[rogerbid]

Hi friends,

At risk of revealing my shortcomings when it comes to personnel management, I am seeking help here to disable the MSN Messenger on a networked workstation. The user of the workstation is abusing the service and, believe me, when I say that there are more than enough issues currently running that a dispute over this is something I can well do without.

I have uninstalled Messenger (only for it to be reinstalled) and despite trying many of the weird and wonderful remedies brought up by a Google search (assorted registry edits etc) I have been unsuccessful in preventing its continued use.

The user of the workstation is not an advanced computer user so I reckon if I can successfully block the necessary ports in the Firewall I shall be able to prevent further use.

Can someone please suggest how I might go about this, bearing in mind that I am not a wizz when it comes to firewall settings etc, so I ask that the instructions be fairly explicit!

Throughout the network we use the Messenger service for pop up messages so I do not want a remedy that is going to render this ineffective!

I shall welcome any advice and assistance, thanks, Roger

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you could try this if you want it might work


go start........click run........type in msconfig click ok.... under the services tab look for messenger un check it then restart your computer could be a long shot but give it a try



another one you can try is ....go start......click run........type in services.msc click ok look for messenger click on it and on the left click on stop try that

Edited by rushin1nd, 10 August 2006 - 10:41 PM.

[dsenette]

or start > run > gpedit.msc >in the left pane navigate to > user configuration > administrative templates > system

in the right pane find "don't run specified windows applications" > right click and choose properties > click enable > show > add > then put msnmsgr.exe in the box...press ok and ok untill you're out > close the group policy editor..and try to run msn

[rogerbid]

Thanks rushin1nd and dsenette,

I am writing at home and from memory I dont think MSN Messenger shows up on the computer concerend in msconfig. I will recheck this on Monday morning.

However, I have tried the gpedit.msc route on my computer at home and it does the job just perfectly. Thanks very much, I will try this on Monday morning and confirm the result.

I hate having to resort to such tactics but hopefully the angst will be resolved in the near future and things will settle down!

Thanks again, Roger

[dsenette]

I hate having to resort to such tactics but hopefully the angst will be resolved in the near future and things will settle down!

indeed...i've got about 8 computers that aren't networked in my quality lab that are used for testing equipment...and i've had to go to each one and lock them down so tight that when there's an issue it takes me 30 minutes to unlock everything to work on them....all because people can't realize that they are at work and not at home...and that they do not own the computer's they are using...it's a shame

[rogerbid]

Hi dsenette,

I was interested to see your extra comments. I totally agree with your last sentence. My predicament stems from the fact that the comp user is the daughter of the company owner and as such is in a protected situation, in which she revells all day long.

I have applied the solution you suggested and had believed that I had successfully rendered Messenger inoperable. She once assured me that she had removed Messenger (this was after I had removed it and she had reinstalled it!) and I subsequently printed out a record of 4 hrs of chat (averaging about 3 or 4 messages a minute)! She has gotten wise to the tickbox re saving a record of chats, so I no longer have this way of gathering evidence.

Now in fact I cannot find any trace of Messenger using the Search function, but I am not convinced she is no longer using it. Her behaviour at her desk implies she is using a message prog of some sort - long periods staring at the screen punctuated with a burst of typing, and never looking at papers on her desk etc! She is too cunning to let herself be caught in the act, arranging her desk in such a way as to make her monitor out of line of sight, LOL

Wish there was some way I could establish what programs are running so if someone has a suggestion please feel free to ad your comments.

I keep telling myslef not to allow it to get to me, but I am failing miserably! It's the boss's money after all.

Oh well, c'est la vie, Roger

[dsenette]

um...well...you could use VNC or some other remote monitoring tool to see exactly what's on her screen...while it's on her screen...if she saw that msn (even after uninstalling and reinstalling it) didnt work..she may have switched programs...
you could also use GPedit to dissallow user installs (assuming she doesn't have administrative privelages) this will only allow for the administrator to install software...you could also disable the add/remove programs in control panel so that she can't uninstall any programs

also bears mentioning that since this is a local computer and not one on a domain...these settings apply to all users...even the admin...so you'll need to "turn these settings off" for you to monkey with the system...but...it's not exactly that many extra steps

[rogerbid]

Hi Again,
I've investigated VNC and it seems it has to run with an icon in the Task Bar which is a shame as it will alert the comp user to the fact that something is going on! Do you know if there is a way to prevent it showing up there?

I seem to have misled you somehow - the network computers are all on a domain, and are using IP addresses in the 192.168.0.1 - 20 range.

Also, you suggest "use GPedit to dissallow user installs " - I cant see where this is in gpedit.msc. Can you advise please?

Thanks again for your support, Roger

[rogerbid]

Hi To everyone,

My aplogies for not writing back in reponse to the last items in this thread, I had a whole lot of new problems that required my time and then this problem became too hard and I allowed it to slip from my To Do list. I hope no-one has been offended by my apparent disinterest in the advice offered.

I have tried the various suggestions and have not been able to progress at all. The latest suggestion "Shoot the Messenger - Windows Messenger Spam Elimination Freeware" does not seem to be applicable because it targets Messenger Services and not the I.M. programs. (quote"The first thing to understand is that the Windows Messenger Service is completely different from, and not in any way related to, "MSN Messenger", "Windows Messenger", or any other well-known instant messaging system.")

I did think for a while that I had won the battle when I totally removed MSN Messenger from the PC concerned. But to my surprise the person has reinstalled it and somehow made it 'invisible'. I can find no trace of it on the hard drive, yet keylogger shows it is in use daily. Can anyone suggest where it might be - it certainly doesn't show up anywhere using the Windows Search command. I would far rather simply delete it again and hope that the person takes the hint.

Thanks, Roger