Messenger Pop-ups

I just re-installed my OS, (XP Pro) and since I did, I'm getting lots of irritating pop-ups in MSN Messenger. Does anyone know how to get rid of them? I would be very grateful if anyone has the answer.

Incidentally, installing "Adaware 6.0" didn't stop them.

Thanks in advance guys........BoXXi

10,687 views 35 replies
Reply #1 Top
I got Pop-Up Stopper, a FREEBIE, and it works great. It gets rid of all pop-ups. I would get them all day long when I was trying to work on my computer and it was so irritating. This one works for me. I have Windows XP if that makes any difference, wouldn't think so.



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Reply #2 Top
One sure fire way...disable MSN Messenger
Reply #3 Top
Try Gibson Research,,,The application is called Shoot the Messenger,It's on the freeware page. http://grc.com/freepopular.htm



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Reply #4 Top
I should add, I got Pop-Up Stopper by typing pop-ups in the address bar and this was one of many that popped up. There were several but they were either ones you had to buy or did not stop MSN pop-ups. This was free and did the job.



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Reply #5 Top
I just got Citizen Brazil's download above and it seems like it would work faster and better than the Pop-Up Stopper I suggested. Thanks Brazil



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Reply #6 Top

Thanks for the info guys......

Patrick(Brazil): I got "Shoot the messenger" and it seems to have worked. It disabled Messenger completely at first, but I restarted it and it seems to be working o.k. I just hope it stops those annoying messages while still allowing me to use Messenger.

Reply #7 Top
It may be your Messenger service, which is separate from Messenger the IM program.
Try this: http://www.druid628.com/techtips/windows/msmsgs/messg_service.html

BTW, nice to see you around, BoXXi!



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Reply #8 Top
There is also another App. called GuardWall AD Block put out free by the makers of guardIE, http://grc.com/freepopular.htm .They both seem to work.



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Reply #9 Top
http://www.guardwall.com/en/index.asp ,,sorry bout that--I have no Idea,,,,,



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Reply #10 Top
Thanks Larry....that got it.
Reply #11 Top
While you can disable the messenger service, which what the GRC utility does, the reason you got those pop ups is that you had a port open to the internet. (135, if I recall correctly). Some AV's apparently use the messenger service for their alerts telling you that they've found a virus so if you disable the service those might not work, depending upon how your AV works. And again, it's not the same as the MSN Messenger program. (The messenger service is intended to be used to broadcast messages *within* a network but since MS has it open as a server to the internet spammers found a new fun way to get those who weren't running a firewall to block the port.)

Are you running a firewall? If properly configured, that should block unsolicited communications from the internet. With XP's running services that keep ports open on the net it's a very good idea to run a firewall. Even if it's only XP's ICF or a properly configured router.



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Reply #12 Top
I am using MSN Messenger 6.0 and do not (yet) get pop-ups. But I think mt ISP does much in keeping them at bay also with Pop_Up Stopper.



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Reply #13 Top
Of course, now that I have reviewed all the links, I see that I had no idea what I was talking about.

Live and learn...



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Reply #14 Top
Um... don't know if this is topical, but you might be interested in this...
http://groups.msn.com/communityfeedback/tipstricks.msnw?action=get_message&mview=0&ID_Message=352605&LastModified=4675427765499639265
Reply #16 Top
I had those too and used Spy-bot (freeware) to get rid of the prob. There are so many options out, though I'd throw ya another. It allows me to still use messenger,too.
Reply #17 Top
And DianeK you were very close there....Popup-stopper and spy-bot are the same company, different apps.
Reply #19 Top
MSN Messenger has nothing to do with it (If you have the same problem I had). It's "Messenger Service", a Microsoft app made for (I believe) sending messages across networks. Here's the solution for me, in XP Home. I havn't checked the links, so someone probably already mentioned it.

Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Computer Management > Click on "Services and Applications > Click on Services > Find "Messenger" in the list on the right > Double click it and select "Disabled" in the "Startup" dropdown box.

Problem solved for me. It got on my nerves because I could be playing a multiplayer game like Starcraft, and I'd get a message that would force me to hit alt-tab, click "OK" and go back to the game.
Reply #20 Top
And of course, Larry Kuperman's link said exactly the same thing that I said...I really should read the posts first.
Reply #22 Top
This is just another annoying problem Windows 2000/XP has that better built alternatives like Linux does not have.

Who cares? If you like Linux so much then stick with it.
Reply #24 Top
Hmmm. In that case I don't WANT to know what you are doing here.