Reference number: CH000519

How do I prevent messenger pop-ups?

Question:

How do I prevent messenger pop-ups?

Additional information:

Not to be confused with Internet pop-ups, messenger pop-ups are pop-up windows that appear without your browser being opened in Microsoft Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, and Windows XP. Microsoft Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows ME users will not experience this issue. These pop-up windows are generated by users or companies utilizing the Windows net send command. 

• If you are looking for information about stopping Internet pop-ups, please see document CH000491.
• Additional information about sending messages to other computers can be found on document CH000783.

Answer:

Disable Microsoft Messenger

Note: Disabling the Microsoft messenger will not cause any problems with MSN messenger. This service is commonly used to distribute text messages between computers and commonly only used in a business to distribute messages between employees.

To disable Microsoft Messenger service, follow the below steps. 

Windows 2000 and XP users

1. Click Start, Control Panel, and open the "Administrative Tools".
2. Within the Administrative Tools window, open "Services".
3. Locate "Messenger" and double-click the icon to open "Messenger Properties"
4. Within the "Messenger Properties", set the "Startup Type" to disabled and click the "Stop" button.
5. Click the "Apply" button and close out of all windows.

Setup firewall to block UDP and NetBIOS

If your computer needs messenger, the alternate solution to the above recommendation is to disable all incoming UDP and NetBIOS on your firewall.