More and more people seem to be getting these 'non-browser related pop-up messenger boxes of advertisement crap' lately so I thought I should re-post how to get rid of them here.
Contrary to the misinformation that's been passed around, this is not a spyware issue that can be cleared up using AdAware (though I recommend scanning your computer with AdAware every week anyways to get rid of all the other ad crap that's lurking around on your harddrive).
Netsends are actually coming from your internet provider network. Or more specifically, people who take advantage of open ports that are suppose to be used by your internet provider.
So if you're running w2k or XP, suggestion is to:
1. go to your control panel > administrative tools/services, search for messenger, go to it's properties, press stop, and then select disable from the drop down choices. (that should be enough to stop those messages.)
2. scan for and close off any open ports. (Google "portscanner" or choose the "Probe my ports!" option* from ShieldsUP!.)
3. you'll more than likely find that your Port 139 is open so go to control panel > network connections. Pick whatever you use to connect to your internet provider > choose properties > select Internet Protocol(TCP/IP) and look at it's advanced properties. Under the WINS tab choose Disable NetBIOS over TCP/IP.
* I've already pointed out the wording for this portscanner elsewhere but seriously... first it was Metroid erotica (re: my Oct 26th entry about Art System) and now there's port probing going on... there's some serious sexual repression going on with some geeks, I tell you.