Messenger service

WinPopup, shown in the background, first appeared in Windows for Workgroups, together with several other network applications.

Messenger Service is a network-based system notification service included in some versions of Microsoft Windows. This service, although it has a similar name, is not related in any way to the .NET Messenger Service or the Windows Messenger and MSN Messenger/Windows Live Messenger instant messaging clients.

Utilities

WinPopup

Winpopup sends messages from one Windows computer to another on the same LAN. It is available in all Windows versions from Windows for Workgroups 3.1 to Windows Me, but has never been included with Windows NT-based operating systems.

There is also a port to Linux with an extended feature called LinPopUp, which allows adding Linux computers to the set. Linpopup is an X Window graphical port of Winpopup, and a package for Debian linux. It runs over Samba. Linpopup does not have to run all the time, can run minimized, and its messages are encrypted with a strong cypher.

Abuse

Example of Messenger service spam from 2007.

The Messenger Service was originally designed for use by system administrators to notify Windows users about their networks.^[1] It has been used maliciously to present pop-up advertisements to users over the Internet (by using mass-messaging systems which sent a desired message to a specified range of IP addresses). Even though Windows XP includes a firewall, it is not enabled by default. Because of this, many users received such messages. As a result of this abuse, the Messenger Service has been disabled by default in Windows XP Service Pack 2, a change perhaps redundant as the same service pack also enabled the firewall by default.

In order to use the Messenger Service functionality of Windows through the NET SEND command, either by itself or with the use of a third party NetBIOS messaging application, it is recommended that the NetBIOS ports cannot be reached from sources external to the local network. The ports that can be used by the Messenger service are 135, 137, 138, and 139. Many Internet service providers currently block access to these NetBIOS ports over the Internet, helping to prevent spamming even for older unfirewalled clients.

The Messenger Service is no longer supported from Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008; instead it was replaced with the old MSG.exe.

Architecture

The Messenger Service, unlike many other network utilities included with Windows, uses the NetBIOS protocol. The service waits for a message, then it displays it onscreen. The alternative way to send a message is to write it to a MailSlot named messngr.

See also

• Comparison of instant messaging protocols
• Comparison of instant messaging clients
• Comparison of LAN messengers
• LAN messenger
• Alerter service
• List of Microsoft Windows components
• Messaging spam

References

1. ^ Disabling Messenger Service in Windows XP

External links

• Official Microsoft sources
  • Knowledgebase entry for Messenger Service of Windows
  • Command documentation for Net send
  • Disabling The Messenger Service in Windows XP