Harder to kill than a Dalek

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Hi all,
Pop ups like the capture attached has started to pop up recently, and I suspect is bogging my system down big time. I can

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See The Definitive Guide to Disable/Remove Messenger.

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Looks to me like you have picked up something pestilential, since this is quite obviously NOT a Windows system message! It is presumably to frighten you into buying that program…

If you have run Spybot Search and Destroy, do Mode -> Advanced Mode, then click on Tools (at the bottom of the left-hand pane), then on System Startup. Have a look to see if there’s anything which seems unusual in there. You can write this data to a text file using the Export function. With a great deal of effort, you will find it written to C:Documents and SettingsAll UsersApplication DataSpybot – Search & DestroyLogs (or similar).

If there’s nothing obviously wrong, you should download and install to a directory such as C:HJT, the HiJackThis program. Note the tutorial which has a link in the third paragraph.

John

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> Looks to me like you have picked up something pestilential

Or even something pestiferous.

Alan

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Have a look at the thread Fake MSN Messenger?

There might be some links there that help.

Alan

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Leif’s answer is the correct solution here. There is a specific utility that has been created just for this purpose. “This utility will allow you to disable Windows Messenger on per-user basis, or on a machine wide basis. Download the ZIP file and extract MessengerDisable.exe to your hard drive. You can either double click the EXE file, or create a shortcut to it, as you prefer. You can, optionally, use this utility to remove Windows Messenger from your machine. You may need Administrator level privileges to run this program.”

You can find it here.

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This looks more like something from the Windows Messenger Service which is not either of the Instant Messenger programs MS has. It is a service that is used by administrators to send messages in a lan environment. To disable the Messenger Service right click My Computer and select Manage. Then click on the ‘+’ next to ‘Service and Applications’. Click on ‘Services’. In the right pane a list of defined service will appear. Find the service named Messenger. Right Click and select ‘Properties’. Click the ‘Stop’ button and the on the ‘Startup Type’ drop down select ‘Disabled’. OK your way out.

Joe

--Joe

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Try this Steve Gibson program http://www.grc.com/stm/shootthemessenger.htm%5B/url%5D

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I have this feeling I am missing something fundamental here.

What appears to me to be happening is that a piece of malware is using Windows Messenger (either the “real” one or a fake equivalent) to display “frightening” messages, in the hope that the user will buy some program or other. Almost everyone is suggesting “Shooting the Messenger” as a way of removing the problem.

Fine, that will stop the messages being issued, but surely it does nothing to get rid of the underlying malware?

If I have got this entirely wrong, please explain kindly where my error lies…

Thanks

John

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If advertisements are opening on your computer in a window titled Messenger Service, it may indicate that your system is not secure. You should enable the Internet Connection Firewall and disable the Messenger Service in Windows XP to help protect your computer from unwanted spam and other potential threats.

I take it you are assuming the source of the message is local. It appears that it could be anywhere on the internet, myself and others pointing towards disabling the Messenger Service.

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That was indeed my assumption! Thanks!

John

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The utility I linked to, MessengerDisable does the same thing but gives you the ability to disable the service on a user-by-user basis. Just a bit more flexibility for the same price.

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Thanks for all the tips so far folks, I will try them all.

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