News Microsoft to shoot Messenger in next update

Also from CNet:

Spam attacks and security vulnerabilities have prompted Microsoft to plan to turn off its troublesome Windows Messenger service in the next Windows XP update, a company representative said Tuesday.

The Messenger service is a data exchange mechanism for networked computers that shouldn't be confused with Microsoft's instant-messaging software. Spammers have taken advantage of the service, which is typically only used to manage networks in businesses, to send advertisements that pop up in gray boxes on people's desktops. Microsoft also announced earlier in October that the technology has a flaw that could be used by attackers to bypass a computer's security.

Switching Messenger off "is the current plan of record," said Neil Charney, director of product management in Microsoft's Windows client group. The company made the announcement at its Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles. "What we are doing at this point is running through the plan with developers," Charney said.

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Fair enough - but the default switching on of the built in firewall doesn't sound great - it casues more problems than it solvers IIRC.

 

Whats wrong with just turning it off youself?, its hardly difficult there are pleanty of guides out there (the best being here of course ). Its not having a decent firewall in the first place that allows you to recieve the things.

 

That the average homePC user would know how to and would probably be scared doing it even with a guide.

 

The WinXP firewall screwed over my network royaly, took me ages to figure out why the other comptuers wouldn't recognise my new computer first time I installed XP...

My hardware firewall is so much better, it isn't even funny any more

Although, when I was on vacation using an dial-up connection and 2000, those messenger popups were annoying. I uninstalled the service for the duration of the trip