Hi Charles, Sam and Alex
@Charles: To learn how to get rid of this "Messenger Spam" please follow the
instructions below.
@sam: Disabling the Service is only one part of a solution. See the not at
the end to learn why this is not the best thing to do.
@Alex: No, this is *not* something that comes with SP4. The Messenger
Service is included in earlier Versions too. However, please do not visit
those advertise sites as they could harm your PC or want to sell you things
you do not need.
Windows messenger Service is the culprit of that spam. Get a firewall that
blocks these open ports and disable the messenger Service if wanted.
In order to stop Messenger spam you should block these ports with your
firewall:
TCP ports 135, 139, and 445
UDP ports 135, 137, and 138
---> You can get free firewalls here:
http://smb.sygate.com/products/spf_standard.htm
http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/company/products/znalm/freeDownload.jsp?lid=zadb_zadown
http://www.agnitum.com/download/
In order to have more featurs you should buy the 'Pro' Versions though.
You might as well want to take a look at the following MS KB-Articles:
- "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/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;330904
Blocking the Messenger Service within your Operating System:
Windows NT/2000/XP
1. Click on the Start button and open the Settings/Control Panel folder.
2. Open the Administrative Tools folder, and double click on Services.
3. Scroll down to Messenger and double click on it.
4. Select "Startup type: Disabled" and click the "Stop" button to stop the
service.
5. Click "Apply, and then "OK".
NOTE: This will disable the Messenger Service itself, but the ports will
still be vulnerable!
Hope this helps. Regards,
Fabio