Get APLawrence.com by RSSStop Windows Messenger Spam
By Lytle David Smith| Lytle David Smith | |||||||||
|
3/25/04
If you occassionally have a small window appear in the middle of
your Windows computer with some unusual message, you might be
receiving "Messenger Spam". If so, the window's title bar should
say "Messenger Service", or something similar. All too frequently,
the message will be an advertisement for a product that will
prevent ads (like the very one you are reading at the time) from
appearing on your screen. Luckily, you don't have to buy anything
to prevent Messenger Spam.
If you have Windows NT, Windows 2000, or Windows XP, then you have
a service called "Messenger" that is probably running. It's purpose
in life is to display error messages on your screen whenever
something unusual happens on your computer. It is mainly designed
for server-type systems, not really for individual
workstations.
Well some people have too much time on their hands and, as we know
all too well, idle hands are the devils workshop. In this
particular case, those idle hands might be taking it upon
themselves to irritate you.
Basically, what they are doing is probing your computer from the
Internet and finding that you have the Messenger service running.
This tells them that they can send stupid, irritating messages to
your computer and freak you out for absolutely no productive reason
whatsoever.
On your computer, go to Start / Settings / Control Panel /
Administrative Tools / Services. Look for the line that says
"Messenger" in the Name column. Right-click on the word "Messenger"
and choose "Properties" from the context menu. Click the "Stop"
button to stop the current instance of the service, change "Startup
type" to "Disabled" to prevent the service from starting when you
boot your computer, click "OK" to close the Properties dialog box,
then close the Services window. You will no longer be running the
Messenger service, so you will no longer receive those irritating
messages.
The primary targets of Messenger Spam are computers that are
connected directly to the Internet, usually via cable modem or DSL.
Such computers, being connected to the Internet 24/7, are at much
higher risk of some kind of attack from the Internet simply because
they are exposed for much longer periods of time than those
computers that use dial-up connections to access the Internet.
Also, full-time connections like cable and DSL generally maintain
the same IP address for long periods of time. This essentially
makes them sitting ducks, whereas dial-up connections are assigned
a different IP address with each connection, thus making them much
more of a moving target.
If you have a cable or DSL Internet connection, you should consider
installing a router on your network to prevent your system from
being probed from the Internet. Even the least expensive routers
available (using Network Address Translation or NAT) will provide
you with enough of a firewall to largely make your computer
invisible to the Internet. This will prevent Messenger Spam without
stopping the Messenger service. It will also prevent all sorts of
other undesireable activities from affecting your computer, and it
will enable you to easily share your Internet connection between
multiple computers.
Very nice routers are available for well under $100. I am currently
very fond of D-Link routers. They are very cheap and have features,
like Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI) and Port Forwarding, that
until recently were only available on much more expensive
routers.
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/Security/winmessenger.html copyright April 2004 Lytle David Smith All Rights Reserved
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- Nov 23 08:34
So many sites tell me what I MUST do: focus on a niche, have an elevator pitch, all that.. naaaw - I LIKE being scatter brained. - Nov 23 07:35
Bailing out GM et al. is like bailing out SCO. It makes me angry that they even TALK about it.
Related Posts
Stop Windows Messenger Spam
By Lytle David Smith| Lytle David Smith | |||||||||
|
3/25/04
If you occassionally have a small window appear in the middle of
your Windows computer with some unusual message, you might be
receiving "Messenger Spam". If so, the window's title bar should
say "Messenger Service", or something similar. All too frequently,
the message will be an advertisement for a product that will
prevent ads (like the very one you are reading at the time) from
appearing on your screen. Luckily, you don't have to buy anything
to prevent Messenger Spam.
If you have Windows NT, Windows 2000, or Windows XP, then you have
a service called "Messenger" that is probably running. It's purpose
in life is to display error messages on your screen whenever
something unusual happens on your computer. It is mainly designed
for server-type systems, not really for individual
workstations.
Well some people have too much time on their hands and, as we know
all too well, idle hands are the devils workshop. In this
particular case, those idle hands might be taking it upon
themselves to irritate you.
Basically, what they are doing is probing your computer from the
Internet and finding that you have the Messenger service running.
This tells them that they can send stupid, irritating messages to
your computer and freak you out for absolutely no productive reason
whatsoever.
On your computer, go to Start / Settings / Control Panel /
Administrative Tools / Services. Look for the line that says
"Messenger" in the Name column. Right-click on the word "Messenger"
and choose "Properties" from the context menu. Click the "Stop"
button to stop the current instance of the service, change "Startup
type" to "Disabled" to prevent the service from starting when you
boot your computer, click "OK" to close the Properties dialog box,
then close the Services window. You will no longer be running the
Messenger service, so you will no longer receive those irritating
messages.
The primary targets of Messenger Spam are computers that are
connected directly to the Internet, usually via cable modem or DSL.
Such computers, being connected to the Internet 24/7, are at much
higher risk of some kind of attack from the Internet simply because
they are exposed for much longer periods of time than those
computers that use dial-up connections to access the Internet.
Also, full-time connections like cable and DSL generally maintain
the same IP address for long periods of time. This essentially
makes them sitting ducks, whereas dial-up connections are assigned
a different IP address with each connection, thus making them much
more of a moving target.
If you have a cable or DSL Internet connection, you should consider
installing a router on your network to prevent your system from
being probed from the Internet. Even the least expensive routers
available (using Network Address Translation or NAT) will provide
you with enough of a firewall to largely make your computer
invisible to the Internet. This will prevent Messenger Spam without
stopping the Messenger service. It will also prevent all sorts of
other undesireable activities from affecting your computer, and it
will enable you to easily share your Internet connection between
multiple computers.
Very nice routers are available for well under $100. I am currently
very fond of D-Link routers. They are very cheap and have features,
like Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI) and Port Forwarding, that
until recently were only available on much more expensive
routers.
Enter your email address for automatic notification of new posts here
(be sure to whitelist 'feedburner.com' if you use spam filtering)
| Views for this page | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Today | This Week | This Month | This Year | Overall |
| 2 | 2 | 44 | 503 | 4,310 |
/Security/winmessenger.html copyright April 2004 Lytle David Smith All Rights Reserved
Have you tried Searching this site?
Unix/Linux/Mac OS X support by phone, email or on-site: Support Rates
This is a Unix/Linux resource website. It contains technical articles about Unix, Linux and general computing related subjects, opinion, news, help files, how-to's, tutorials and more. We appreciate comments and article submissions.
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- Nov 23 08:34
So many sites tell me what I MUST do: focus on a niche, have an elevator pitch, all that.. naaaw - I LIKE being scatter brained. - Nov 23 07:35
Bailing out GM et al. is like bailing out SCO. It makes me angry that they even TALK about it.
Related Posts
Stop Windows Messenger Spam
By Lytle David Smith| Lytle David Smith | |||||||||
|
3/25/04
If you occassionally have a small window appear in the middle of
your Windows computer with some unusual message, you might be
receiving "Messenger Spam". If so, the window's title bar should
say "Messenger Service", or something similar. All too frequently,
the message will be an advertisement for a product that will
prevent ads (like the very one you are reading at the time) from
appearing on your screen. Luckily, you don't have to buy anything
to prevent Messenger Spam.
If you have Windows NT, Windows 2000, or Windows XP, then you have
a service called "Messenger" that is probably running. It's purpose
in life is to display error messages on your screen whenever
something unusual happens on your computer. It is mainly designed
for server-type systems, not really for individual
workstations.
Well some people have too much time on their hands and, as we know
all too well, idle hands are the devils workshop. In this
particular case, those idle hands might be taking it upon
themselves to irritate you.
Basically, what they are doing is probing your computer from the
Internet and finding that you have the Messenger service running.
This tells them that they can send stupid, irritating messages to
your computer and freak you out for absolutely no productive reason
whatsoever.
On your computer, go to Start / Settings / Control Panel /
Administrative Tools / Services. Look for the line that says
"Messenger" in the Name column. Right-click on the word "Messenger"
and choose "Properties" from the context menu. Click the "Stop"
button to stop the current instance of the service, change "Startup
type" to "Disabled" to prevent the service from starting when you
boot your computer, click "OK" to close the Properties dialog box,
then close the Services window. You will no longer be running the
Messenger service, so you will no longer receive those irritating
messages.
The primary targets of Messenger Spam are computers that are
connected directly to the Internet, usually via cable modem or DSL.
Such computers, being connected to the Internet 24/7, are at much
higher risk of some kind of attack from the Internet simply because
they are exposed for much longer periods of time than those
computers that use dial-up connections to access the Internet.
Also, full-time connections like cable and DSL generally maintain
the same IP address for long periods of time. This essentially
makes them sitting ducks, whereas dial-up connections are assigned
a different IP address with each connection, thus making them much
more of a moving target.
If you have a cable or DSL Internet connection, you should consider
installing a router on your network to prevent your system from
being probed from the Internet. Even the least expensive routers
available (using Network Address Translation or NAT) will provide
you with enough of a firewall to largely make your computer
invisible to the Internet. This will prevent Messenger Spam without
stopping the Messenger service. It will also prevent all sorts of
other undesireable activities from affecting your computer, and it
will enable you to easily share your Internet connection between
multiple computers.
Very nice routers are available for well under $100. I am currently
very fond of D-Link routers. They are very cheap and have features,
like Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI) and Port Forwarding, that
until recently were only available on much more expensive
routers.
Enter your email address for automatic notification of new posts here
(be sure to whitelist 'feedburner.com' if you use spam filtering)
| Views for this page | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Today | This Week | This Month | This Year | Overall |
| 2 | 2 | 44 | 503 | 4,310 |
/Security/winmessenger.html copyright April 2004 Lytle David Smith All Rights Reserved
Have you tried Searching this site?
Unix/Linux/Mac OS X support by phone, email or on-site: Support Rates
This is a Unix/Linux resource website. It contains technical articles about Unix, Linux and general computing related subjects, opinion, news, help files, how-to's, tutorials and more. We appreciate comments and article submissions.
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- Nov 23 08:34
So many sites tell me what I MUST do: focus on a niche, have an elevator pitch, all that.. naaaw - I LIKE being scatter brained. - Nov 23 07:35
Bailing out GM et al. is like bailing out SCO. It makes me angry that they even TALK about it.
Related Posts
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