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Kill
The Messenger (Service)
Author:
Stephen Bucaro
You
are familiar with the software applications that you run on your
computer, but you may not be familiar with the dozens of programs
running in the background on your computer. These programs, called
"services" handle tasks like event logging, spooling
files to the printer, and networking. One of these services, the
Messenger Service, can be reconnoitered by spammers.
The
original purpose of the Messenger Service was to allow system
administrators to send a message to some or all of the users on
a network. The message appears in a popup window to alert the
users. Messenger Service is not instant-messaging. It does not
allow the users to respond.
All
Windows versions install Messenger Service and turn it on by default.
A program freely available from the Internet allows spammers to
control the Messenger Service on hundreds of thousands of computers
on the Web. Users receive popup spam windows that are not generated
by the website they are visiting.
If
your computer is on a network behind a firewall, or you have a
firewall application installed on your computer, it can be configured
to block access to the Messenger Service. Most firewalls are configured
by default to block access to the Messenger Service. If not, configure
your firewall to block port 135, the port used by Messenger Service.
Microsoft,
in their ignorance of computer security, likes to leave "back
doors" to your computer open. But they finally wised up and
Windows XP Service Pack 2 turns off the Messenger Service. If
you are running Windows XP, your best bet would be to install
Service Pack 2 to turn off the Messenger Service and close several
other security holes.
If
you are running Windows 2000, you can turn off the Messenger Service
manually. Select "Run..." in the Start menu and in the"Open:"
text box type services.msc, then click on the "OK" button.
In the "Services" window that appears, right-click on"Messenger".
In the "Properties" dialog box that appears, click on
the "Stop" button and then in the "Startup Type"
drop-down
list select "Disabled". Then click on the "OK"
button.
If
you are running Windows NT, select "Services" in the"Adminstrative
Tools" utility. Then disable the Messenger Service as described
above. If you are running Windows 95/98/Me, you can't disable
Messenger Service, you need to remove it. Use the "Add/Remove
Programs" utility in Control Panel to view the details of
"System Tools". Uncheck the box next to "WinPopUp".
Now,
with the Messenger Service on your computer disabled or removed,
spammers will have to go back to annoying you the old fashion
way - with spam email.
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This
article is written by a guest writer. The views and opinions within
this article are those of the author and are not those of Detechnify.com
You
can get details of the writer at the end of the article.
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