Re: pop ups

From: Bruce Chambers (bchambers_at_nospam.cableone.net)
Date: 07/13/03


Date: Sun, 13 Jul 2003 08:54:33 -0600


Greetings --

    I do wish you would stop posting potentially harmful advice.
Disabling the messenger service is a "head in the sand" approach to
computer security.

    The real problem is _not_ the messenger service pop-ups; they're
actually providing a useful service by acting as a security alert. The
true problem is the unsecured computer, and you're only
advice, however well-intended, was to turn off the warnings. How is
this helpful?

    Equivalent Scenario 1: Somewhere in a house, a small fire starts,
and sets off the smoke alarm. The home-owner, not immediately seeing
any fire/smoke, complains about the noise of the smoke detector, so
you tell him to remove the smoke detector's battery and go back to
sleep, or whatever else he was doing.

    Equivalent Scenario 2: You over-exert your shoulder at work or
play, causing bursitis. After weeks of annoying and sometimes
excruciating pain whenever you try to reach over your head, you go to
a doctor and say, while demonstrating the motion, "Doc, it hurts when
I do this." The doctor, being as helpful as you are, replies, "Well,
don't do that."

    The only true way to secure the PC is to *properly* configure the
firewall; just installing one and letting it's default settings handle
things is no good. Unfortunately, this does require one to learn a
little bit more about using a computer than used to be necessary.

Bruce Chambers

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"Waitak Shiu" <shiuwaitak@aol.com> wrote in message
news:030a01c348f9$fcec7f80$a401280a@phx.gbl...
> You are not alone.
>
> Turning the Messenger function off may help.
>
> Control Panel>Performance and Maintenance>Administrative
> Tools>Services>Select Messenger and change the StartUp
> Type from Auto to Disabled
>
> Good Luck.
>
> >-----Original Message-----
> >is there any programs in windows xp that will help me
> with
> >popups ? i get so many it's to the point where i can't
> work
> >online... even if im just sitting at my desk pad...any
> >suggestions?
> >.
> >


Relevant Pages

  • Re: Pop Ups
    ... but please don't post potentially harmful advice. ... "head in the sand" approach to computer security that leaves the PC ... >> I keep getting automated pop ups very often from messenger service ...
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  • Re: Windows System Error: Spyware Detected
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  • Re: Spyware - messenger service popup
    ... but please don't post potentially harmful advice. ... than a "head in the sand" approach to computer security that leaves ... excruciating pain whenever you try to reach over your head, ... > the services applet and stopping the messenger service. ...
    (microsoft.public.security.virus)
  • Re: messenger service
    ... approach to computer security that leaves the PC vulnerable to threats ... excruciating pain whenever you try to reach over your head, ... is to install and *properly* configure a firewall; ... >> messages called messenger service keep poping on my screen whenever ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
  • Re: messenger service popups
    ... Disabling the messenger service is a "head in the sand" approach to ... computer security. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.security_admin)