# Messenger Killer Pop up **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 10, 2003, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/messenger-killer-pop-up/160409 "2003-03-10T21:18:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cessandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cessandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cessandra)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2003, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/messenger-killer-pop-up/160409/1 "2003-03-10T21:18:01Z")
A friend of mine has been getting these messages that pop up on her computer. They look like [this](http://fried-spaghetti.com/bloog/old/popupmsg.gif). [The website](http://killmessenger.com/index2.html) mentioned in these pop-ups claim that there is some kind of secuirty flaw in Windows that is allowing them to send her these messages – and, of course, their product can stop it for only $19.95. So, Dopers, what’s the deal with this? Can she stop these messages without their product? Are they scamming her? Does their product even work, or could it be some kind of trick? What’s the Straight Dope? ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2003, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/messenger-killer-pop-up/160409/2 "2003-03-10T22:01:19Z")
No reason to pay someone $20 to fix something that you can fix for free. Assuming we’re talking about Windows XP, click Start, Control Panel, Performance & Maintenance, Administrative Tools, Services. Scroll down until you find the entry for Messenger, right-click on it, and click Properties. Under the General tab, there’s a window for Startup Type. Choose Disabled, and click OK. BTW, this “messenger” has nothing whatsoever to do with MSN Messenger or AOL Instant Messaging, or anything like that, so disabling it won’t hurt anything. ---
**Author:** ![Cessandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cessandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cessandra)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/messenger-killer-pop-up/160409/3 "2003-03-12T21:28:48Z")
Thanks for your response. I don’t know anything about XP, cause we are running LInux. I passed on your advice, but she says she doesn’t have a Performance & Maintenance Folder in the Control Panel? ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/messenger-killer-pop-up/160409/4 "2003-03-12T22:22:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Cessandra \* > \*\*…we are running LInux. \*\* Alas, I don’t know squat about Linux. Calling all SDMB Linux gurus! Calling all SDMB Linux gurus! ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2003, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/messenger-killer-pop-up/160409/5 "2003-03-13T00:43:34Z")
Are you sure she’s running Linux? That’s a Windows issue and I hadn’t heard Linux computers could be affected. If she doesn’t have “Performance and Maintenance” see if she has something called “services.” The fix should be there. ---
**Author:** ![Alereon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@Alereon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alereon)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2003, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/messenger-killer-pop-up/160409/6 "2003-03-13T01:01:16Z")
This is quite simple to fix. Go to start, run, type “services.msc” (no quotes) and press enter. Scroll down to Windows Messenger, right click, choose properties, and set it to disabled instead of automatic. Click apply, done. This is a more direct route than **Early Out** ’s method, but will go to the same place. If she can’t get to the Services control panel with this method, she should talk to her network administrator. ---
**Author:** ![Cessandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cessandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cessandra)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2003, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/messenger-killer-pop-up/160409/7 "2003-03-14T03:24:45Z")
No, no, _I_ am running Linux. She has XP. That’s why I can’t help her, because I’ve never used XP. Ok, I’m just going to send her this link… ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2003, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/messenger-killer-pop-up/160409/8 "2003-03-14T14:54:43Z")
Ah, the haze lifts! If she doesn’t have a Performance and Maintenance folder on her control panel, that just means that she’s switched the control panel from the XP view to the “classic” view. All that means is that she has a folder called Adminstrative Tools, and can skip the step (in my first instructions) of looking for Performance and Maintenance, and go directly to Administrative Tools (the XP view gathers various folders together into quasi-related groups of items, so there’s an extra layer of folder organization). Or, just use **FDISK’s** shortcut, which will get her there just as well! ---
**Author:** ![Zazie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Zazie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zazie)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2003, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/messenger-killer-pop-up/160409/9 "2003-03-14T17:14:29Z")
Installing the firewall included in XP got rid of those for me.