View Full Version : Pop-Up Scammers v USA
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20031106/tc_afp/us_internet_spam_031106204340
Cool, the US government is actually doing something about those ugly grey boxes that come up a million times a day. The article mentions that you can turn off the feature that the scammers are exploiting. I have Windows XP, does anyone know how to turn the feature off?
Stroker Ace
11-06-2003, 02:05 PM
run "services.msc", double click on "Messenger Service", select "disabled", click OK.
Get a firewall if you have broadband.
Stroker Ace
11-06-2003, 02:42 PM
yeah. if you don't get a firewall, none of us cool kids are going to talk to you anymore. it's just not worth our time to fix your problems if you haven't gone out and bought a linksys BEFSR41 for $60.
(http://www.circuitcity.com/detail.jsp?c=1&b=g&qp=0&bookmark=bookmark_0&oid=36450&catoid=-10265)
I'm only half joking here. Everyone needs something like this between them and the internet. It makes home networking thousands of times easier and more reliable than windows ICS would.
I have Windows XP, does anyone know how to turn the feature off?
Better yet on the advanced properties of the connection you use for the Internet, you should turn on Internet Connection Firewall (ICF). What the other guy said about turning off the messenger service is good, but turning on ICF has the added benefit of not having to turn the messenger service off each time you start the machine, as well as protecting you from some other malicious hacks.
I'm only half joking here. Everyone needs something like this between them and the internet. It makes home networking thousands of times easier and more reliable than windows ICS would.
Not that everyone shouldn't have a hardware firewall, but how does owning one make it easier to share an Internet connection? Seems like it's the wrong tool for the job.
]I'm only half joking here. Everyone needs something like this between them and the internet. It makes home networking thousands of times easier and more reliable than windows ICS would.
Not that everyone shouldn't have a hardware firewall, but how does owning one make it easier to share an Internet connection? Seems like it's the wrong tool for the job.
The term "hardware firewall" does, in the home broadband market, refer to one of the NAT/switch boxes.
No, according to IT parlance, it ain't a firewall, but it stops everything from outside from getting in. Couple that with a virus scanner that automatically updates and an anti-adware program thats run every now and then, and the home user is secure.
(And no, the home user doesn't want to answer 300 messages a day from something like blackice defender asking if some random app wants to connect to the internet. There lies GWF syndrome).
The term "hardware firewall" does, in the home broadband market, refer to one of the NAT/switch boxes.
No, according to IT parlance, it ain't a firewall, but it stops everything from outside from getting in.
I think a NAT is considered a firewall, even in the IT space. At least, I've seen it mentioned as such in books and I have always considered it one. I just wasn't sure what he was refering to, since I was too lazy to visit the URL he had posted.
I think you can go too far with personal security. If you know what you're doing, AV software is just a big waste of time and CPU cycles. If fact, I am pissed that I have to have AV software on my home machine to logon to the corprate network. I can disable or uninstall it, but then I have to reinstall even if I just want to log in for a second because now they sniff the state of my machine. As it is, I have to remember to shut it down every time I load a game that's CPU intensive (Halo). I need another box just for the occasional logon to work.
I haven't really used that ad aware stuff much myself. I tried one once, and it pointed out a bunch of cookies it wanted to remove from my machine. That's fine, but it didn't seem like a huge risk to me. Can't I get the same result by just nuking all my cookies myself manually?
Brad Grenz
11-07-2003, 02:14 AM
What the other guy said about turning off the messenger service is good, but turning on ICF has the added benefit of not having to turn the messenger service off each time you start the machine, as well as protecting you from some other malicious hacks.
If you disable a service it stays off. You don't have to do it each time you reboot. And if you're going to use a software firewall you might as well get a good third party one.
Timemaster Tim
11-07-2003, 06:15 AM
I think you can go too far with personal security. If you know what you're doing, AV software is just a big waste of time and CPU cycles.
I hold the same opinion. For the longest time, I ran without an active AV program, and just scan on demand any files that I was suspicious of. But for the longest time, I was the only user of my computer. When it becomes a shared device, then AV software becomes a must unless you are absolute sure that the others who share the machine are as meticulous how and where they acquire files.
If fact, I am pissed that I have to have AV software on my home machine to logon to the corprate network.
You shouldn't take it personally. You are aware that there are lot of people out there who aren't very careful about the files they run. Such a policy makes perfect sense from a security standpoint.
That's fine, but it didn't seem like a huge risk to me. Can't I get the same result by just nuking all my cookies myself manually?
This is primarily a privacy issue rather than any risk to your computer. You could choose to nuke all the cookies yourself, but there may be cookies that you want to keep for sites that you use often, and trust. What Ad-Aware and similar programs do is identify cookies from sites whose sole job is track web usage, and remove them.
If you disable a service it stays off. You don't have to do it each time you reboot.
That's wrong. If you follow the instructions above, the service will turn back on when you reboot.
And if you're going to use a software firewall you might as well get a good third party one.
To which I would say, if you're going to spend money on a firewall, make it hardware firewall.
I hold the same opinion.
Good points about shared computers and benefit of spyware programs. Thanks Tim!
Stroker Ace
11-07-2003, 08:49 AM
If you disable a service it stays off. You don't have to do it each time you reboot.
That's wrong. If you follow the instructions above, the service will turn back on when you reboot.
Setting "Startup Type" to "Disabled" is loosely translated as "turn back on when I reboot"?
If you disable a service it stays off. You don't have to do it each time you reboot.
That's wrong. If you follow the instructions above, the service will turn back on when you reboot.
Setting "Startup Type" to "Disabled" is loosely translated as "turn back on when I reboot"?
I thought I read stop the service. My appologies.
Setting "Startup Type" to "Disabled" is loosely translated as "turn back on when I reboot"?
Actually, if you just change the start up type to disabled, you haven't stopped the service, so you're still getting popup messages until you do reboot.
You're better off turning on the firewall, which starts working immediately without a reboot and continues working even after a reboot.
Stroker Ace
11-07-2003, 09:56 AM
it's true that i didnt bother explaining how to actually STOP the service (click the Stop button or run "net stop messenger").
i disagree about the windows ICF though. i hates it. hates.
i disagree about the windows ICF though. i hates it. hates.
A personal vendetta against Microsoft or whatever, I guess. That's lame. Here's a person that would directly benefit from turning ICF on, too.
uh, the knowledgable people are supposed to help the ones who don't know any better. Get with the program, Ace! :)
Stroker Ace
11-07-2003, 01:29 PM
i've got no problem with MS, and i'm sure the ICF is beneficial to a certain class of users, but in my experience, it's just gotten in my way. i prefer the timemaster tim school of administration.
i'll concede that the ICF is a good thing, especially since 9x computers didn't have any sort of protection.
Alan Au
11-07-2003, 02:44 PM
I set mine to "Manual" and haven't had any problems. Of course, I also have the ICF turned on, combined with draconian ZoneAlarm settings and regular spyware sweeps.
- Alan
What is the latest and greatest spyware program available?
Stroker Ace
11-07-2003, 03:30 PM
i still use ad-aware, the cool kids always tell me to use spybot instead.
i still use ad-aware, the cool kids always tell me to use spybot instead.
Thanks, Stoker Ace. I will give it another shot and see what I think.
Use both Ad-Aware and Spybot. Each often detect stuff that the other doesn't.
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