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.

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.