Windows Messenger Returns and Wont Die

Post by **fac51** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 3:46 pm

OK here's a funny one for you all. I noticed today (when troubleshooting a different issue) that i had a running process call msmsgs.exe. Now i didn?t have msn messenger running so i did a search which showed it up as windows messenger. (msn messenger?s process is msnmsgr.exe).

This is odd as i had removed the windows messenger component when i installed xp (i do this by habit).

i'm fairly positive that it has only appeared recently but cannot be sure as i may have ignored it in the past thinking it was msn messenger which i usually have running.

anyway i did a full search and found all the files called 'msmsgs' and renamed them so that they couldn?t run' interestingly enough i couldn?t find msmsgs.exe where it should have been in C:\Program Files\Messenger\msmsgs.exe and the only place it actually showed up was in c:\windows\servicepackfiles\i386\ which is the sp2 folder i believe.

anyway this didn?t work as the process just kept re-enabling itself!

now i was getting pissed off, i searched the net and found out that the file could be a spoofed by some trojans, i checked out this possibility and it's not.

so next i fired up a proggy called 'security task manager' which also recognised it as windows messenger and pointed me to the

C:\Program Files\Messenger\msmsgs.exe

folder.

i had already enabled the 'show hidden files and folders option' and still couldn?t see the little bastid in there. i was thinking it wasn?t there due to me removing it when i installed xp.

anyway to cut a long story short i typed

C:\Program Files\Messenger\msmsgs.exe

in explorer and lo and behold it started up windows messenger - so it was there and it was messenger showing in the running processes as i could see the memory usage relating to it increase.

god knows why i couldn?t see the .exe file for it.

Solution to stopping it running all the time was to rename the messenger folder.

i don?t know why it came back and why it is so well hidden but the only thing i can think of was when i installed a cumulative update for outlook a few days back.

vinnieza · Post by **vinnieza** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 5:17 pm

Strange that you couldn't see the exe. Wasn't hidden was it?

Post by **fac51** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 5:22 pm

how do you mean?

vinnieza · Post by **vinnieza** » Tue Aug 09, 2005 1:17 pm

sorry didn't see this:

i had already enabled the 'show hidden files and folders option' and still couldn?t see the little bastid in there. i was thinking it wasn?t there due to me removing it when i installed xp.

Post by **fac51** » Tue Aug 09, 2005 1:40 pm

ahh right, thought you had thought of something i'd missed

Post by **117** » Sat Aug 13, 2005 10:36 am

did you try using command prompt to search for it rather than explorer?

Post by **fac51** » Sat Aug 13, 2005 10:46 am

nope but good idea.

doesn?t matter now as reinstalled xp yesterday. optimising it like a bastid now to get rid of unnecessary running processes etc

Post by **117** » Sun Aug 14, 2005 10:22 am

C:\Program Files\Messenger\msmsgs.exe shows the msn messenger icon in explorer for me

Post by **fac51** » Sun Aug 14, 2005 10:36 am

doesnt for me even on a fresh install of xp but then again i removed it via add/remove programs/windows components. the funny thing is if i still head to

C:\Program Files\Messenger\msmsgs.exe

it fires up windows messenger even though i cant see it

vinnieza · Post by **vinnieza** » Mon Aug 15, 2005 10:11 am

I've herd this story before, i herd it on an xp OS newsgroup. I think it was alt.os.windows-xp

I just got this in a search:

YOU SHOULD NOT BE REMOVING WINDOWS MESSENGER BECAUSE IT
IS PART OF THE OPERATING SYSTEM AND IS REQUIRED TO RUN
CERTAIN PROGRAMS. If you want to delete it though you
have to go into your control panel. It will be under "ADD
OR REMOVE PROGRAMS" and then click "ADD OR REMOVE WINDOWS
COMPONENTS". Then just click on messenger and it will
delete it. I DON"T RECCOMMEND YOU DELETE IT.
Soucre

so going by that you only remove signs of it but it's still there as it's needed to run if you delete it through add/remove, howevcer there is still a way to delete it my following the instructions in the post above?

http://groups.google.co.uk/groups?q=rem ... nger&hl=en

Post by **fac51** » Mon Aug 15, 2005 11:01 am

ta vin but thats not entirely true. by removing it via add/remove programs/windows components you are not 'completely deleting' it but are just stopping it from running all the time, shared dll's etc remain just where they should be. this is how it should be removed and how i always do remove it.

i disagree with the chap saying DO NOT REMOVE IT. if you dont do this you have windows messenger running constantly without you realising it bringing you a few potential problems.

1 - people can see you online in MSN and you dont even think your logged on. dont be surprised if people message you - has happened to me before.

2 - you can get bombarded by advertising pop ups.

3 - it provides a nice little security vulnerability on your system.

4 - using resources that dont need to be used.

I've been removing it this way for years with no issues bar the one above which wasn't really an issue more something that confused me.

i think it was something to do with the lastest msn update that caused the two messanger processes to start running again but i dont really know.
since i reinstalled xp the 'problem' has gone away so maybe i will never know.