Topic: FTC to Crack Down on 'Windows Messenger' Spammer

[Sethan]

 Link to Story

FTC Expected to Crack Down on 'Windows Messenger' Spammer  
November 5, 2003: 20:37 p.m. EST
 
Dow Jones Newswires
WASHINGTON -- The Federal Trade Commission is expected to announce Thursday it will restrict some activities of a company that has been exploiting a feature in Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) Windows to send out a unique form of spam.

The FTC is not blaming Microsoft itself for the illegitimate use of a feature in Windows called Windows Messenger Service. Not to be confused with the MSN Messenger or Windows Messenger instant messaging services, Windows Messenger Service appears to users as a pop-up window and is intended to be used by computer network administrators to send messages to users on the network.

The FTC won't disclose the name of the targeted company prior to a press conference scheduled for 11 a.m. EST Thursday. Nor will the FTC discuss its specific action against the company.

But a name that has commonly surfaced in complaints about so-called "messenger spam" is a San Diego-based firm called D Squared Solutions Inc. Complaints in on-line forums say that the company sends the unwanted messages - and then attempts to sell users software that will block the spam.

An attorney for the company did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

The pop-up ads look like a typical Microsoft window, and are labeled " Messenger Service." But the text includes advertising, pornographic messages and other unwanted solicitations, as well as advertisements for $30 software meant to stop the messages, according to complaints received by consumer groups and others.

Unlike typical spam, the messages can appear independent of e-mail in word processing applications and other programs.

"It's happened to a lot of people who have Microsoft Windows XP," says Ari Schwartz of the Center for Democracy and Technology. While high-speed Internet users who are always connected are more likely to get the messages, even users of slow dial-up modems have been hit "if they stay online a long time."

The FTC will also be announcing steps consumers can take to stop the messages. Microsoft itself has posted a fix on its Web site.

In addition, Microsoft will disable Windows Messenger in its update of Windows XP, expected to ship in the first half of 2004, since the feature isn't needed by most home users. Network administrators and others who need the feature will be able to turn it back on again.

The FTC's announcement will come a day after Microsoft announced the creation of a $5 million reward fund for information leading to the capture and conviction of individuals who have launched damaging viruses and worms. While the FTC isn't blaming Microsoft for the messenger spam, one critic of the company is.

Microsoft's Windows monopoly has "such a huge impact," says Ed Black of the Computer and Communications Industry Association, which represents a number of Microsoft's rivals as well as customers. "They are partly responsible for the spam problem because they have made it so easy to go through this hole."'
 
 

[Sethan]

http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/internet/11/07/microsoft.popup.reut/index.html

FTC accuses pop-up maker of 'extortion'

WASHINGTON (Reuters) --U.S. regulators said this week that Microsoft Corp. Windows users should turn off a little-used feature that allows unscrupulous marketers to bombard them with unwanted "pop-up" ads.

Windows users should disable a back-door communications channel called Windows Messenger Service to prevent unscrupulous marketers from filling their screens with unwanted ads, the Federal Trade Commission said Thursday.

The FTC said it had temporarily shut down one marketer, San Diego-based D Squared Solutions, which had, ironically, sold pop-up blocking software through pop-up ads that could appear even when the user was online but not browsing the Web.

"'I'll beat you, and I'll stop beating you if you pay.' We call that extortion, and it's no different in the high-tech world," said Howard Beales, the head of the FTC's consumer-protection division.

Beales added that the agency would seek to force D Squared to return the money it had collected from consumers.

D Squared could not be immediately reached for comment.

Beales said consumers should install firewall software or disable Windows Messenger, which allows computer network administrators to communicate with others on their networks but is unnecessary for home users. It is unrelated to popular instant-messaging software such as AOL Instant Messenger.

The FTC advice was another black eye for the world's largest software maker, which has struggled to improve software security as a wave of computer viruses have spread through holes in Windows and other Microsoft products.

Microsoft advised consumers to disable Messenger last month because it could potentially serve as a conduit for Internet worms. Separately, consumer complaints prompted Time Warner Inc.'s America Online to disable the feature on customer computers. Time Warner is the parent company of CNN.com.

A Microsoft spokesman said future versions of Windows would ship with Messenger turned off but said the company should not be faulted for enabling Windows Messenger.

"At the time we released Windows XP, it wasn't an issue that was being abused," Microsoft spokesman Sean Sundwall said.

The unwanted ads -- which the FTC said could pop up every 10 minutes for months on end -- may be an annoyance, but they do not rise to the level of a security risk, Sundwall said.

Beales said D Squared, not Microsoft, should be blamed for the ads.

Another company called Scintillant Inc. is sending similar pop-up ads, the FTC said in court documents seeking an injunction against D Squared. Beales declined to say whether the consumer-protection agency was planning to sue Scintillant.

Consumers can find out how to disable Windows Messenger at www.ftc.gov.

 

[TB613]

 

Quote:
 A Microsoft spokesman said future versions of Windows would ship with Messenger turned off but said the company should not be faulted for enabling Windows Messenger.

"At the time we released Windows XP, it wasn't an issue that was being abused," Microsoft spokesman Sean Sundwall said.
 

I think that they can be faulted for leaving something enabled that the vast majority of XP users had no need for. I wonder how many business networks have never used the Windows Messenger service and XP Home was crippled so it could not be used easily on a network meaning it was should have been turned off.  

[TalonClaw]

I turned that service off the first time I installed Windows XP.  It is useless unless you are on a network.  

Why Microsoft has it on by default puzzles me.  They should change the default in a future patch as well as shut it off.  There are many computer users who do not know what it is or how to turn it off.
 

[hobbesmaster]

Ahhh, windows messenger service.  Great fun at lan parties.

The syntax is 'net send [computer|username|domain|*] Insert message here' for those of you who didn't know.  Very useful incase someone is oh say, playing HL2 leaked alpha on a projector and you don't want to see the spoliers.  "net send [person's computer] NO SPOILERS"  And its no more HL2 for him.  Hehe...  

[Sethan]

 Link to Story

FTC Expected to Crack Down on 'Windows Messenger' Spammer  
November 5, 2003: 20:37 p.m. EST
 
Dow Jones Newswires
WASHINGTON -- The Federal Trade Commission is expected to announce Thursday it will restrict some activities of a company that has been exploiting a feature in Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) Windows to send out a unique form of spam.

The FTC is not blaming Microsoft itself for the illegitimate use of a feature in Windows called Windows Messenger Service. Not to be confused with the MSN Messenger or Windows Messenger instant messaging services, Windows Messenger Service appears to users as a pop-up window and is intended to be used by computer network administrators to send messages to users on the network.

The FTC won't disclose the name of the targeted company prior to a press conference scheduled for 11 a.m. EST Thursday. Nor will the FTC discuss its specific action against the company.

But a name that has commonly surfaced in complaints about so-called "messenger spam" is a San Diego-based firm called D Squared Solutions Inc. Complaints in on-line forums say that the company sends the unwanted messages - and then attempts to sell users software that will block the spam.

An attorney for the company did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

The pop-up ads look like a typical Microsoft window, and are labeled " Messenger Service." But the text includes advertising, pornographic messages and other unwanted solicitations, as well as advertisements for $30 software meant to stop the messages, according to complaints received by consumer groups and others.

Unlike typical spam, the messages can appear independent of e-mail in word processing applications and other programs.

"It's happened to a lot of people who have Microsoft Windows XP," says Ari Schwartz of the Center for Democracy and Technology. While high-speed Internet users who are always connected are more likely to get the messages, even users of slow dial-up modems have been hit "if they stay online a long time."

The FTC will also be announcing steps consumers can take to stop the messages. Microsoft itself has posted a fix on its Web site.

In addition, Microsoft will disable Windows Messenger in its update of Windows XP, expected to ship in the first half of 2004, since the feature isn't needed by most home users. Network administrators and others who need the feature will be able to turn it back on again.

The FTC's announcement will come a day after Microsoft announced the creation of a $5 million reward fund for information leading to the capture and conviction of individuals who have launched damaging viruses and worms. While the FTC isn't blaming Microsoft for the messenger spam, one critic of the company is.

Microsoft's Windows monopoly has "such a huge impact," says Ed Black of the Computer and Communications Industry Association, which represents a number of Microsoft's rivals as well as customers. "They are partly responsible for the spam problem because they have made it so easy to go through this hole."'
 
 

[Sethan]

http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/internet/11/07/microsoft.popup.reut/index.html

FTC accuses pop-up maker of 'extortion'

WASHINGTON (Reuters) --U.S. regulators said this week that Microsoft Corp. Windows users should turn off a little-used feature that allows unscrupulous marketers to bombard them with unwanted "pop-up" ads.

Windows users should disable a back-door communications channel called Windows Messenger Service to prevent unscrupulous marketers from filling their screens with unwanted ads, the Federal Trade Commission said Thursday.

The FTC said it had temporarily shut down one marketer, San Diego-based D Squared Solutions, which had, ironically, sold pop-up blocking software through pop-up ads that could appear even when the user was online but not browsing the Web.

"'I'll beat you, and I'll stop beating you if you pay.' We call that extortion, and it's no different in the high-tech world," said Howard Beales, the head of the FTC's consumer-protection division.

Beales added that the agency would seek to force D Squared to return the money it had collected from consumers.

D Squared could not be immediately reached for comment.

Beales said consumers should install firewall software or disable Windows Messenger, which allows computer network administrators to communicate with others on their networks but is unnecessary for home users. It is unrelated to popular instant-messaging software such as AOL Instant Messenger.

The FTC advice was another black eye for the world's largest software maker, which has struggled to improve software security as a wave of computer viruses have spread through holes in Windows and other Microsoft products.

Microsoft advised consumers to disable Messenger last month because it could potentially serve as a conduit for Internet worms. Separately, consumer complaints prompted Time Warner Inc.'s America Online to disable the feature on customer computers. Time Warner is the parent company of CNN.com.

A Microsoft spokesman said future versions of Windows would ship with Messenger turned off but said the company should not be faulted for enabling Windows Messenger.

"At the time we released Windows XP, it wasn't an issue that was being abused," Microsoft spokesman Sean Sundwall said.

The unwanted ads -- which the FTC said could pop up every 10 minutes for months on end -- may be an annoyance, but they do not rise to the level of a security risk, Sundwall said.

Beales said D Squared, not Microsoft, should be blamed for the ads.

Another company called Scintillant Inc. is sending similar pop-up ads, the FTC said in court documents seeking an injunction against D Squared. Beales declined to say whether the consumer-protection agency was planning to sue Scintillant.

Consumers can find out how to disable Windows Messenger at www.ftc.gov.

 

[TB613]

 

Quote:
 A Microsoft spokesman said future versions of Windows would ship with Messenger turned off but said the company should not be faulted for enabling Windows Messenger.

"At the time we released Windows XP, it wasn't an issue that was being abused," Microsoft spokesman Sean Sundwall said.
 

I think that they can be faulted for leaving something enabled that the vast majority of XP users had no need for. I wonder how many business networks have never used the Windows Messenger service and XP Home was crippled so it could not be used easily on a network meaning it was should have been turned off.  

[TalonClaw]

I turned that service off the first time I installed Windows XP.  It is useless unless you are on a network.  

Why Microsoft has it on by default puzzles me.  They should change the default in a future patch as well as shut it off.  There are many computer users who do not know what it is or how to turn it off.
 

[hobbesmaster]

Ahhh, windows messenger service.  Great fun at lan parties.

The syntax is 'net send [computer|username|domain|*] Insert message here' for those of you who didn't know.  Very useful incase someone is oh say, playing HL2 leaked alpha on a projector and you don't want to see the spoliers.  "net send [person's computer] NO SPOILERS"  And its no more HL2 for him.  Hehe...  

[Sethan]

 Link to Story

FTC Expected to Crack Down on 'Windows Messenger' Spammer  
November 5, 2003: 20:37 p.m. EST
 
Dow Jones Newswires
WASHINGTON -- The Federal Trade Commission is expected to announce Thursday it will restrict some activities of a company that has been exploiting a feature in Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) Windows to send out a unique form of spam.

The FTC is not blaming Microsoft itself for the illegitimate use of a feature in Windows called Windows Messenger Service. Not to be confused with the MSN Messenger or Windows Messenger instant messaging services, Windows Messenger Service appears to users as a pop-up window and is intended to be used by computer network administrators to send messages to users on the network.

The FTC won't disclose the name of the targeted company prior to a press conference scheduled for 11 a.m. EST Thursday. Nor will the FTC discuss its specific action against the company.

But a name that has commonly surfaced in complaints about so-called "messenger spam" is a San Diego-based firm called D Squared Solutions Inc. Complaints in on-line forums say that the company sends the unwanted messages - and then attempts to sell users software that will block the spam.

An attorney for the company did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

The pop-up ads look like a typical Microsoft window, and are labeled " Messenger Service." But the text includes advertising, pornographic messages and other unwanted solicitations, as well as advertisements for $30 software meant to stop the messages, according to complaints received by consumer groups and others.

Unlike typical spam, the messages can appear independent of e-mail in word processing applications and other programs.

"It's happened to a lot of people who have Microsoft Windows XP," says Ari Schwartz of the Center for Democracy and Technology. While high-speed Internet users who are always connected are more likely to get the messages, even users of slow dial-up modems have been hit "if they stay online a long time."

The FTC will also be announcing steps consumers can take to stop the messages. Microsoft itself has posted a fix on its Web site.

In addition, Microsoft will disable Windows Messenger in its update of Windows XP, expected to ship in the first half of 2004, since the feature isn't needed by most home users. Network administrators and others who need the feature will be able to turn it back on again.

The FTC's announcement will come a day after Microsoft announced the creation of a $5 million reward fund for information leading to the capture and conviction of individuals who have launched damaging viruses and worms. While the FTC isn't blaming Microsoft for the messenger spam, one critic of the company is.

Microsoft's Windows monopoly has "such a huge impact," says Ed Black of the Computer and Communications Industry Association, which represents a number of Microsoft's rivals as well as customers. "They are partly responsible for the spam problem because they have made it so easy to go through this hole."'
 
 

[Sethan]

http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/internet/11/07/microsoft.popup.reut/index.html

FTC accuses pop-up maker of 'extortion'

WASHINGTON (Reuters) --U.S. regulators said this week that Microsoft Corp. Windows users should turn off a little-used feature that allows unscrupulous marketers to bombard them with unwanted "pop-up" ads.

Windows users should disable a back-door communications channel called Windows Messenger Service to prevent unscrupulous marketers from filling their screens with unwanted ads, the Federal Trade Commission said Thursday.

The FTC said it had temporarily shut down one marketer, San Diego-based D Squared Solutions, which had, ironically, sold pop-up blocking software through pop-up ads that could appear even when the user was online but not browsing the Web.

"'I'll beat you, and I'll stop beating you if you pay.' We call that extortion, and it's no different in the high-tech world," said Howard Beales, the head of the FTC's consumer-protection division.

Beales added that the agency would seek to force D Squared to return the money it had collected from consumers.

D Squared could not be immediately reached for comment.

Beales said consumers should install firewall software or disable Windows Messenger, which allows computer network administrators to communicate with others on their networks but is unnecessary for home users. It is unrelated to popular instant-messaging software such as AOL Instant Messenger.

The FTC advice was another black eye for the world's largest software maker, which has struggled to improve software security as a wave of computer viruses have spread through holes in Windows and other Microsoft products.

Microsoft advised consumers to disable Messenger last month because it could potentially serve as a conduit for Internet worms. Separately, consumer complaints prompted Time Warner Inc.'s America Online to disable the feature on customer computers. Time Warner is the parent company of CNN.com.

A Microsoft spokesman said future versions of Windows would ship with Messenger turned off but said the company should not be faulted for enabling Windows Messenger.

"At the time we released Windows XP, it wasn't an issue that was being abused," Microsoft spokesman Sean Sundwall said.

The unwanted ads -- which the FTC said could pop up every 10 minutes for months on end -- may be an annoyance, but they do not rise to the level of a security risk, Sundwall said.

Beales said D Squared, not Microsoft, should be blamed for the ads.

Another company called Scintillant Inc. is sending similar pop-up ads, the FTC said in court documents seeking an injunction against D Squared. Beales declined to say whether the consumer-protection agency was planning to sue Scintillant.

Consumers can find out how to disable Windows Messenger at www.ftc.gov.

 

[TB613]

 

Quote:
 A Microsoft spokesman said future versions of Windows would ship with Messenger turned off but said the company should not be faulted for enabling Windows Messenger.

"At the time we released Windows XP, it wasn't an issue that was being abused," Microsoft spokesman Sean Sundwall said.
 

I think that they can be faulted for leaving something enabled that the vast majority of XP users had no need for. I wonder how many business networks have never used the Windows Messenger service and XP Home was crippled so it could not be used easily on a network meaning it was should have been turned off.  

[TalonClaw]

I turned that service off the first time I installed Windows XP.  It is useless unless you are on a network.  

Why Microsoft has it on by default puzzles me.  They should change the default in a future patch as well as shut it off.  There are many computer users who do not know what it is or how to turn it off.
 

[hobbesmaster]

Ahhh, windows messenger service.  Great fun at lan parties.

The syntax is 'net send [computer|username|domain|*] Insert message here' for those of you who didn't know.  Very useful incase someone is oh say, playing HL2 leaked alpha on a projector and you don't want to see the spoliers.  "net send [person's computer] NO SPOILERS"  And its no more HL2 for him.  Hehe...