I have a technical problem, and I was hoping someone would know what was going on.
I'm running WindowsXP, and lately I've been getting messages popping up on my screen in the form of a window titled "Messenger Service" where the window contains some sort of spam. This happens even if I'm not running Windows Messenger or AIM or anything like that. I've set Windows Messenger to not load on startup, and this still happens. Any idea what this is?
You are probably experiencing what has come to be a common problem with Windows machines - sneakly little programs that do something simple like data mining your system while you are browsing or even the extreme of hijacking it to make changes and display ads like the one you see. They get installed by taking advantage of your system when it recieves cookies/filesharing, etc. I'd recommend getting this program by Lavasoft: http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/ and running it a few times a month. Its free, fast and it has worked on all my system spam like yours.
[quote] I have a technical problem, and I was hoping someone would know what was going on.
I'm running WindowsXP, and lately I've been getting messages popping up on my screen in the form of a window titled "Messenger Service" where the window contains some sort of spam. This happens even if I'm not running Windows Messenger or AIM or anything like that. I've set Windows Messenger to not load on startup, and this still happens. Any idea what this is?
Adaware is a great program, and you should definately run it every once in a while, but the kinds of things it stops aren't what's causing this.
There's a function of NetBIOS (the protocol that Windows uses for file and printer sharing) that allows for sending messages over a network. It's been in NetBIOS forever, but spamers have recently discovered it, and they're abusing the hell out of it. That's what you're seeing.
To stop it you can remove NetBIOS, but if you ever want to do anything with a LAN you're going to need it, so the best bet is to setup a firewall. I'd recommend hardware, routers are pretty cheap these days, but baring that you can go with a software firewall like ZoneAlarm.
If you don't want to mess with configuring a firewall to forward the ports that you need, you could have it pass everything but the ports NetBIOS uses, 137, 138, and 139.
Got to:
Start -> Control Panel -> Performance and Maintenance -> Administrative Tools -> double click on the "Services" icon and scroll down to "Messenger", right click on it and go to "properties".
Under the General tab there's a drop down menu called "Startup Type:", highlight "Disabled" in that menu. Hit "Apply" and you'll not be bothered again.
[quote] You are probably experiencing what has come to be a common problem with Windows machines - sneakly little programs that do something simple like data mining your system while you are browsing or even the extreme of hijacking it to make changes and display ads like the one you see. They get installed by taking advantage of your system when it recieves cookies/filesharing, etc. I'd recommend getting this program by Lavasoft: http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/ and running it a few times a month. Its free, fast and it has worked on all my system spam like yours.
[/quote] I've now installed AdAware, even if it isn't the fix to this problem, it's good to have.
To stop it you can remove NetBIOS, but if you ever want to do
anything with a LAN you're going to need it, so the best bet is
to setup a firewall. I'd recommend hardware, routers are pretty
cheap these days, but baring that you can go with a software
firewall like ZoneAlarm.
Speaking of firewalls, what would people suggest in a hardware firewall?
Comments
I'm running WindowsXP, and lately I've been getting messages popping up on my screen in the form of a window titled "Messenger Service" where the window contains some sort of spam. This happens even if I'm not running Windows Messenger or AIM or anything like that. I've set Windows Messenger to not load on startup, and this still happens. Any idea what this is?
Any help is appreciated.
- Kodiak
You are probably experiencing what has come to be a common problem with Windows machines - sneakly little programs that do something simple like data mining your system while you are browsing or even the extreme of hijacking it to make changes and display ads like the one you see. They get installed by taking advantage of your system when it recieves cookies/filesharing, etc. I'd recommend getting this program by Lavasoft: http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/ and running it a few times a month. Its free, fast and it has worked on all my system spam like yours.
[quote]
I have a technical problem, and I was hoping someone would know
what was going on.
I'm running WindowsXP, and lately I've been getting messages
popping up on my screen in the form of a window titled
"Messenger Service" where the window contains some
sort of spam. This happens even if I'm not running Windows
Messenger or AIM or anything like that. I've set Windows
Messenger to not load on startup, and this still happens. Any
idea what this is?
Any help is appreciated.
- Kodiak
[/quote]
Adaware is a great program, and you should definately run it every once in a while, but the kinds of things it stops aren't what's causing this.
There's a function of NetBIOS (the protocol that Windows uses for file and printer sharing) that allows for sending messages over a network. It's been in NetBIOS forever, but spamers have recently discovered it, and they're abusing the hell out of it. That's what you're seeing.
To stop it you can remove NetBIOS, but if you ever want to do anything with a LAN you're going to need it, so the best bet is to setup a firewall. I'd recommend hardware, routers are pretty cheap these days, but baring that you can go with a software firewall like ZoneAlarm.
If you don't want to mess with configuring a firewall to forward the ports that you need, you could have it pass everything but the ports NetBIOS uses, 137, 138, and 139.
-Mori
Got to:
Start -> Control Panel -> Performance and Maintenance -> Administrative Tools -> double click on the "Services" icon and scroll down to "Messenger", right click on it and go to "properties".
Under the General tab there's a drop down menu called "Startup Type:", highlight "Disabled" in that menu. Hit "Apply" and you'll not be bothered again.
-Croaker-
I made the change. Thanks alot!
- Kodiak
[quote]
You are probably experiencing what has come to be a common
problem with Windows machines - sneakly little programs that do
something simple like data mining your system while you are
browsing or even the extreme of hijacking it to make changes and
display ads like the one you see. They get installed by taking
advantage of your system when it recieves cookies/filesharing,
etc. I'd recommend getting this program by Lavasoft:
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/ and running it a
few times a month. Its free, fast and it has worked on all my
system spam like yours.
[/quote]
I've now installed AdAware, even if it isn't the fix to this problem, it's good to have.
- Kodiak
Speaking of firewalls, what would people suggest in a hardware firewall?
- Kodiak