The Windows Messenger tool, normally used to send quick messages from one computer to another on a network, can also be used for malicious purposes to spam you with popup dialog boxes you don't want. Though many firewalls may block use of this tool, if you notice dialog boxes appearing on your computer with the title "Messenger Service" you may wish to turn this 'feature' off altogether. You can do so with an Ad-Aware plug-in.

(Note this works for Windows NT, 2000 and XP only.)

1. Close Ad-Aware.

2. Visit http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/
addons/messenger.shtml with your web browser.

3. Click the "Download Now" button and save the file to disk.

4. Double-click the add-on tool, following the on-screen prompts to install the software.

5. Restart Ad-Aware.

6. Click the "Add-ons" button on the left side.

7. Click the "Tools" tab.

8. Select "Messenger-Control Plugin" and click the "Run Tool" button.

9. Confirm executing the tool.

10. When the "Messenger Control Plugin" dialog box appears, click the "Disable Messenger" button.

11. Click the "X" at the top-right of the dialog box to close the tool.

Note that Windows XP will still open Messenger when you start Outlook Express. You can download a separate Ad-Aware plug-in to prevent Windows Messenger from starting when you run Outlook Express on Windows XP.

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