MSN messanger pop ups causing my games to crash/lockup

[Shawn]

This is a really big problem becasue I use my PC mostly
for gaming and chat. Whenever I have MSN messanger
running while plaing a game, sometimes when the pop ups
from it appear they cause the game i'm playing to crash
or lockup. I have lost a lot of game progress do to MS's
spam and invasion of privacy advertising and I will be
taking legal action if this is not fixed.

[Jonathan Kay [MVP]]

Greetings Shawn,

Firstly, do these "pop-ups" that are appearing have "Messenger Service" in their titlebar? If
so, 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 these are really Messenger popups (X has just signed in, etc.), you can turn off
the popups by opening up the main Messenger window, click Tools, then Options, then
Preferences tab (General tab if you're using MSN Messenger 5), unchecking the Alert options
and clicking OK. However, you might be interested in MSN Messenger 6, which will
automatically detect if you're in a full-screen game, then sets you to "Busy" (which has the
added benefit of turning off the popup "alerts"). You can find MSN Messenger 6 here:
http://messenger.msn.com/download/v6preview.asp?client=1
As well, the upcoming Windows Messenger 5 will also have this feature.
____________________________________________
Jonathan Kay
Windows MVP, Messenger
Associate Expert
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/
Messenger Resources - http://messenger.jonathankay.com

"Shawn" > wrote in message
...
> This is a really big problem becasue I use my PC mostly
> for gaming and chat. Whenever I have MSN messanger
> running while plaing a game, sometimes when the pop ups
> from it appear they cause the game i'm playing to crash
> or lockup. I have lost a lot of game progress do to MS's
> spam and invasion of privacy advertising and I will be
> taking legal action if this is not fixed.

[Amethyst]

Jonathan Kay [MVP] wrote:
> Greetings Shawn,
>
> Firstly, do these "pop-ups" that are appearing have "Messenger Service" in
> their titlebar? If so, 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 these are really Messenger popups (X has just signed in,
etc.),
> you can turn off the popups by opening up the main Messenger window, click
> Tools, then Options, then Preferences tab (General tab if you're using MSN
> Messenger 5), unchecking the Alert options and clicking OK. However, you
> might be interested in MSN Messenger 6, which will automatically detect if
> you're in a full-screen game, then sets you to "Busy" (which has the added
> benefit of turning off the popup "alerts"). You can find MSN Messenger 6
> here: http://messenger.msn.com/download/v6preview.asp?client=1
> As well, the upcoming Windows Messenger 5 will also have this feature.
> ____________________________________________
> Jonathan Kay
> Windows MVP, Messenger
> Associate Expert
> http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/
> Messenger Resources - http://messenger.jonathankay.com
>
> "Shawn" > wrote in message
> ...
>> This is a really big problem becasue I use my PC mostly
>> for gaming and chat. Whenever I have MSN messanger
>> running while plaing a game, sometimes when the pop ups
>> from it appear they cause the game i'm playing to crash
>> or lockup. I have lost a lot of game progress do to MS's
>> spam and invasion of privacy advertising and I will be
>> taking legal action if this is not fixed.

The ports in question (137-139) are also used for more nefarious purposes
(trojans use them to 'phone home'). The only effective way (despite what Mr
Kay will tell you) is to install a firewall. The native
one will work at a pinch, though it only works one way (incoming not
outgoing). Disabling the service is like sweeping bills under the carpet -
you can't see them anymore but, if you don't deal with them the consequences
could be serious.

Install a firewall, configure it to block those ports, and rest, safe in the
knowledge that nothing can attack your computer.

Please don't shout. Posting all in caps is considered incredibly rude and
also makes your post incredibly hard to read.


--�
Cassandra
Card carrying member of the Fresh Start Club 'The Undead Are People Too!'

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