The *CORRECT* (and *only*) way to deal with these is below: -
Turning off the messenger service is an incredibly
stupid, idiotic and foolish thing to do. It has no bearing on messenger in
any way, shape or form. The Messenger Service is what spammers exploit to
shove porn at you. Read on to learn why disabling it is a bad idea.
If the Messenger service is stopped, messages from the Alerter service
(notifications from your antivirus software, for example) are not
transmitted. If the Messenger service is turned off, any services
that explicitly depend on the Messenger service do not start, and an error
message is logged in the System event log. For this reason,
Microsoft strongly recommends that you install a firewall and configure it
to
block NetBIOS and RPC traffic instead of turning off the Messenger
service.
And to think that JK speaks for MS and yet he directly contravenes their
advice!! DON'T LISTEN TO HIM!!
Do the title bars 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. (Disabling the messenger service, as
some people recommend, only hides the symptom, and does nothing to
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 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 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 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.
Therefore, if Bruce is correct, JK is a hacker. Would you take advice from
someone whose only interest is damaging your system and compromising your
online safety?!
Don't install NAV - it has a nasty habit of screwing up other things (like
parts of Office for example).
How JK became a MVP is one of the mysteries of the Universe. I hope that,
come the next review, he's stripped of his title as he's done nothing (that
I can see) to merit it. Unfortunately, that review is still 6 months away.
Until then, heed this warning and heed it well - DON'T LISTEN TO JK OR YOU
WILL END UP REGRETTING IT!
