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Let me be blunt. I
personally had my PC infected with these messages and have NO time
for their creator or promoters. It can be very confusing for your
average PC/Internet user (like my parents!) who were worried that
their PC really had something wrong.
I'm talking about
those messages that read:
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MESSAGE FROM SYSTEM
TO ALERT:
Microsoft Windows
has encountered and Internal Error.
Your windows registry is corrupted.
We recommend a complete system scan.
Visit
http://NeatReg.com to repair now! |
All they are doing
is creating a pop-up window using Visual Basic so it LOOKS LIKE A
REAL ERROR MESSAGE! Smart, but incredibly inconsiderate and
deceitful.
Please know that
this is NOT a virus, so your Virus Scan will NOT pick up on these
errors and is defenseless against them. This is SPYWARE! People
infecting your computer with advertisements for their product. Yes,
it's official-looking and they are bold enough to claim to be
from Microsoft!!! I was shocked when I read one saying it was
Microsoft-related, please visit www.ms-repair.com for help!
Two things:
One - If you have
the gall to claim you are from Microsoft and all you are is
Spyware - good luck to you because Microsoft isn't stupid and are
known for ruthless lawsuits for such slander and false claims.
Two - ANYTHING
from Microsoft - an upgrade, a patch, a "fix" or whatever will be
located at Microsoft's own website (www.Microsoft.com)
and not a "FixWinReg.com" or "MS-Repair.com", etc.
Please be aware of
this everyone. I despise these kind of things and started this
website one evening out of spite due to these pop-ups. I want to
help!
So, I did a lot of
research, and after finding other poor people with their hair torn
out over these messages, discovered a fix.
Just read this blog
by an individual who is probably experiencing the exact same
thing you are:
Hi everyone. First
of all I want to alert you that you’re dealing with a true computer
dummy here. I have visited your site a few times before and once
managed to get rid of a homepage hijacker using directions from your
site, so thanks so much for being here!
I have encountered
a new problem with my computer now and I don’t know if it’s an
actual problem or some sort of bug/virus, whatever you want to call
it.
Every time my
computer is running, I get a series of warning pop ups. They look
very official and just like the usual ones windows occasionally
uses. I would like to copy them here for you but they don’t allow me
to highlight and copy them. I’ll manually copy a few of the messages
at the end of this in case anyone cares to read them.
All of the messages
have links to various sites, supposedly to repair the problem. I
have visited a number of them but they all want me to download
something…like a free scan…which if I did I’m sure would be followed
by another available download to fix the found problems for the low
price of “29.99” or something along those lines.
I’ve heard that
sometimes spyware can put these windows or similar ones on your
computer so you think you have a virus just so you’ll have to go buy
their removal software. That’s what’s making me leery of this
business.
Does anyone know if
this is a real error and if it is what I should do about it?
And if it is some kind of spyware or virus, how can I fix it? I
have McAfee and SpyBot Search and Destroy, but neither one of them
have picked up anything.
I also tried to go
to the Windows Update site by searching through Yahoo, but my
computer froze up when I tried to click on the link…making me even
more suspicious.
In case it matters,
I am running Windows XP and all of the alert messages come in small
boxes that say “Messenger Service” in the bar at the top.
What ever this is,
I need to address it somehow because it’s driving me a bit crazy and
starting to worry me that there’s something really wrong. Any
suggestions?
Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.
Val
Here are a few examples of the messages that have been popping up:
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Message
from SYSTEM to ALERT on 8/6/2005 3:20:30 PM
Windows has encountered an Internal Error
Your Windows registry is corrupted.
An Immediate system scan is recommended.
Visit http://e-regpatch.com to repair |
|
Message from SECURITY to ALERT on 8/6/2005 3:24:13
PM
STOP! WINDOWS REQUIRES IMMEDIATE ATTENTION.
Windows has found CRITICAL SYSTEM ERRORS.
To fix the errors please do the following:
1. Download Registry Repair from: http://www.fixregerror.com
2. Install Registry Repair
3. Run Registry Repair
4. Reboot your computer
FAILURE TO ACT NOW MY LEAD TO DATA LOSS &
CORRUPTION! |
|
|
Message
from System Alert to Current User on 8/6/2005 3:56:25
Windows error: reg-3328
Windows has detected errors in the registry!
Your system files are in danger of being corrupted.
Visit www.clean-xp.com to repair your computer
Please write this site down. |
|
Message
from SYSTEM to ALERT on 8/6/2005 3:25:54 PM
STOP! WINDOWS REQUIRES IMMEDIATE ATTENTION.
Windows has found 47 Critical Errors.
To
fix the errors please do the following:
1.Download Registry repair from:
http://www.e-regfix.com
2. Install Registry Repair
3. Run Registry Repair
4. Reboot your computer.
FAILURE TO ACT NOW MY LEAD TO DATA LOSS &
CORRUPTION! |
|
Message from SECURITY to WINDOWS USER on 8/6/2005
3:39:33
Important Windows Security Bulletin
===================
Buffer Overrun Messenger Service Allows Remote Code
Execution,
Virus Infection and Unexpected Computer Shutdowns
Affected Software:
Microsoft Windows NT Workstation
Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0
Microsoft Windows 2000
Microsoft Windows XP
Microsoft Windows Win98
Microsoft Windows Server 2003
Your system is
affected,
download the patch
from the address below!
www.updatepatch.info
|
The messages are all similar but they direct me to many different
web addresses, including: www.fixwinreg.com, www.regcleaner32.com,
www.spw5c.com, http://FixRegNow.com, http://e-regpatch.com,
www.fixregerror.com, www.fixregistryerrors.com, www.ms-repair.com,
www.winregedit.com
And so on and so
on. There are at least another 30 messages like this, so if
you don't see your exact one, but similar, this applies to you to.
Now that you're
educated on the problem, here's the fix:
How to turn off Windows Messenger Service
What Windows Messenger Service Allows to Happen on Your Computer
Should a pop up box appear on your screen with the words
"Messenger Service" in the title bar such as the one below,
chances are that you have Windows Messenger Services enabled.
Disabling the Messenger Service
To remove the ability for anyone in the world to pop up messages on
your computer, you can disable the Messenger service. Its easy to
reverse at a later time if you wish to do so. |
