| MESSENGER
POP-UP ADS |
|
If
you have a personal firewall on your system (either software or
a hardware unit, such as a gateway router for your cable modem/DSL
service), you may never have even seen these ads.
But
if your IP address is exposed to the internet (as most people's
are), you've probably seen them and had no idea where they come
from. You may have just been typing along in Word and seen something
like this pop up in the middle of your screen:
|
 |
|
| So
you say to yourself: "Hey, my BROWSER isn't even open!!"
Where do these things come from, anyway? |
| Actually,
the Messenger service was built into the operating system to allow
better and more interactive maintenance options for computer users.
But, advertisers are getting more and more desperate...and they don't
ask themselves "Is it right?", but rather, "Is it possible?" |
| So it
seems that we have to go out of our way to protect themselves from
their onslaught. |
| 1. In
Windows 2000, go to Start > Settings > Control Panel,
then open the Administrative Tools control panel. In Windows
XP, go to Start > Control Panel, then Performance
and Maintenance, and then open Administrative Tools. |
| 2. Double-click
on Services. |
| 3. Double-click
on Messenger. |
| 4. Use
the Startup type pull-down to select: Disabled |
| 5. Under
Service Status, click Stop. |
| 6. Click
OK, then close all the windows you opened to get there. |
| |
