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by **Lester** » Mon 2006 Dec 25 10:03

Can't use net with all these Messenger Service Signs poping in telling me Registy is corrupted and Registry Scan Recommended and to go to msregistrycleaner.com and download the repair. I did untill it required $39.95 for the repair. Should I do this? Are they legitimate? Is there another way? Win 2000. Stuck Lester.

by **Krank** » Tue 2006 Dec 26 7:43

I'm confused dear...
Are we talking windows mssg, yahoo or msn mssg?

Note there is always a cheaper way of solving this, if we are talking about a chatproggie, format the hd is cheaper trust me:)

by **Walts** » Tue 2006 Dec 26 3:44

Â
Folks -

I believe Lester is talking about pesky pop-up adware(s).

Lester -

I believe you're referring to pop-up advertisements that try and get you to buy their product(s).

Known as ADWARE [AD(vertisement soft)WARE], they are a form of MALWARE [MAL(alicious soft)WARE] and you need not, nor should you ever obtain software just as a result of Adware.

For more info see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adware and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malware

Â :yy:

by **Spock** » Tue 2006 Dec 26 4:44

Sounds like you need to run SpyBot S&D ... just like we do in the classroom.

by **Ben Last** » Tue 2006 Dec 26 8:57

Hi, it sounds to me as though the popups you are getting are being delivered by the Messenger Service, which has nothing to do with the Windows/MSN Messenger Instant messaging clients.
This feature is used within network environments to deliver messages to clients, and is not often used in the home environment.

In Windows 2000 this service is enabled by default, and if your internet firewall is not correctly set will allow popups to be sent from the internet.

You can stop the popups by either disabling the service via Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Services
...or (recommended method) by configuring your firewall to block the traffic on the ports used by the messenger service (UDP ports 135, 137 and 138 - TCP ports 135, 139 and 445).

Read the Microsoft Article on how to stop messenger popups:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/330904

by **Lester** » Wed 2006 Dec 27 3:26

Will try all these issues and report more after study. Didn't see any adds and not sure where the messages are from. When I on net only. Sincerely

by **Lester** » Wed 2006 Dec 27 8:51

Tried to reg with Spybot and they want $20. Should I go with that? I'm getting bombarded now. A dozen at a time. Not fun. On the bottom of one message: Failure to get scan may lead to DATA LOSS OR CORRUPTION :cry2:

by **Repr** » Thu 2006 Dec 28 7:24

Lester wrote:Tried to reg with Spybot and they want $20. Should I go with that? I'm getting bombarded now. A dozen at a time. Not fun. On the bottom of one message: Failure to get scan may lead to DATA LOSS OR CORRUPTION

spybot and ad-aware are those kind of software you must have at all time. they cost a bit but you just cant do without imo

by **Ben Last** » Thu 2006 Dec 28 6:18

Try disabling the service and see if this stops the popups, if it helps then you know you need to tweak your firewall, if not you can enable it again and look into other possible causes.

by **Lester** » Sat 2007 Jan 27 6:08

Ben Last, I can't believe it. Finally got Messenger Service Signs to stop. Been dealing with this for 3 months. Really wanted to get the SLEDGE HAMMER. Found Messenger --located in Services--Description says, "Sends and recieves messages transmitted by administrators or by the Alerter service. Is this the service within my computer or the OS? Can you explain more? This is a load off my mind. Good Blues Song. Sincerely, Thanks Now I Can Relax Little. Did in fact go with a paid $20. version of Spybot and scanned but did not help. Happy as a clammm

by **Ben Last** » Sat 2007 Jan 27 9:47

It's good to hear you fixed your problem without having to resort to the sledge hammer (although it probably would have stopped the pop-ups

)

The Messenger service is a program which is built into Windows 2000 & XP which is designed to allow clients on corporate networks to send messages, for example "Server X will be shutdown for maintenance in 30 mins...".

If the service is enabled and your firewall does not block the ports it uses then messages can be send to you from the Internet, usually "your registry is corrupt" type message, which tries to get you to purchase some software you don't need (which may end up leaving you with viruses etc).

I'm guessing that you've disabled it in the Services panel, doing this will stop the messages being displayed on your PC, but does not stop the traffic being received by your computer, I would recommend that you try and block the traffic with your firewall - as this will ensure that people cannot 'hack' into your computer.

In your firewall there is usually an option to block specific ports, just add in the ports that the messenger service uses (see my previous post) and tell it to block all traffic to that port. If your firewall is blocking successfully you should be able to run the service and not receive any pop-ups.

Hope this helps, feel free to ask any further questions!
...and remember, there's (almost) always a better solution than a sledge hammer!

by **Lester** » Mon 2007 Jan 29 9:03

Yes, I found in Services the Messenger and disabled it for now. As stated it is a way to get around the messages. Still working on a Firewall and was wondering if I should try a free one 1st? And I can't get this out of my mind. Why did all the messages tell me my registy is corrupted or needs to be fixed? 25 Web Sites all registry related. Still working great.

by **Spock** » Mon 2007 Jan 29 10:15

Lester wrote:... Why did all the messages tell me my registry is corrupted or needs to be fixed? ...

They were trying to scare you into buying their software. }:-<

If you look on any NavBar and go to Links\Freeware\Security, you should find at least one free firewall option there. If you have any troubles, don't hesitate to come back and ask more questions.

by **Ben Last** » Mon 2007 Feb 05 4:35

Spock is correct, the registry messages you saw were just adverts trying to get you to buy their software.

If you are using the Internet then you really really really should have a firewall (either hardware or software) running.

I'd highly recommend that you install one if you do not have one currently, a free one will almost certainly do everything that you want.

Personally I use ZoneAlarm, although I dislike the interface.

by **Lester** » Sun 2007 Feb 11 12:46

I still don't believe it. Installed Spysweeper and it worked. I enabled the messanger again and no messages. Now, Does this mean at this moment my comp is free of the intrusion but may return without a firewall? Thanks

by **Ben Last** » Fri 2007 Feb 16 9:59

Yes Lester, while you have a firewall running your pc should be safe. If you later remove the firewall then you will be back where you started - at risk (and getting popups).

What product have you installed?
As when I searched for Spysweeper the only result I got was for Webroot Spysweeper, which appears (from a quick look) to be more of a spyware scanner than a firewall.
Prehaps others have come across this software?

You can check to see if your pc if secure by going to http://scan.sygate.com/home_homeoffice/sygate/index.jsp and clicking 'scan your computer'.

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