Disable Windows Messenger pop-ups?, Part 3

Carol G. from Arkansas writes:

" Dear Dennis,

Lately I've had instant Messenger popups [*not* MSN Messenger], mostly to advertise a site called ByeByeAds.com, telling me that: 'if they can breach my pc's security, anyone can'. I've searched, and don't have instant messenger ON my pc, or messenger, and am wondering just how these things are getting through? Yesterday a porn site advertisement came through the same way. Is the ByeByeAds.com 'service' valid? Do I need it? They are annoying grey popups in the middle of my screen, which come through when I'm working on line. Hope you can help! "

My Response:

In my opinion, any company that uses Messenger PopUp advertisements to "entice" users to purchase their product is despicable -- simply because it is nothing more than another form of spam.

So, how does one remove intrusive Messenger PopUp ads?

Earlier this year, a question similar to this was asked (and answered) in the Gazette Newsletter. In a nutshell, the article speaks of using both a software firewall and disabling the Messenger Service in order to eliminate all popups coming through the Messenger communication channel.

Is there a downside to using a software firewall to block Messenger PopUps?

Sort of. If you're on an office network, the same software firewall used to block Messenger PopUps will also block legitimate messages from the Network Administrator. However, this isn't much of a worry since most users reading this newsletter probably aren't on an Office LAN.

Side note: "LAN" is an acronym for Local Area Network. Another popular term used is "WAN", which stands for Wide Area Network. Now that you know the difference, try considering that the Internet is actually a WAN!

As for the article itself, you can read it online the web site (below). There also a link to a free software firewall (a good idea!):

Disable Windows Messenger pop-ups?, Part 2