Messenger Service

[Moiseszaragoza]

Ok I have been getting a error on this machine that goes

Messegin Service on the Title bar

then:

Message from SYSTEM ALERT TO <IP> on <DATE> <Time>

Your Windows registry my be corrupt.
A complere system scan recommended.

http://FixMS.net

Scan now with a free download




any Ideas how to stop that pop up?

Thanks

 

[Fiziks]

Spyware

first of all, do NOT click that link, secondly, get spysweeper and adaware... and possibly antivirus if you have none

also may I suggest blocking IE from accessing the internet and downloading firefox or opera
and for the registry scan (if this IS legit) get CCleaner from download.com

 

[Spike]

right-click "my computer" and select manage. double click services and applications, and then services.

scroll down to the "messenger service", double click it, and set its startup type to "disabled. Apply, close the properties sheet, stop the service, and close the window.

 

[Fiziks]

?

well, what if he USES messenger, this sounds more along the lines of a program not affiliated with the messenger service if [messegin service] is what it says, then run a sweep for viruses and spyware

 

[Spike]

looks to me like a mistype, given that the title names the messenger service correctly. The popups he describes are identical to the pop-ups from messages sent using the net send command. The chances of the messnger service being in use are pretty slim - it's rarely used by anyone other than system/network admins, and even then they have better ways of sending the messages if required.

The chances are it's the messenger service running, and that it's not needed. If it's not the messenger service, no harm will have been done by disabling it anyway. It's a whole lot easier to solve problems the easy and most likely way first rather than scanning the machine with various programs, which takes time and effort that may well not be required.

 

[Fiziks]

ok it won't hurt.. but it's ALWAYS neccessary to scan for unwanted programs/spyware, It seems to me like those are the reasons why half the users post in this forum.. sure it's easier to solve problems the (ahem) "easy" way.. but um, without security; the problem and many more problems could "pop-up" and then we'll be here again addressing essentially the same thing..

 

[Spike]

lol. It's not always nessecary at all I do it uite rarely. If I get a virus, by AV will tell me. If I get adware or spyware, I'll know already 9 times in 10 from my systems behaviour.

Security stuff is a "security and the web" forum thing, and in the unlikely event that this turns out to be a security issue, I'll move the thread there. anti-spyware scanning is a habitual thing anyway. If he had something, he'd probably know, and if he didn't know, he probably wouldn't care.

The messenger service is a problem that can only be fixed one of two ways - by turning it off, or using a NATed/firewalled connection (the firewall option would have to be specificall set to stop it though). The easy way is just THE way of fixing it. Honestly, if I took my machine to a shop to disable the messenger service, and they scanned and overhauled it, and then charged me for the priviledge, I wouldn't be happy. Simple problem = simple solution usually.

Best just to give the answer to the immediate problem sometimes if it's simple. If the user then has a completely different problem they haven't told you about then they'll ask about it.

 

[Fiziks]

ok very well, let's just wait and see... firstly we're assuming he mistyped his question, and secondly.. why would the popup address him to go to FixMS.net (an obviously bogus website)

I wanna know if this is an explorer dialogue or if it's an IE popup...

and lastly, why the hell would this happen in the first place if he DID have sufficient security on his system... unless he loves clicking ads..

spike, these factors are most important, in fact I'd put money on spyware.. sure it may use the mess service, and disabling it doesn't remove the problem, it just inhibits that certain function, (the broadcast)

 

[Spike]

*sigh*

ok very well, let's just wait and see... firstly we're assuming he mistyped his question, and secondly.. why would the popup address him to go to FixMS.net (an obviously bogus website)

Well, it's less of an assumption and more of an educated guess - given that his title specifically says "messenger service". as to why the popup would tell him to go to a bogus site, well, it's because that's what messenger spam does. It can't do anything else.

and lastly, why the hell would this happen in the first place if he DID have sufficient security on his system... unless he loves clicking ads..

All that's happening is he's getting popups. He could be using XPSP1, and messenger would then be enabled by default. Even WITH otherwise sufficient security, messenger popups will still happen because it's a normal part of windows. That is, untill you turn the service off.

spike, these factors are most important, in fact I'd put money on spyware.. sure it may use the mess service, and disabling it doesn't remove the problem, it just inhibits that certain function, (the broadcast)

As a person who's not gotten any significant problems in the last few years, and even wrote a sticky on making XP more secure, I think I know what's significant, and so there's really no need to be patronising (not that that makes me an expert - it shows that I'm at least competant). Actually, I think you'll find thhat disabling the messenger service DOES fix the problem of messenger spam. Disabling the service prevents both the broadcasting and recieving of net send alerts.

All I've done is offered the specific solution to the specific problem that was given. If he has a further problem after the solution is tried, then we can look at the more complex issue. However, there's no point making a mountain out of a molehill, untill you have proven first that it's really a mountain - that's just plain common sense.

Can we please leave it there now, because really, is this going anywhere? If he has a further problem, he'll come back and say as much. If he's solved it, he probably won't say so, because many don't (as nice as it would be for them to do so).

 

[Fiziks]

sorry, I disagree.. there is, in fact, a point in going an extra mile...

also I have had messenger enabled since the beginning of time (2003), recently disabled it (not for any particular reason, just to clean up boot time and whatnot) and never once have had any problems with my system (hardware problems excluded)

let's just let the guy try these methods, I know both of our diagn. together WILL undoubtedly cure the problem but what's the point of doing one or the other when only doing that will again leave the system vulnerable

 

[mtraverso]

adaware

I had run adaware on my pc but i couldn´t find any threat about it. I really use messenger service so I can´t disable it, and my norton antivirus neither finds it.
thanks
matias

 

[Spike]

you mean you use the "net send" command, or that you use windows or msn messenger?

 

[mtraverso]

yes, that's what i mean, it's because it causes me less trouble with my pc.

 

[Spike]

lol. Which of them do you use?