Messenger Service

[Keith]

I keep getting unwanted instant messages from people
soliciting anything from porn to credit cards. How do I
stop this? Also, how do I prevent MSN messenger from
automatically signing me in whenever I log onto the
internet?

Thanks

[Jonathan Kay [MVP]]

Greetings Keith,

Firstly, for your unwanted instant messages, there has been an upsurge in some Messenger
(that is .NET Messenger) spam this past month. You may not be aware that until recently, the
default options allowed anyone to send you a message through the .NET Messenger network
without being on your contact list.

To stop people from contacting you without being on your list -- open up the main Messenger
window, click Tools, then Options, then the Privacy tab, click 'All other users' (or 'All
users' in MSN Messenger 5) and then click the Block >> button.

Also, if these "unwanted messages" that appeared had "Messenger Service" in their titlebar,
what you're seeing is the Messenger service built-in to Windows, *not* MSN/Windows Messenger
(which are two different things) which spammers are exploiting -- this is not Microsoft, nor
can Microsoft control them anymore then they can control spam to your e-mail inbox.

To get rid of these pop ups, you'll need to disable the "Messenger Service", go to the
Control Panel, choose Administrative Tools (if you're using XP, you may have to click Classic
View on the left). Double-click Services, and Scroll down to "Messenger", select it,
right-click and then choose Properties. Under startup type, choose disabled and then choose
the 'Stop' button. After the service is stopped, click OK.

There are three ways to stop MSN Messenger from signing you in when you log on. Firstly,
don't have the program running (just run it when you want to sign in) -- to stop it loading
at startup time with Windows, click the Tools menu, then Options, then Preferences tab
(General if you're using MSN Messenger 5), uncheck 'Run this program when Windows starts' (or
'Run Messenger when Windows starts' in MSN Messenger 5) and click OK. Secondly, you can
remove your automatic sign-in (you'll have to type your login/password whenever you want to
sign in), in Windows 95, 98, ME, or 2000, just right-click the Messenger icon, click "Sign
out", then right-click the icon again, choose "Sign in...", enter your login and password
that is the one that automatically signs in -- but don't check the checkbox. As soon as
you're signed in, sign out again, and the autologin should be gone. If you're referring to
Windows XP, Click the Start Button, then click the Control Panel. Then, click User Accounts
in the Control Panel. Select your account name, and then on the left side of the screen,
under Related Tasks, click 'Manage my Network Passwords'. In the window that opens, click
the Passport.Net\* (Passport) entry and click 'Remove'. Then restart Messenger and it will
no longer auto login. Finally, if you're just using MSN Messenger 5, you can stop being
automatically signed in by opening up the main Messenger window, click Tools then Options,
then General tab, and uncheck 'Allow automatic sign in when connected to the Internet'.
Note: if you're using MSN Explorer/8 there really is no way to stop Messenger from
automatically signing in.
____________________________________________
Jonathan Kay
Windows MVP, Messenger
Associate Expert
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/
Messenger Resources - http://messenger.jonathankay.com

"Keith" <kbrow...@msn.com> wrote in message news:006f01c3285a$6adc5c60$a301...@phx.gbl...