msn messenger

me

[Husker24]

There ist no escape!

[Recourse]

Disabling the Messenger Service

To remove the ability for anyone in the world to pop up messages on your computer, you can disable the Messenger service. Its easy to reverse at a later time if you wish to do so.

Windows 2000

Click Start-> Settings-> Control Panel-> Administrative Tools->Services
Scroll down and highlight "Messenger"
Right-click the highlighted line and choose Properties.
Click the STOP button.
Select Disable or Manual in the Startup Type scroll bar
Click OK


Windows XP Home

Click Start->Settings ->Control Panel
Click Performance and Maintenance
Click Administrative Tools
Double click Services Scroll
down and highlight "Messenger"
Right-click the highlighted line and choose Properties.
Click the STOP button.
Select Disable or Manual in the Startup Type scroll bar
Click OK

Windows XP Professional

Click Start->Settings ->Control Panel
Click Administrative Tools
Click Services
Double click Services Scroll
down and highlight "Messenger"
Right-click the highlighted line and choose Properties.
Click the STOP button.
Select Disable or Manual in the Startup Type scroll bar
Click OK


Windows NT

Click Start ->Control Panel
Double Click Administrative Tools
Select Services-> Double-click on Messenger
In the Messenger Properties window, select Stop,
Then choose Disable as the Startup Type
Click OK

Windows 98 & ME
Windows Messenger Service cannot be disabled

[rdb3]

Are you talking specifically about MSN Messenger?

[Fledermaus]

Do you mean those pop-up ads that look like a windows page with the min/max button and the "close" button at the bottom with nothing but text and no link? Usually with the grey background?

If so, there is a way to turn those off but I'll have to look it up again.

[xrp]

Turning off Messenger won't stop popups.

Install the Google Toolbar and eliminate popups!

[redhead]

I have msn messenger and NO popups. I was getting one after the other until I uninstalled Weatherbug.

[Fledermaus]

Nevermind, Recourse beat me to it! WTG.

Now, any way to get the pop-up ads on the IE turned off? The Orbitz ones are killing me. Some sites are worse than others though...Chicago Sun-Times hits you twice coming and going with every click.

NRO used to not use them, but they have 2 or 3 going on the home page now.

[Recourse]

I've tried a bunch of them, and I think AdsBGone is by far the best.

http://www.adsgone.com/default.asp?ref=

[goldstategop]

No the messenger service has NOTHING to do MSN IM Messenger. The two are very different. You can download a utility from Steve Gibson at http://www.grc.com to turn off the messenger service.

[gitmo]

PopUpStopper works well. There are many freeware apps.

[billorites]

That new Google Tool Bar thingy works very well.

Download it Here.

[TrappedInLiberalHell]

On the subject of Windows Messenger (the instant messaging program)...I can't close it! Even when I reboot my machine fresh and close everything in the system tray, Windows XP will not allow me to exit Windows Messenger. On top of that, it logs me on automatically at whim. It's driving me nuts. There are people on there that I don't want to talk to, and I don't want them knowing I'm online. I'm not convinced that simply blocking them will prevent them from knowing I'm online.

Does anybody know how I can permanently shut off Windows Messenger, or delete the program altogether? I didn't install it in the first place -- it came preinstalled on my laptop.

[DallasMike]

Do you mean those pop-up ads that look like a windows page with the min/max button and the "close" button at the bottom with nothing but text and no link?

Best solution to that is to buy a router. You can get a good one (like a Linksys) for under a hundred bucks. First, though, try the free version of ZoneAlarm, too. I run ZoneAlarm plus use a router and I'm completely invisible on the internet and immune to those messenger service pop-ups.

[MarkL]

Go to Steve Gibson's Home Page and get his "ShootTheMessenger," which is a toggle to shut down the messenger service. However, I don't know if it works on both ports (135 and 1026). BTW, disabling this will NOT disable MS Messenger. It only disables the "messenger service" that allows those annoying pop-ups.

If you're looking for a way to stop pop-ups in IE, check out Pop-Up Stopper. It seems to work pretty well, altough a few seem to get through every now and then. Mozilla's works beautifully, but the browser and mail client are simply too unstable for me to continue using (as he works in Mozilla!) I really like it, but I may have to give it up. Browser and email client keep crashing.

Mark

[Hodar]

Now, any way to get the pop-up ads on the IE turned off?

We are talking about 2 types of popups. The first kind is the annoying 'Windows' box that pops up and requires you to hit the 'OK' button to close it. Usually, this pop-up will display info where they are willing to sell you the information given (very expertly) by Recourse in post #3. Or, you can (wisely, IMHO) drop ~$50 and buy a Router from CompUSA, Fry's, Circuit City or Best Buy; these will work as a firewall protecting you from internet virus attacks, hackers, allow you to share your internet connection with 200+ PC's in your house, and yes ... stop this type of annoying Popup.

The second are Pop-up advertizements, for these you can go to www.analogx.com and pull down a free program called 'Pow!'. It 'learns' what windows to close, all you have to do is tell it what pop-ups you want (on monster.com, for example) and the one's you don't (like the Amazing X-cam). Or, you can journey to www.download.com and search for Popup, and you will find an assortment of free (and not free) software solutions.

[DallasMike]

You can do as Recourse mentioned in Message 3, but buying a router and installing a good software firewall, like ZoneAlarm, is a must because they protect you against so many other things.

[TomGuy]

You might try Weather matrix. It doesn't have the popups and fairly decent weather notification.

[RGVTx]

I had the same problem when I recently upgraded my MSN Instant Messenger. It would not let me exit the program, no way, no how. I'm running windows98. So...I went to MyComputer/ControlPanel/AddRemovePrograms and deleted the whole program. No more problem.

[alnick]

Now, any way to get the pop-up ads on the IE turned off?

I bought Norton Security 2003 and it blocks all ads, including popups, beautifully. You can pick it up on eBay for $20 including shipping. It includes a firewall too.