Does the window title say anything about Messenger? If so, you need a
firewall. 'Messenger spam', is not in itself harmful, but is symptomatic of
a larger problem - your computer has ports open from the Internet.
You can disable the Messenger service, but that is unwise as a solution as
you'll still have the underlying problem that caused you to get the messages
in the first place - consider the messages a useful warning that you have no
protection from the Internet. This is all too important now, given the
recent rash of RPC worms....
For a standalone machine, see www.sygate.com for a free personal firewall,
or if using Windows XP, you can enable the built-in internet connection
firewall (ICF).
See http://securityadmin.info/faq.htm for more info. Also,
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/nopopups.htm is a good resource - although
for browser popups, you might want to consider http://toolbar.google.com -
it works like a champ and is also handy for searching.
mark wrote:
Greetings --
Does the title bar of these pop-ups read "Messenger Service?"
This type of spam has become quite common over the past several
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, such as the Blaster Worm that
recently swept cross the Internet. Install and use a decent,
properly configured firewall. (Merely disabling the messenger
service, as some people recommend, only hides the symptom, and does
little or nothing to truly secure your machine.) And ignoring or just
"putting up with" the security gap represented by these messages is
particularly foolish.
Messenger Service of Windows
http://support.microsoft.com/default...B;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/p...e/stopspam.asp
Blocking Ads, Parasites, and Hijackers with a Hosts File
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm
Whichever firewall you decide upon, be sure to ensure
UDP ports 135, 137, and 138 and TCP ports 135, 139, and 445 are _all_
blocked. You may also disable Inbound NetBIOS (NetBIOS over TCP/IP).
You'll have to follow the instructions from firewall's manufacturer
for the specific steps.
You can test your firewall at:
Symantec Security Check
http://security.symantec.com/ssc/vr_...BYNCJEIMXQKCDT
Security Scan - Sygate Online Services
http://www.sygatetech.com/
Oh, and be especially wary of people who advise you to do nothing
more than disable the messenger service. Disabling the messenger
service, by itself, 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, if annoying, 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?
Bruce Chambers
--
Help us help you:
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH
"mark" <anonymous@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:78e501c40266$0363d310$a101280a@phx.gbl...
