URGENT HELP! - pop up messages!

The bottom line priority shouldn't necessarily be on getting rid of something that is irritating like these ads but the fact that if someone is getting them their system isn't secure.

The messenger service isn't a hole. It isn't a bug. It is a perfectly legitimate and useful tool that is being used by scum (my opinion) for illegitimate purposes.

In this Microsoft article http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;330904 they say:

"Windows may use it to inform you when a print job is completed or when you lose power to your computer and switch to a uninterruptible power supply (UPS). Your antivirus program may use the Messenger service to send you notifications."

"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 recommends that you install a firewall and configure it to block NetBIOS and RPC traffic instead of turning off the Messenger service."

"To resolve this issue, install or turn on a firewall that blocks inbound NetBIOS and UDP broadcast traffic."

While disabling the service will work why take chances that this messes up functionality elsewhere.

Disabling the service gives a false sense of security. If a person is going to attack your machine he's not going to pop up a message and say "hey do you mind if I read or delete all your important files?". These messages provide sort of a wake up call that you need to secure your computer.

By disabling the messenger service a person may think they are protected and they aren't - they won't get the messages but that doesn't mean they are protected from far worse problems that a properly configured firewall would solve.

When people take the advice to "just disable the messenger service" I think they are winning a minor battle and losing the war if that's all they do and are happy they aren't getting irritated anymore.

Use a firewall. It resolves this issue and many more important ones that can quicly grow to much more than mere irritation.

Mark

 

STOP POP UP MESSAGES

 

Hi LEONARD BAGAROZZO,

If you are getting pop-ups at this site, you have a problem.
Please go to http://www.tomcoyote.org/hjt/, and download 'Hijack This!'.
Unzip, doubleclick HijackThis.exe, and hit "Scan".

When the scan is finished, the "Scan" button will change into a "Save Log" button.
Press that, save the log as a .txt file, and copy and paste its contents into your next post.

Most of what it lists will be harmless, so do not fix anything yet.

Regards,

Pieter

 

Small clarification here...for 95, 98, Me there is a net send application but you would have to have clicked on the application...have the window for it sitting on your desk top for it to even work to send or recieve..and it is not being exploited in any case...the problem exploit exists only with Win 2000 and XP...

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How to Stop Pop-up Spam in Windows Systems

A number of Windows NT, 2000 and XP (but not W9X or ME, at least not so far) users have recently been noticing unsolicited pop-up windows displaying a spam message such as an advertisement concerning how to obtain a university diploma. If this happens to you, there is no particular need to worry — your system has not been attacked. What has happened is that someone has sent a message to your system via the messenger service that runs on your system. Turning off the messenger service will help prevent this kind of thing from happening. Here is how to disable the messenger service:

In Windows NT, go to the Control Panel, then to Services. Highlight "Messenger" and click on "Stop."

In Windows 2000 Professional and XP, go to the Control Panel, then to Administrative Tools, and then to Services. Highlight "Messenger" and click on "Stop." You must also set the "Startup Type" to "Disabled." If you do not have enough privileges to disable services or are unsure of exactly how to do this, contact your system administrator .

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And if you really want to secure Win XP not only from Popups but rather all the way try this site.

Checklist for Securing Windows XP Systems [fn1]


http://www.lbl.gov/ICSD/Security/systems/wxp-security-checklist.html#two