pop-up messages

[rv]

I get constant messages (ads) that pop-up when i use my
computer. the messages aren't browser windows but rather
message windows generated by a program on my computer. I
just don't which program is generating them. when i look
at the task manager i see that csrss.exe is running.

i have aol instant messenger installed and i presume it
may be that program. the messages advertise a number of
web sites to stop pop-up ads. help!

[Ramesh]

Hi Rv,

If the title bar reads as MESSENGER SERVICE, then it the world famouse
Messenger SPAM.

Install a Firewall to prevent the pop-ups
Enable the Internet Connection Firewall in Windows XP:

Open Network Connections
Click the Dial-up, LAN or High-Speed Internet connection that you want to
protect, and then, under Network Tasks, click Change settings of this
connection.
On the Advanced tab, under Internet Connection Firewall, select one of the
following:
To enable Internet Connection Firewall (ICF), select the Protect my computer
and network by limiting or preventing access to this computer from the
Internet check box.

This blocks the TCP ports responsible for Messenger data tranmissions and
prevents Pop-ups.

Regards,
Ramesh



"rv" > wrote in message
...
I get constant messages (ads) that pop-up when i use my
computer. the messages aren't browser windows but rather
message windows generated by a program on my computer. I
just don't which program is generating them. when i look
at the task manager i see that csrss.exe is running.

i have aol instant messenger installed and i presume it
may be that program. the messages advertise a number of
web sites to stop pop-up ads. help!

[Russ]

I had these up intil a few weeks ago when a friend told me how to get rid of
them.

First off Firewalls don't work to stop these. I had norton firewall and the
pop ups didn't care unless I told it to block all traffic.

You neeed to go into control panel, open up services, and disable the
messenger service. It's really a pretty useless service unless you enjoy
the pop ups.


"rv" > wrote in message
...
> I get constant messages (ads) that pop-up when i use my
> computer. the messages aren't browser windows but rather
> message windows generated by a program on my computer. I
> just don't which program is generating them. when i look
> at the task manager i see that csrss.exe is running.
>
> i have aol instant messenger installed and i presume it
> may be that program. the messages advertise a number of
> web sites to stop pop-up ads. help!

[Ang]

Hi Russ!:

I had tried to do what you had suggested to RV (since I'm
having the same problem as they are) and what you had
suggested didn't work for me (especially since the
Messenger Service is already on "disabled"!)

Backstreet FOREVER,

-:-Ang-:-
>-----Original Message-----
>I had these up intil a few weeks ago when a friend told
me how to get rid of
>them.
>
>First off Firewalls don't work to stop these. I had
norton firewall and the
>pop ups didn't care unless I told it to block all
traffic.
>
>You neeed to go into control panel, open up services,
and disable the
>messenger service. It's really a pretty useless
service unless you enjoy
>the pop ups.
>
>
>"rv" > wrote in message
...
>> I get constant messages (ads) that pop-up when i use my
>> computer. the messages aren't browser windows but
rather
>> message windows generated by a program on my computer.
I
>> just don't which program is generating them. when i
look
>> at the task manager i see that csrss.exe is running.
>>
>> i have aol instant messenger installed and i presume it
>> may be that program. the messages advertise a number of
>> web sites to stop pop-up ads. help!
>
>
>.
>

[Russ]

There must be another Microsoft back door then (I'm still in the learning
curve with XP, what an overdeveloped hunk of bugs ths OS is, this thing is a
hackers dream, NT was better) or a Trojan Horse assuming you havn't run a
virus scan lately.


"Ang" > wrote in message
...
> Hi Russ!:
>
> I had tried to do what you had suggested to RV (since I'm
> having the same problem as they are) and what you had
> suggested didn't work for me (especially since the
> Messenger Service is already on "disabled"!)
>
> Backstreet FOREVER,
>
> -:-Ang-:-
> >-----Original Message-----
> >I had these up intil a few weeks ago when a friend told
> me how to get rid of
> >them.
> >
> >First off Firewalls don't work to stop these. I had
> norton firewall and the
> >pop ups didn't care unless I told it to block all
> traffic.
> >
> >You neeed to go into control panel, open up services,
> and disable the
> >messenger service. It's really a pretty useless
> service unless you enjoy
> >the pop ups.
> >
> >
> >"rv" > wrote in message
> ...
> >> I get constant messages (ads) that pop-up when i use my
> >> computer. the messages aren't browser windows but
> rather
> >> message windows generated by a program on my computer.
> I
> >> just don't which program is generating them. when i
> look
> >> at the task manager i see that csrss.exe is running.
> >>
> >> i have aol instant messenger installed and i presume it
> >> may be that program. the messages advertise a number of
> >> web sites to stop pop-up ads. help!
> >
> >
> >.
> >

[Perdita X. Dream]

Russ wrote:
> There must be another Microsoft back door then (I'm still in the
> learning curve with XP, what an overdeveloped hunk of bugs ths OS is,
> this thing is a hackers dream, NT was better) or a Trojan Horse
> assuming you havn't run a virus scan lately.
>
>
> "Ang" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Hi Russ!:
>>
>> I had tried to do what you had suggested to RV (since I'm
>> having the same problem as they are) and what you had
>> suggested didn't work for me (especially since the
>> Messenger Service is already on "disabled"!)
>>
>> Backstreet FOREVER,
>>
>> -:-Ang-:-
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> I had these up intil a few weeks ago when a friend told
>> me how to get rid of
>>> them.
>>>
>>> First off Firewalls don't work to stop these. I had
>> norton firewall and the
>>> pop ups didn't care unless I told it to block all
>> traffic.
>>>
>>> You neeed to go into control panel, open up services,
>> and disable the
>>> messenger service. It's really a pretty useless
>> service unless you enjoy
>>> the pop ups.
>>>
>>>
>>> "rv" > wrote in message
>>> ...
>>>> I get constant messages (ads) that pop-up when i use my
>>>> computer. the messages aren't browser windows but
>> rather
>>>> message windows generated by a program on my computer.
>> I
>>>> just don't which program is generating them. when i
>> look
>>>> at the task manager i see that csrss.exe is running.
>>>>
>>>> i have aol instant messenger installed and i presume it
>>>> may be that program. the messages advertise a number of
>>>> web sites to stop pop-up ads. help!
>>>
>>>
>>> .

A firewall works perfectly well - you've obviously not configured it
properly. I've been using a correctly configured McAfee firewall ever since
I installed XP and I've never seen a messenger service advertisement.
Suggest you read your firewall's help to learn how to block the appropriate
NetBIOS ports.

--
Perdita X. Dream

Please help us to help you
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http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
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Please note that the reply address is fake.
Keep all posts to the groups as private requests for assistance
(i.e. email/IM) cannot be acknowledged. Thank you.

[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. (Merely disabling the messenger
service, as some
people recommend, only hides the symptom, and does little or nothing
to truly 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, by itself, 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, if annoying, 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


"rv" > wrote in message
...
> I get constant messages (ads) that pop-up when i use my
> computer. the messages aren't browser windows but rather
> message windows generated by a program on my computer. I
> just don't which program is generating them. when i look
> at the task manager i see that csrss.exe is running.
>
> i have aol instant messenger installed and i presume it
> may be that program. the messages advertise a number of
> web sites to stop pop-up ads. help!

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

Please stop posting potentially harmful advice. What are you, a
hacker-wannabe? Why else would you be deliberately posting bad
advice? Do you have a vested interest in keeping other people's PC
unsecured? Are you trying to give people a false sense of security by
having them turn off what are, in effect, valid security warnings,
while still leaving their PCs open to potential exploitation?

Disabling the messenger service, by itself, is nothing more than 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, if annoying, service by acting as a security alert. The true
problem is the unsecured computer, and you're only advise is 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. The home-owner, not immediately seeing
any fire/smoke, complains about the noise of the smoke detector, so
you tell him to remove the smoke detector's battery and go back to
sleep, or whatever else he was doing.

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 you are, replies, "Well,
don't do that."

An essential component of securing a PC against outside attacks,
short of disconnecting it from the Internet, is to install and
*properly* configure a firewall.


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


"Russ" > wrote in message
...
> I had these up intil a few weeks ago when a friend told me how to
get rid of
> them.
>
> First off Firewalls don't work to stop these. I had norton firewall
and the
> pop ups didn't care unless I told it to block all traffic.
>
> You neeed to go into control panel, open up services, and disable
the
> messenger service. It's really a pretty useless service unless you
enjoy
> the pop ups.
>
>
> "rv" > wrote in message
> ...
> > I get constant messages (ads) that pop-up when i use my
> > computer. the messages aren't browser windows but rather
> > message windows generated by a program on my computer. I
> > just don't which program is generating them. when i look
> > at the task manager i see that csrss.exe is running.
> >
> > i have aol instant messenger installed and i presume it
> > may be that program. the messages advertise a number of
> > web sites to stop pop-up ads. help!
>
>