Possible Virus?...

[VicodiN]

*Not sure exactly where the correct spot fer this post would be*
Running Win2kPro

Im hoping one of you have run into this problem... Ive witnessed this on more then one computer, so I know it's definitley not isolated.

Every once in a while, a window will pop up entitled 'Messenger Service' and It will contain the following:
----
Message from LINDA to ("My IP address") on ("The Current Date and Current Time")
Hey, I just got my webcam and i need a few people to help me test it out.
go to Http://initts.com/linda
its completely free so you have nothing to lose and everything to gain!
----
There have been other that have came up with similar messages...
Now, I can honestly say that I never visit any porn sites, so I know thats out... Ive also ran Norton AV'03 Pro fully updated, and that hasnt picked up anything... I tried running the AV with both the unwanted window open on my screen and with it closed. I also thought it may just be a simple spy ware proggie I missed, but after running Ad-Aware, nothing came up to fix the problem at hand.

I did go into my 'Windows Task Manager' as the unwanted window was present, and right clicked on the 'Message Service' Application that was shown running, and went to the 'Process being used" and it was my csrss.exe... As you probably know, I was unable to 'disable' this process because it is one used by Windows. Since this starting occuring, Ive noticed that my LAN speed has diminished slightly... Obvioulsy fearing the worse, I went thru all the known tests I could think of...

I write this hoping someone could help me... If possible, how I could have possibly gotten this and how to get rid of this nonsense... This is getting quite irritating, as Im sure you could imagine.

Thanx in advance for any input on this matter...

~Dan

 

[rob123171]

yep..i know your problem
its a new way for the scum licking spam masters to hit ya with their ads...they use windows messaging, not to be confused with msn messenger..windows messaging is used primarialy by computers on a local network and if you have it enabled u can send/recieve popup messages over the lan
unfortunately the spam gods have seen fit to exploit this in there quest for selling you sex or whatever other slim product they can think of....my suggestion is this
if you dont use it(and im sure you dont by the sounds of it) disable it
voila..no more popups
cheers:disgust:

 

[bsobel]

Rob above answered correctly, but one more thing. This also only happens to people who have themselves directly connected to the internet. You should really consider a personal firewall or a router type box between your machine and the net.

Bill

 

[LANMAN]

Originally posted by: bsobel
Rob above answered correctly, but one more thing. This also only happens to people who have themselves directly connected to the internet. You should really consider a personal firewall or a router type box between your machine and the net.

Bill

I'll second that motion. That's a must!!

--LANMAN

 

[VicodiN]

rob123171, bsobel, LANMAN


Thank you all for your responses... I promptly ridded of my unused MSN messenger(which I seemed to overlook installing) and I made it a habit to fire up my Sygate more regularly...
Thank you all again

~Dan

 

[bsobel]

Thank you all for your responses... I promptly ridded of my unused MSN messenger(which I seemed to overlook installing) and I made it a habit to fire up my Sygate more regularly...
Thank you all again

Rob, this is from the Windows Messenger service, not MSN messenger (the names are confusing, but they aren't the same thing). MSN messenger is the instant messaging client, the Windows Messenger is a system service to give alerts to users on a lan (via the popup windows you saw). You'll need to disable windows messenger to 'stop' these messages in the future (actually, you shouldn't see em with Sygate running either).

Bill

 

[FoolishMcNasty]

Where do you disable "Windows Messenger Service"? I assume under services, but I can't find it. Where should I be looking?

 

[VicodiN]

vellox was nice enough to explain the very simple fix to me in the other thread(sorry again for the cross post):

> Go to 'Start'-'Run'- type 'services.mcg' (without quotes obviously)
> Locate 'Messenger' under the NAMES catagory...
> Right click it, and STOP the process.
> Now, go to the PROPERTIES of the unwanted service (I.E. 'Messanger'), and under STARTUP TYPE, set it to 'Disabled'...
> APPLY your changes, and Thats it!

Thank you to vellox and bsobel for all their time and help on this matter...

 

[FoolishMcNasty]

Thanks VicodiN, issue fixed.