that this might
> not be a good idea. It states that you won't get messages
> from your antivirus software as well as other programs.
> What exactly does that mean and if I have norton antivirus
> running, do I not want to disable messenger??
>

[Phil]

I probably should have been more specific. I have
Windows XP and connect by cable modem. I am referring
not to MSN messenger but to Windows Messenger. Will the
firewall in Windows XP be sufficient? Also, does anyone
know about disabling messenger and Norton Antivirus not
being able to send messages?


>-----Original Message-----
>For Messenger Service ads:
>You need to install or enable a firewall:
>http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;EN-
US;Q330904
>
>Disabling Messenger Service can be a good idea, but it
does not solve the
>real problem.
>
>The ads are not the real problem, the ads are only a
symptom of a larger
>issue. The real problem is open ports that allow
unwanted traffic into the
>computer.
>
>Disabling Messenger does nothing for the open ports.
You would need a
>firewall that controls the traffic.
>
>The above solution will not work if you have AOL as is
not compatible with
>Windows XP Internet Connection Firewall (ICF). If you
have AOL, you should
>contact AOL and/or get a 3rd party firewall.
>
>Disable Messenger Service:
>Start/Control Panel, click Administrative Tools, click
Services.
>Go down to "Messenger".
>Right click "Messenger" and select Properties.
>Hit the Stop Button under Service Status section
>Then under Start-up select DISABLE
>Click OK and follow prompts
>
>Check this link:
>http://www.aumha.org/a/noads.php
>Run Ad-Aware (free version) or Spybot to check for
spyware:
>http://www.lavasoft.de/
>Or
>http://spybot.eon.net.au/
>
>For internet pop-ups, try one of these:
>http://www.panicware.com/
>http://www.bysoft.se/sureshot/stopthepop/index.html
>http://www.popupbuster.com/PopUpBuster/
>http://www.kolumbus.fi/eero.muhonen/FS/
>http://www.endpopups.com/
>http://www.adshield.org/
>
>
>
>--
>Gary Tsang
>
>
>"phil" > wrote in message
...
>> I have read that you can disable messenger in windows
to
>> stop the pop up messages from appearing. An article in
>> the microsoft knowledge base however says that this
might
>> not be a good idea. It states that you won't get
messages
>> from your antivirus software as well as other programs.
>> What exactly does that mean and if I have norton
antivirus
>> running, do I not want to disable messenger??
>>
>
>
>.
>

[Jonathan Kay [MVP]]

Greetings Phil,

If you disable the Messenger Service, the Windows XP compatible versions of Norton Antivirus
will not be effected by this. The whole issue that is all hearsay; there is nothing in
Windows XP that depends on the Messenger Service, the only real exception to this is if it's
being used in a corporate environment with some very very old software running on the server
side which would send notifications using the Messenger Service to clients. However, in
these types of situations, the corporate network would be firewalled and internet access
would be shared, therefore you wouldn't be seeing the Messenger Service "advertisements" in
the first place. So realistically, there is no issue here.
____________________________________________
Jonathan Kay
Windows MVP, Messenger
Associate Expert
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/
Messenger Resources - http://messenger.jonathankay.com

"Phil" > wrote in message ...
> I probably should have been more specific. I have
> Windows XP and connect by cable modem. I am referring
> not to MSN messenger but to Windows Messenger. Will the
> firewall in Windows XP be sufficient? Also, does anyone
> know about disabling messenger and Norton Antivirus not
> being able to send messages?
>
>
> >-----Original Message-----
> >For Messenger Service ads:
> >You need to install or enable a firewall:
> >http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;EN-
> US;Q330904
> >
> >Disabling Messenger Service can be a good idea, but it
> does not solve the
> >real problem.
> >
> >The ads are not the real problem, the ads are only a
> symptom of a larger
> >issue. The real problem is open ports that allow
> unwanted traffic into the
> >computer.
> >
> >Disabling Messenger does nothing for the open ports.
> You would need a
> >firewall that controls the traffic.
> >
> >The above solution will not work if you have AOL as is
> not compatible with
> >Windows XP Internet Connection Firewall (ICF). If you
> have AOL, you should
> >contact AOL and/or get a 3rd party firewall.
> >
> >Disable Messenger Service:
> >Start/Control Panel, click Administrative Tools, click
> Services.
> >Go down to "Messenger".
> >Right click "Messenger" and select Properties.
> >Hit the Stop Button under Service Status section
> >Then under Start-up select DISABLE
> >Click OK and follow prompts
> >
> >Check this link:
> >http://www.aumha.org/a/noads.php
> >Run Ad-Aware (free version) or Spybot to check for
> spyware:
> >http://www.lavasoft.de/
> >Or
> >http://spybot.eon.net.au/
> >
> >For internet pop-ups, try one of these:
> >http://www.panicware.com/
> >http://www.bysoft.se/sureshot/stopthepop/index.html
> >http://www.popupbuster.com/PopUpBuster/
> >http://www.kolumbus.fi/eero.muhonen/FS/
> >http://www.endpopups.com/
> >http://www.adshield.org/
> >
> >
> >
> >--
> >Gary Tsang
> >
> >
> >"phil" > wrote in message
> ...
> >> I have read that you can disable messenger in windows
> to
> >> stop the pop up messages from appearing. An article in
> >> the microsoft knowledge base however says that this
> might
> >> not be a good idea. It states that you won't get
> messages
> >> from your antivirus software as well as other programs.
> >> What exactly does that mean and if I have norton
> antivirus
> >> running, do I not want to disable messenger??
> >>
> >
> >
> >.
> >

[Andrew McDonald]

> I am referring
> not to MSN messenger but to Windows Messenger. Will the
> firewall in Windows XP be sufficient?

Actually you're referring to neither; rather the Messenger service built in to Windows. MSN/Windows
Messenger is a separate program for a different type of "messaging". You should definitely enable
Windows' firewall if you're using a cable modem and don't have any other firewall software running.

Andrew