Do you want to know who blocked you?

[St Georges Girl]

I didn't care, but now I know,....................I still don't care.

You're Blocked :: MSN Messenger Blocked Checker

[TimberFloorAu]

I have never and never will use the worlds most dodgy bit of software, known to man as MSN messenger.

Its like a one armed man getting rid of herpes off his elbow to get rid of it.
My view is you have to be an utter knob to use MSN, its flawed beyond belief, and is the preferred route for nearly all hackers.

Ste

[St Georges Girl]

I have never and never will use the worlds most dodgy bit of software, known to man as MSN messenger.

Its like a one armed man getting rid of herpes off his elbow to get rid of it.
My view is you have to be an utter knob to use MSN, its flawed beyond belief, and is the preferred route for nearly all hackers.

Ste

Huh??

I'm an utter knob then. It's the only way I get to talk to one of my sisters though, so it stays.

[TimberFloorAu]

Your not a knob lol

But have a read of a few of these

msn messenger security exploits

[Fenton Beasley]

I didn't care, but now I know,....................I still don't care.

You're Blocked :: MSN Messenger Blocked Checker

Thanks for that.

I have one reservation though. The link you give takes you to a non MSN messenger/Microsoft site that then wants you to put in your email address and password into it.

Is there a smiley for looking worried and stoking my chin?

[TimberFloorAu]

“You Are Blocked” MSN virus/scam Chocolatefan’s Blog

Virus alert. Someone on my friendslist fell for the scam. Assuming there are only 6 degrees of separation… Thought I’d write something up really quick before someone else I know falls victim. I’m up this late because I was doing my Final Year Project.

How it tricks people: A hacker enters your MSN account, advertising a block checker with a trademarked company. It will come up as an offline friend logging in, talking to you with the ad, possibly changing the screen name, then soonafter logging out. Your friend will include a link to either “www.you-are-blocked.com” or “www.youareblocked.com“, saying you can check out who has blocked you on MSN by using this site.

The overexcited/curious unsuspecting person CLICKS THE LINK and GIVES THEIR PASSWORD without checking things out with their friend first.

Consequences: From what I’ve heard (on the interwebs), downloading the software will cause your computer screen to start spazzing. Then it dies. Permanently. I’m sorry.

Otherwise, it’ll just send the link to your friends, pretending to be you.

Damage control:

1) Change your MSN password – NOW! GO GO GO

Eventually you should be able to log into MSN. If MSN is too unreliable, sign in through another website that uses the MSN Passport or Windows Live ID, such as Hotmail/Windows Live Mail. It will be at a section that says something like “Settings”, “Account” or “Edit your info”.

***If you can’t figure out how to change your password, please step away from the computer now and get someone who does because the likelihood you will cause your computer to die an even worse death as you continue following these steps is very, very high.***

(Edit: After reading some comments from readers, I believe you can stop at Step 1 if your computer is not acting weird.)

2) Disable system restore

This ensures a thorough clean-up and that the virus won’t be backed up.

Windows XP instructions
Windows ME instructions

3) Reboot computer in Safe Mode

Press the F5 or F8 key down as soon as you turn on the computer and hold it there until you hear a beep, see a startup menu (a list of the computer’s various startup options) appear, or safe mode loads. You’ll know you did it right if you see the words “safe mode” at the corners of your screen.

4) Run a thorough virus check

Ensure your anti-virus software is up-to-date. If it isn’t, download the latest updates from its website before running it. Need help? Check out this tutorial.
5) Remove MSN Messenger completely

Uninstall it from the Add/Remove Programs control panel to remove its program directory from your computer (to make sure everything is removed). If you can’t find it, it should be under “Windows Live Messenger” (too tired to check now, using common sense).

6) Reinstall MSN Messenger

Go to the official website and reinstall it.

7) Learn from it

Warn your friends and don’t do it again.

Information Sources:
Posts by “CookieRevised” – Website 1, Website 2

[St Georges Girl]

Thanks for that.

I have one reservation though. The link you give takes you to a non MSN messenger/Microsoft site that then wants you to put in your email address and password into it.

Is there a smiley for looking worried and stoking my chin?

Well, it was sent to me by a tech geek good friend of mine, so I trusted it as he's such a fuss pot. BUT, I've just read what it says under the 'SECURE SITE' logo. <gulp> Poor English or what?

I used it about 3/4 days ago and not had a problem as yet. All seems OK on my computer.

[TimberFloorAu]

You used to be able to dowload spysweeper for free.

If you have avast, I would run a scan now.
Adaware may also pick up any keyloggers.

The thing with viruses, is they can use you as a host, so you show no symptoms. !
If its a keylogger everything you type can be extracted by an open port that msn utilises for its interface.

I posted a link the other day for GRC's Shields Up.

I would go to google and type SHIELDS UP, look for grisoft or grc, and run the test.

Then run Avast ( i use ) which is totally FREE, and do a full system scan

Ste

[St Georges Girl]

You used to be able to dowload spysweeper for free.

If you have avast, I would run a scan now.
Adaware may also pick up any keyloggers.

The thing with viruses, is they can use you as a host, so you show no symptoms. !
If its a keylogger everything you type can be extracted by an open port that msn utilises for its interface.

I posted a link the other day for GRC's Shields Up.

I would go to google and type SHIELDS UP, look for grisoft or grc, and run the test.

Then run Avast ( i use ) which is totally FREE, and do a full system scan

Ste

I have AVG and I am running it as we speak.

[cleopatra]

Oh, bollocks.

Mind you he's set up something that virus kills this thing everynight. I'll not tell him I've been thick and done this.