To Turn Off Unwanted Popups

[Dan B]

Could anyone please tell me how to turn off once and for
all the unwanted popup messages that come up anytime I
turn my computer on, or tell me exactly where to get help
from Microsoft? I really would appreciate some help. I
have Windows XP (2001, Home Edition).

I've talked to the Hewlett Parkard helpdesk people, but
their directions did not help. I looked for help online
from Microsoft but couldn't find it on their many
webpages. I don't want to buy one of the many softwares
that claim to be able to "stop" or "bust"
or "block," "destroy" or "kill" these babies because they
are advertised on popups themselves so I can't trust them,
can I?

Thank you very much for any help.

 

[Jonathan Kay [MVP]]

Greetings,

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.

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