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FIXING A HOLE WHERE THE ADS GET IN
Has this happened to you? You’ve finally cleared some time during the day to get online, visit your favorite Web sites, check your e-mail and happily survey the cornucopia of information that is the Internet.

Except every few minutes you’re interrupted by an obtrusive pop-up advertisement, telling you that for a nominal fee you can purchase software that will block obtrusive pop-up ads.

If you’re a Windows 2000 or XP user, this scenario may sound familiar. And if you subscribe to an "always on" broadband Internet service, you may see these pop-ups even when you’re not browsing the Web.

The culprit is a Windows operating system component called Windows Messenger Service. Not to be confused with instant messaging applications such as AOL Instant Messenger, the Windows Messenger Service component was devised to let network administrators communicate with all the computers on a network and is turned on by default.

The problem is that unscrupulous marketers discovered they could use the messaging component to bombard large numbers of computers with pop-up advertising via the Internet. Several companies, some of which have been subject to action by the Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, have used the service to market software purported to block precisely the type of ads they employ.

"This is nothing more than a high-tech version of a classic scam," Howard Beales, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said of one such case. "The defendants created the problem they proposed to solve—for a fee. Their pop-up spam wasted computer users’ time and caused them needless frustration."

You generally can discern ads sent via the messenger service from more typical pop-up ads by the "Messenger Service" legend in the ad’s title bar. This type of ad resembles a typical Windows dialogue box, complete with an "OK" button you must click to dispense with the ad.

Fortunately, putting an end to this particularly annoying form of advertising won’t cost you anything except a couple of minutes of your time. To turn off the messaging service in either Windows 2000 or XP, open the "Control Panel" window from the "Start" menu. Double-click the "Administrative Tools" icon. In "Administrative Tools," you’ll find an entry for "Messenger" under "Services." Double-click "Messenger" and select "Disabled" from the "Startup type" list and click the button that says "Stop."

For the home user, there’s no real need ever to have Windows Messenger Service turned on. However, if your computer is part of a larger network, you should check with your network administrator before disabling it. For more information about the messenger service and how to disable it, visit the Microsoft Web site at "www.microsoft.com" and search for "Windows Messenger Service."

As for the rest of those pop-ups you encounter while surfing the Internet, this fix won’t help. However, there are numerous browser plug-ins available to help manage pop-up ads. To get an idea of what your options are, visit the PCWorld Web site at "www.pcworld.com/downloads" and click the "Ad Blockers" link under the "Privacy & Security" heading.

Reported by Joe Hoyle, electronic media editor, "hoylej{at}ada.org".

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