Greetings Grace,
Firstly we have to determine exactly what you mean by "Messenger", since you said its
annoying, is what you're seeing have "Messenger Service" in its 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, 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.
Just as a little reminder, make sure you've protected yourself against the latest security
issues by visiting WindowsUpdate and installing the security patches:
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com
(This isn't related to the Messenger Service in any way, just a reminder)
____________________________________________
Jonathan Kay
Microsoft MVP - Windows Messenger/MSN Messenger
Associate Expert
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/
Messenger Resources -
http://messenger.jonathankay.com