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Posted by Bruce Chambers on July 19, 2005, 9:17 pm
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> I recieved a ton of trojan virii from a file sharing program and decided the
> easiest way of getting my computer beck to normal was to format it and do a
> clean install. This I have done without problem. 5 minutes after I
> installed windows I recieved a Messenger Service Popup. The process it runs
> from points to the file "csvss.exe" and on searching through the KB it
> appears this is a legitimate MS file. The popup says the following:
>
> Message from SYSTEM to ALERT on 7/19/2005 6:00:03 PM
>
> STOP! WINDOWS REQUIRES IMMEDIATE ATTENTION.
>
> Windows has found Critical Errors.
>
> To fix the errors please do the following:
> 1. Download Registry Repair from : http://www.repairreg.com
> 2. Install Registry Repair
> 3. Run Registry Repair
> 4. Reboot your computer
> FAILURE TO ACT NOW MAY LEAD TO DATA LOSS AND CORRUPTION!
>
> End of popup.
> Since thhis is not a Microsoft Website I am reluctant to go to the address
> at all (especially since I have not downloaded a thing except Microsoft
> updates to this point). Is this a scam or should I actually follow the
> advise it gives me? And more importantly - how do I stop this from happening.
> I am running the windows ICF aswell as Norton internet Security (antivirus,
> firewall and a whole heap of others as well.). Any help will be appreciated
> and thankyou in advance.
This type of spam has become quite common over the couple of
years, and unintentionally serves as a valid security "alert." It
demonstrates that you haven't been taking sufficient precautions while
connected to the Internet. Your data probably hasn't been compromised
by these specific advertisements, but if you're open to this exploit,
you may well be open to other threats, such as the Blaster Worm that
swept across the Internet last year and the currently active Sasser
Worm. Install and use a decent, properly configured firewall.
(Merely disabling the messenger service, as some people recommend,
only hides the symptom, and does little or nothing to truly secure
your machine.) And ignoring or just "putting up with" the security
gap represented by these messages is particularly foolish.
Messenger Service of Windows
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;168893
Messenger Service Window That Contains an Internet Advertisement
Appears
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=330904
Stopping Advertisements with Messenger Service Titles
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/using/howto/communicate/stopspam.asp
Blocking Ads, Parasites, and Hijackers with a Hosts File
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm
Oh, and be especially wary of people who advise you to do nothing
more than disable the messenger service. Disabling the messenger
service, by itself, is a "head in the sand" approach to computer
security. The real problem is not the messenger service pop-ups;
they're actually providing a useful, if annoying, service by acting as
a security alert. The true problem is the unsecured computer, and
you've been advised to merely turn off the warnings. How is this
helpful?
--
Bruce Chambers
Help us help you:
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at once. - RAH
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