A growing number of Internet users are complaining about a new kind of popup advertising windows that suddenly appear on their screens.

This new kind of spam, known as "IP spam" or "net spam", is generated through the internal Windows messaging service, which is actually a tool provided to enable network administrators to send messages to multiple users via the network. (It shouldn`t be confused with the Windows Messenger instant messaging program, which is completely different.) Important:This tool is only for Windows NT, 2000 and XP, you can`t use it to switch off the messaging service under Windows 95, 98 or Me.

Here is how to de-activate it on these systems (please note that you should only do this if your system is not integrated into a local network):
-Click on the "Start" button in your task bar
-Select "Settings"/"Control Panel"/"Network"
-Click on "File and printer accessibility in Microsoft networks"
-Select "Delete