Re: Pop Ups

From: Jay (anonymous_at_discussions.microsoft.com)
Date: 11/15/03 

Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 09:40:35 -0800

Thanks for the information...

My guess is that the pop ups are of either the second or
third variety you
listed...I don't know how to tell he difference. Either
way somehow when I use
the short cuts to get to Windows Explorer it initiates my
IE browser to web
sites I just don't have any interest in seeing. I've been
contemplating just
re-formating the hard drive and reinstalling
software...but that can be a
pain.

Again thanks and I'll try some of your suggestions before
I go through and
dismantle my system.

Jay Thomas

>-----Original Message-----
>Greetings --
>
> There are at least three varieties of pop-ups, and the
solutions
>vary accordingly. Which specific type(s) is troubling
you?
>
> 1) Does the title bar of these pop-ups
read "Messenger Service?"
>
> This type of spam has become quite common over the
past year, and
>unintentionally serves as a valid security "alert." It
demonstrates
>that you haven't been taking sufficient precautions while
connected to
>the Internet. Your data probably hasn't been compromised
by these
>specific advertisements, but if you're open to this
exploit, you may
>well be open to other threats, such as the Blaster Worm
that recently
>swept cross the Internet. Install and use a decent,
properly
>configured firewall. (Merely disabling the messenger
service, as some
>people recommend, only hides the symptom, and does almost
nothing to
>truly secure your machine.) And ignoring or
just "putting up with"
>the security gap represented by these messages is
particularly
>foolish.
>
>Messenger Service of Windows
>http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-
us;168893
>
>Messenger Service Window That Contains an Internet
Advertisement
>Appears
>http://support.microsoft.com/?id=330904
>
>Blocking Ads, Parasites, and Hijackers with a Hosts File
>http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm
>
> Oh, and be especially wary of people who advise you
to do nothing
>more than disable the messenger service. Disabling the
messenger
>service, by itself, 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, if annoying, service
by acting as
>a security alert. The true problem is the unsecured
computer, and
>you've been advised to merely turn off the warnings. How
is this
>helpful?
>
> 2) For regular Internet pop-ups, you might try the
free 12Ghosts
>Popup-killer from http://12ghosts.com/ghosts/popup.htm,
Pop-Up Stopper
>from http://www.panicware.com/, or the Google Toolbar
from
>http://toolbar.google.com/. Myself, I use Norton
Internet Security,
>which, in addition to containing Norton Anti-Virus and
Personal
>Firewall, also blocks many of the pop-up adds on the
Internet.
>
> 3) To deal with pop-ups caused by any sort
of "adware" and/or
>"spyware,"such as Gator, Comet Cursors, Xupiter, Bonzai
Buddy, or
>KaZaA, and their remnants, that you've deliberately (but
without
>understanding the consequences) installed, two products
that are
>quite effective (at finding and removing this type of
scumware) are
>Ad-Aware from www.lavasoft.de and SpyBot Search & Destroy
from
>http://security.kolla.de/. Both have free versions.
It's even
>possible to use SpyBot Search & Destroy to "immunize"
your system
>against most future intrusions. I use both and generally
perform
>manual scans every week or so to clean out cookies, etc.
>
>
>Bruce Chambers
>
>--
>Help us help you:
>http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
>http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
>
>You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever
count on
>having both at once. -- RAH
>
>
>"Jay Thomas" <anonymous@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote
in message
>news:03f801c3ab21$55a47ea0$a501280a@phx.gbl...
>> When the RH mouse button is clicked when cursor is on
>> Windows Start icon a menu comes up...when Explore is
>> clicked a Windows Explorer opens...closely followed by
pop
>> ups. Pop up sites that are unwanted and they sometimes
>> spawn other sites.
>>
>> I have disabled Windows Messenger and have my brower set
>> to not accept FTP sites. I have a third party browser
>> cleaner, browser cleanser, that I use to clear the
browser
>> files.
>>
>> After the initial usage of Windows Explorer and the pop
>> ups are all cleared, the rest of the session is not
>> affected.
>>
>> Any suggestions please.
>
>
>.
>