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TIPS

Windows pop-up spam

In the true sense of the word "spam", these pop-up windows are not spam, but simply similar uninitiated annoyances similar to spam, which is specific to unsolicited e-mail.

Are you getting hit with all types of pop-up windows that advertise everything from earning a diploma to becoming an instant winner? There are two distinct types of pop-up windows that you may be experiencing:

Those received as the result of the Microsoft Windows Messenger Service (image 1, below).

This service is on by default in the Windows operating system.

  1. Those received as a result of visiting a particular web site (image 2, below)

The pop-up windows look something like the following:


Image 1 - Windows Messenger Service pop-up


Image 2 - Web browser pop-up

In truth, these are harmless, except they are unsolicited by you and becoming an ever increasing annoyance factor.

Windows Messenger pop-up elimination...


Instructions to stop the Messenger pop-up windows

To stop the first type (Messenger) of pop-up windows from appearing, read the following:
You can disable the Messenger service on your Windows operating system by following either the abbreviated instructions, below, or by opening or downloading-and-opening the Acrobat step-by-step instructions further below.

The abbreviated instructions contained in the above documents follows:

What can you do? Whether you are running Symantec's Desktop Firewall (SDF) or no Client desktop firewall at all, simply set the Microsoft Windows Messenger service "Start Up Type" to Manual and reboot:

Windows XP

  1. Open a command prompt by selecting Start > All Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt
  2. At the command prompt (C:\>), enter the command services.msc
  3. In the Services panel, scroll down through the list until you find the Messenger service entry. You may need to expand or maximize the Services window to see everything.
  4. Single right click on the Messenger entry and select Properties from the pull-down menu that appears.
  5. In the Messenger Properties panel, click on the pull-down tab next to Startup type:
    and select Manual (it's probably set to Automatic now).
  6. Click on Apply and then on OK to close the Messenger Properties panel.
  7. Close the Services panel and restart your computer.


Windows 2000
1. Click on Start (on the Taskbar), select Settings, and then select Control Panel.
2. In the Control panel, open the Administrative Tools folder.
3. In the Administrative Tools folder, double click on Services.
4. In the Services panel, scroll down through the list until you find the Messenger service entry. You may need to expand or maximize the Services window to see everything.
5. Single right click on the Messenger entry and select Properties from the pull-down menu that appears.
6. In the Messenger Properties panel, click on the pull-down tab next to Startup type: and select Manual (it's probably set to Automatic now).
7. Click on Apply and then on OK to close the Messenger Properties panel.
8. Close the Services panel and restart your computer.

Windows NT 4
1. Click on Start (on the Taskbar), select Settings, and then select Control Panel.
2. In the Control panel, select on Services.
3. Find the Messenger service. Click on it one time to select it.
4. Click the Start Up button, select Manual.
5. Click OK.
6. Close the Services panel and restart your computer.

NOTE: We don't recommend disabling the service like that external site below does. Setting the service to manual will allow the Windows operating system to start the service if any valid application ever needs it.

More detailed, step-by-step instructions to disable the Windows Messenger service with screen shots can be found by opening or downloading and opening the following Acrobat files:
For further details on the Messenger pop-up unsolicited spam that you are receiving, the following details are provided for information purposes only.

Geek.com October issue:

"Just when you thought e-mail spam was bad enough, along comes Direct Advertiser software, which can send pop-up messages directly to users' desktops. These pop-up messages appear even if the user is not in e-mail or an Internet browser. The software utilizes Microsoft's Messenger Windows service, which is turned on by default (on WinNT, 2000, and XP systems) and used by administrators to send messages to users on the network. This is different from the MSN Messenger instant message software.

The Messenger service normally uses ports 137 and 139, which are usually protected; but the DirectAdvertiser software seemingly allows pop-up ads to use port 135, which is normally left open on firewalls for the Microsoft RPC service. James Madison University has already been a target of the new Messenger spam attacks. University IT staff began hearing from users who were receiving pop-up messages for university diplomas.

According to Zoltan Kovacs, founder of DirectAdvertiser.com, 200 copies of the software have been sold so far. The company website states that the "messages are completely anonymous and virtually untraceable." It also markets the idea that "Bulk email is regulated by different laws in different states, instant messages are not." The software retails for US$699.

Some security experts believe network administrators can protect themselves from Messenger spam (which also goes by the name "NetBIOS spam," after the networking protocol) by disabling the Messenger service on users' computers, and by properly configuring their firewall."

Read more about Messenger Service pop-up spam

Web Browser Pop-up Elimination...

The second type of pop-up, which is Web browser based and a result of visiting a Web site, is much more difficult to stop. There are alternative browsers which provide Web page pop-up stoppers, such as Mozilla (select from within Mozilla: Edit->Preferences->Advanced->Scripts and Plugins, uncheck the box for "Open unrequested windows"). At this time, though, such alternative browsers are unsupported.

Various 3rd-party "pop-up" killers are available on the market, with varying degrees of success. And as the web sites become more intelligent, many tend to find ways around such 3rd-party software solutions. IBM is evaluating various solutions to resolve this issue, but there is nothing available at this time.
Visit the IT Security Tools site for further infomration about spyware and other security related tools.
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