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Messenger service was a network-based system notificationWindows service byMicrosoft that was included in some earlier versions ofMicrosoft Windows.
This retired technology, although it has a similar name, is not related in any way to the later, Internet-basedMicrosoft Messenger service for instant messaging or toWindows Messenger andWindows Live Messenger (formerly named MSN Messenger) client software.
WinPopup sends messages from one Windows computer to another on the sameLAN. It is available in all Windows versions fromWindows for Workgroups (Ver 3.11) toWindows ME, but has never been included withWindows NT-based operating systems. WinPopup works by means of theNetBEUI protocol.
There is also a port toLinux with an extended feature called LinPopUp,[1] which allows adding Linux computers to the set. Linpopup is anX Window graphical port of Winpopup, and a package for Debian linux. It runs overSamba. Linpopup does not have to run all the time, can run minimized, and its messages are encrypted with a strong cypher. The traditional Unix functional equivalent of WinPopUp would be thewall andwrite commands.
The Messenger Service was originally designed for use by system administrators to notify Windows users about their networks.[2] It was used maliciously to presentpop-up advertisements to users over the Internet (by using mass-messaging systems which sent a desired message to a specified range ofIP addresses). Even though Windows XP included afirewall, it was not enabled by default. Because of this, many users received such messages. As a result of this abuse, the Messenger Service was disabled by default inWindows XP Service Pack 2.
The Messenger Service was discontinued inWindows Vista andWindows Server 2008 and replaced by the old MSG.exe.[3][failed verification]
The Messenger service inWindows 2000 andWindows XP uses theNetBIOS over TCP/IP (NetBT) protocol. The service waits for a message, then it displays it onscreen. The alternative way to send a message is to write it to aMailSlot namedmessngr. It requiresUDP ports 135, 137, and 138 andTCP ports 135, 139, and 445 to work. If access to the ports from outside a network is not blocked, it can lead to the aforementioned spam issue.[4] InWindows NT 3.5,NT 3.51 andNT 4.0, Messenger used the olderNetBIOS protocol.[5] (NetBIOS is not installed with Windows 2000.[6])
In the past Messenger service can be used by eitherNet Send command from a command-line interface. In addition, the Alerter service uses Messenger to send administrative alerts to network subscribers.[4] You have to be part of a domain, not aworkgroup.
