Argh! Freakin' Pop-ups!
<div class="IPBDescription">plaese help</div> I really can't figure out what is causing these pop-ups. It happens when I'm not running any programs and not on a website. Worst of all it sometimes happens when I'm playing NS!!
<img src='http://damagenetworks.gotdns.com/argh.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image'>
anyone know whats going on?
<img src='http://damagenetworks.gotdns.com/argh.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image'>
anyone know whats going on?
Comments
Have you tried running spyware checking software, or closing up uneeded ports?
How do i close ports?
With a firewall.
Don't worry, <a href='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=10&t=13257&hl=messenger+service' target='_blank'>you aren't alone with this problem</a>.
<a href='http://www.auburn.edu/oit/security/messengerService.html' target='_blank'>Here's a quick link taken from that thread on how to block that</a>
[edit]
and ignore everybody else's post here. you don't need to go blocking your firewall ports...
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[edit2]
explaining a bit more what this is:
This is *NOT* a popup ad from a web site. This is somebody using the built in netadmin messaging utilities with windows (big gaping hole left by microsoft, feel free to thank them with molotov cocktails). No spyware required, all the tools spammers need come with windows NT/2K/XP. Enabled by default to boot... Good thing MS didn't make a tool for admins to send people files automatically :/
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However, you probably recognize the message as being one common to many spam e-mails. The people who've already replied are correct: firewalls, ad-aware, pop-up-stopper, spybot search-and-destroy, etc. are all options that may help reduce or eliminate the problem.
Whether or not that works, there is another option: set up windows itself so that every time it even THINKS of connecting to a DNS server address you don't want it touching, it instead loops back to itself and considers that server nonexistent. It is possible, and relatively safe; I've been doing it to my win98 and win2k machines for the past year.
How does it work? Here's the easiest explanation I can come up with. You know how Windows has ways of "remembering" frequently typed-in web addresses that correspond to IP addresses, and uses this memory to access that IP a bit quicker? There is a simple text file called the "hosts" file that overrides <i>all</i> of that.
Example: you type in a web address, and if it's in the list, <b>bam</b>, your computer instantly decides to use the IP you've pre-specified as corresponding to it. If that IP is 127.0.0.1, or even faster (but not as compatible with all systems) 0.0.0.0 , your computer connects to itself (harder to explain) and never contacts that server. PERIOD.
Step 1:
Visit <a href='http://smartin-designs.com/' target='_blank'>http://smartin-designs.com/</a> and read assorted explanations and warnings about how this works.
Step 2: If you have Win2k/XP, you should be particularly interested in the notice posted on the downloads page of how to make sure your boot time doesn't skyrocket by using this system. Until reading that tip there (I'm a typical male who doesn't always read all directions) my boot time on a win2k machine with 512MB RAM and an athlon t-bird 1.4 was upwards of 2 minutes. I'd say 5 minutes, but I fear you may think I'm exaggerating. After reading that and fixing it, it's back to normal.
Step 3: download a hosts file there. Zipped and text versions are available in both 0.0.0.0 format and 127.0.0.1 format -- I use the all zeros method myself, as I find it actually speeds up my surfing.
Step 4: If you don't want adult site popups and/or don't plan on visiting any...um...you get the idea, there's also a list of such sites to block in much the same way. As you can expect, it's a huge list, and currently only offered in 127.0.0.1 format. The way I changed them all to 0.0.0.0 is through find->replace in Microsoft Word; the text file is big enough that trying the same thing in notepad freezes my machine.
Step 5: back up your existing host file (the one that comes with windows is almost completely empty) and install using the directions on the main page there. On my machine, I don't even have to log off or restart for changes to take effect--your machine may or may not act the same way.
Step 6: if you want regular updates of when the list is updated (usually not more than once a month) sign up for the e-mail listings. If you're paranoid that doing so will only get you spam, that's fine--just check the site on a regular basis.
You're done. If you're like me and you use an alternative browser like Opera, expect "error" messages that say "Connection closed by remote server". That means it just blocked what would otherwise be an annoying pop-up, pop-under, or similar ad.
There's only one problem with this significant enough for me to remember off the top of my head: I can't get some of the more complex media content on MSNBC's site. (To be fair, I can't see their advertising, either, and there are arguably many much better news sources out there).
Have fun with a faster-browsing, less-popup-prone system!
I *highly* suggest it for anyone, even if they are already using another popup killer. I was using Zone Alarm Pro just for the popup killer until I found this, I dropped ZA in seconds <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
thanks comprox, i was just looking for something like this
I can verify that.
Disabling the option solved the problem for me.
Software firewalls are useless. They're easy to beat. Totally. Useless. If you simply must have a firewall (As a home PC user, you don't even need one. Nobody's interested in hacking you ANYWAY unless you've made enemies or have government documents) then get a hardware one. The only time a home user gets hacked is when there's a hacker practicing, or they're just having a little fun.
I'm using the Tiny firewall, but mostly to keep auto updaters from clogging my bandwith.
yes, it does look like that. Notice how big your X button is? Open up command prompt. same button. I also turn my button sizes dwon from 22 to 18 (pre-xp standard windows size), as it looks better.
>>> Search The Web <<<
I really hate that. And there other stuff in my menus I'd like to get rid of. I'd imagine it's all registry stuff right?
<img src='http://damagenetworks.gotdns.com/argh2.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image'>
I get popups like this now. All I have to be doing is be signed on aol doing nothing and they come up. People pay $25 a month for a terrible terrible HORRIBLE service to get **** like this. Steve Case needs a swift kick in the **** if you ask me.
Is it just my imagination, or did I read on slashdot/ars technica/hardocp that he resigned from a leadership position in AOL?
Is it just my imagination, or did I read on slashdot/ars technica/hardocp that he resigned from a leadership position in AOL? <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
regardless... he was the evil that spawned the beast.
I *highly* suggest it for anyone, even if they are already using another popup killer. I was using Zone Alarm Pro just for the popup killer until I found this, I dropped ZA in seconds <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Analog X's PoW! is good too.
www.analogx.com I beleive.
Wow, you've managed to say quite a few incorrect things in one paragraph.
1) Hardware firewalls run software. Often they are basically a PC with some distro of linux running. Therefore to say hardware firewalls are good and software firewalls are bad is nonsensical.
2) Firewalls are not useless. Actually, properly configured firewalls are not useless. It can be extremely hard to configure a firewall properly (default deny, closing unneeded services etc...), and it can be v. easy to mess it up. But a good firewall will stop any attacks that target a service you are not deliberately running.
3) People do want to hack your machine, mainly so they can use your bandwidth to help take down some server. Nemesis mentioned this. In the last half hour, our firewall blocked 8 packets on the NetBios ports - which could of been a stupid net send message, or could of been someone trying to "share" some files with us.
As a side note, there is actually a flaw in the GameSpy code in Half-Life and many games, which means its possible to take down servers. This cannot be stopped by firewalls, since you need to have the ports open to run a server. I would post a link to the story, but the thought of some llama's crahing a server every time they get banned for cheating scares me. So information withheld.