Re: It's OFFICIAL: Hotmail does send a pop-up

From: Bruce Chambers (bchambers_at_nospamcableone.net)
Date: 05/28/04 

Date: Fri, 28 May 2004 06:21:55 -0600

Greetings --

    Selling advertising space on a website, even if the ad does "pop
up," and _sending_ pop-up advertising are two very different things.
(And if you don't approve of MSN's advertising practices - remember,
it's a business, not a charity, simply choose another ISP or, even
easier, a different home page.)

    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 or
so, 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 most definitely open to other threats, such as the Blaster Worm
that still haunts 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 little or 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

Stopping Advertisements with Messenger Service Titles
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/using/howto/communicate/stopspam.asp

Blocking Ads, Parasites, and Hijackers with a Hosts File
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm

    If you're using AOL, you'll either need to find a 3rd party
firewall that is compatible with AOL, or switch to a real ISP that is
compatible with the real Internet. This is because AOL is an on-line
content provider that ignores international Internetworking standards
in favor of its own proprietary products, and has deliberately made
its connection software incompatible with both WinXP's built-in
firewall and WinXP's Internet Connection Sharing feature. AOL's
proprietary connection applet is deliberately designed to preclude
your setting/adjusting any of its properties, to include
enabling/disabling WinXP's ICF and ICS.

    Whichever firewall you decide upon, be sure to ensure UDP ports
135, 137, and 138 and TCP ports 135, 139, and 445 are _all_ blocked.
You may also disable Inbound NetBIOS (NetBIOS over TCP/IP). You'll
have to follow the instructions from firewall's manufacturer for the
specific steps.

    You can test your firewall at:

Symantec Security Check
http://security.symantec.com/ssc/vr_main.asp?langid=ie&venid=sym&plfid=23&pkj=GPVHGBYNCJEIMXQKCDT

Security Scan - Sygate Online Services
http://www.sygatetech.com/

    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 free Google Toolbar from
http://toolbar.google.com/, which is what I use.

    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
www.safer-networking.org/. 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 

--
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You can have peace.  Or you can have freedom.  Don't ever count on 
having both at once. -- RAH
"Disodium Edta" <anonymous@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message 
news:13d1701c44478$22f4cf50$a601280a@phx.gbl...
> In a customer service email sent to me, the reply given
> was that "Hotmail [MSN] is not involved with any sites to
> send pop up advertisements."
>
> That's interesting, since I found here on this website
> (http://msn-cnet.com.com/2100-1024_3-5110805.html) that
> Microsoft "...still sells pop-up advertisements that
> appear on its MSN network."
>
> I blocked yourfreedvds.com in my browser (along with
> numerous other websites that send pop-ups as a result of
> my logging into Hotmail), and I am still receiving a new,
> different pop-up when I only log into my Hotmail account.
>
> Hotmail does indeed sell pop-up advertisements and I think
> it's disgusting that MSN/Microsoft has chosen to engage in
> this practice. Other free email services (such as Yahoo!)
> do not subject their users to pop-ups, so I don't
> understand why MSN/Microsoft feels that it is necessary
> when I already have banner ads as part of using Hotmail
> for free.
>
> Shame on you, Microsoft/MSN!!!

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Advertisements pouring in through IE
    ... You are reporting a problem with pop-up advertisements. ... Messenger Service pop-up can't contain a clickable link. ... unintentionally serves as a valid security alert. ... haven't been taking sufficient precautions while connected to the Internet. ...
    (microsoft.public.security)
  • Re: Concerned about pop-up messages from MSOFT or message from system
    ... went on Internet Explorer to connect with the internet and within 3 minutes, I was getting these two pop-up warning screens prompting me to download these patches or repairs. ... Messenger Service of Windows ... No software manufacturer can -- nor should they be expected to -- protect the computer user from him/herself. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support)
  • Re: Pop up adverts
    ... connected to the Internet. ... And ignoring or just "putting up with" the security ... Messenger Service of Windows ... Stopping Advertisements with Messenger Service Titles ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.basics)
  • Re: Spyware
    ... recently swept cross the Internet. ... "putting up with" the security gap represented by these messages is ... Messenger Service Window That Contains an Internet Advertisement ... also blocks many of the pop-up adds on the Internet. ...
    (microsoft.public.security)
  • Re: Spyware
    ... recently swept cross the Internet. ... "putting up with" the security gap represented by these messages is ... Messenger Service Window That Contains an Internet Advertisement ... also blocks many of the pop-up adds on the Internet. ...
    (microsoft.public.security.virus)
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