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Messaging spam
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==On Windows NT-based systems== [[File:Netspam.gif|thumb|Example of Messenger Service spam from 2007.]] In 2002, a number of spammers began abusing the [[Windows Messenger service]], a function of Windows designed to allow administrators to send alerts to users' workstations (not to be confused with [[Windows Messenger]] or [[Windows Live Messenger]], a free [[instant messaging]] application) in [[Microsoft]]'s [[Windows NT]]-based operating systems. Messenger Service spam appears as normal [[dialog box]]es containing the spammer's message. These messages are easily blocked by [[firewall (networking)|firewall]]s configured to block [[Packet (information technology)|packets]] to the [[NetBIOS]] ports 135-139 and 445 as well as unsolicited [[User Datagram Protocol|UDP]] packets to ports above 1024.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://support.microsoft.com/kb/330904 |title=Messenger Service window that contains an Internet advertisement appears |publisher=Microsoft |accessdate=2023-12-01}}</ref> Additionally, [[Windows XP Service Pack 2]] disables the Messenger Service by default. Messenger Service spammers frequently send messages to vulnerable Windows machines with a [[URL]]. The message promises the user to eradicate spam messages sent via the Messenger Service. The URL leads to a [[website]] where, for a fee, users are told how to disable the Messenger service. Though the Messenger is easily disabled for free by the user, this works because it creates a perceived need and then offers an immediate solution.{{citation needed|date=December 2013}}
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