I'm trying to trade or in general just use my computer and those annoying windows messenger grey box pop ups appear constantly. I've been clicking them off but now I'm really getting pissed. Does anyone know how to rid my computer of this spam? I can't believe I'm the only one getting bothered by these pests, and I assume it will get worse!! I know I can (1) remove Windows Messenger but that involves playing with the registry and one misstep can affect your OS; (2) purchase a downloaded software for approx $25-50 from one of the spammers themselves, which on principal I refuse to do. There must be another way, please help!!!!!
You can easily remove Windows Messenger from XP. Just copy the following, paste it in the "run" command line, and execute. It will remove Windows Messenger from your system. p.s. Always create a restore point before making any changes to X.P. Here is the text to copy and paste: RunDll32 advpack.dll,LaunchINFSection %windir%\INF\msmsgs.inf,BLC.Remove
thanks guys; I can't tell you how annoying those popups are!! I tried j medved's link, and simply checked the network box(this is microsoft's recommended fix) and it is working so far. If it fails later I will indeed remove the program from XP as 'optional' has indicated. What a f**king waste of time, if I tried to find that 'box' on my own, well I can only guess it would have taken forever if I didn't chuck the computer first, and then went back to standing in front of the broker's large translux ticker to trade(remember those days?)and chat with the oldtimers. I kind of miss that action. Been daytrading in various forms since 1970 and, as terminal man Arnold S supposedly said "it's better than sex".
I suggest that you look at www.blackviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm - this is a great resouce for cleaning up WinXP and includes how to kill off the Messenger garbage.
I simply deleted the <Messenger> subdirectory (from <Program Files>. Very annoying. I tried doing it via Uninstall & Msconfig, but my unit kept having it pop up. After doing a search of programs: <all files & folders><when was it modified>..... I found the directory which sourced the activitity. Otherwise the more traditional means (via microsoft): How to Remove an Instant Messaging User Account from the List of Windows Messenger Users To remove an instant messaging user account from the list of Windows Messenger users: For users of stand-alone or workgroup computers: Click Start, and then click Control Panel. Note: If you are using the Classic start menu, click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel Click User Accounts. Click your user account. Under Related Tasks, click Manage my network passwords. Click the user account that you want to remove in the Stored User Names and Passwords box, and then click Remove. Click OK to confirm that you want to remove this user. Click Close For users of computers that are joined to a domain: Click Start, and then click Control Panel. Note: If you are using the Classic start menu, click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel Click User Accounts. Click the Advanced tab, and then click Manage Passwords in the Passwords and .NET Passports box. In Stored Users and Passwords, click the user account that you want to remove, and then click Remove. Click OK to confirm that you want to remove this user. Click Close to close the Stored Users and Passwords window, and then click OK to close the User Accounts window. http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;310705#Task1
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From another site, I quote: Here is the "Messenger Ad" fix. I use Windows2000 so hope this also works for you. Right click on MY COMPUTER and select MANAGE In the left pane, select plus sign to expand SERVICES AND APPLICATIONS. Then click SERVICES. Doubleclick the MESSENGER SERVICE in the list on the right and from the GENERAL tab, set the Messenger Service's StartUp type to DISABLED. Finally, Click STOP in the Service Status section.
The Windows Messaging Service is there to facilitate things like quick popup (such as administrative) messages. If you've just got one machine or two machines in a personal use zone, you wouldn't use the messaging service. But in a corporate LAN environment it's of use. It's an oversight for them to not have made it more easily configurable or even automatically disable it based on your internetworking configuration. But no doubt those implementing the service simply didn't think about people allowing machines to sit naked connected to the internet. If your computer is connected via a router or you have a basic firewall, outsiders can't hit you via the messaging service.