|
Spam using Windows Messenger
Spammers are now taking advantage of the built-in Windows
Messenger service. The Messenger service isn't the same as the
Windows Messenger. It allows you to broadcast messages to all
the computers on your network. For example, if you open a
command prompt and type: net send * Hello World
All the computers on your network within "broadcast" range, will
see a dialog box pop up that says "Hello World". Now the dreaded
spammers are actually sending these message service messages
over the Internet! If you see what appears to be a regular
Windows dialog box with "Messenger Service" in the title bar and
then some spam in the body of the dialog box, you've been
"Messenger Service Spammed". If you're running an Internet
firewall, you shouldn't be seeing these messages since the
firewall should be shutting down the ports the service uses.
Another way to stop the messages is to shut down the service.
Here's how: Click Start and then click the Control Panel.
In the Control Panel, click the link on the left side that
allows you to switch to Classic View.
1. Open the Administrative Tools applet.
2. In the Administrative Tools window, open the Services
console.
3. In the Services console, scroll to the Messenger service
entry. Right click on it and click Properties.
4. In the Messenger Properties dialog box, click the Stop
button. After the service stops, click the down arrow in the
Startup type drop down list box and select Disabled. Click Apply
and then click OK.
Now you're protected from these spammers. |