jaavaaguru

Does anyone know what port the Windows Messenger service runs on? (I'm not talking about the chat thing here). I'd be interested to set up a program listening on that port to see what it actually does.

I've got to ask this one too... why would you want to install Direct X on a machine that's going to be locked away in a server room?

Why would anyone want Solitaire, an e-mail client, and an instant messaging client on a server operating system? That's what the machine on the desk in front of you is for, isn't it? (which, being a desktop workstation, is presumably running a workstation operating system). I'm puzzled by this.

Nice skin. Phoenix rocks, but sometimes I wish it would just use the same theme as the rest of the apps on my desktop.

Object Bar is what you're looking for... http://www.stardock.com/products/objectbar/

I take it that by "Advanced users" you mean "System administrators", since normal users shouldn't be given enough permissions to play around with things like this - that's just asking for trouble. I'm not saying that these users aren't competent enough - I'm just saying that mistakes happen, and people can mess things up accidentally. "Administrator" accounts were invented to deal with the few occasions where messing with things like this is necessary.

Most modern browsers (e.g. http://phoenix.ragweed.net/ ) block all 'pop-up' windows, except ones that you explicitly wanted (as a result of clicking on a link). If you don't like the functionality of the browser you have, use one that suits you better.

Would it not be sensible to configure a firewall to prevent people on the Internet accessing whatever port the Messenger service uses on your PC? If you're on a network, block this at your router (easy to do if you've got a PC set up as a NAT box). This is not directed at the original poster (the newbie), but at all the people who have suggested was of preventing the problem. This way, you still have the Messenger service if you need it, but people on the 'net can't abuse it. Would you share your C: drive or an SMTP servger out to the entire world?

As a last resource, a lot of ISP's CDs have Internet Explorer on them. They give you a version that doesn't need an internet connection to install. It sounds like you tried re-installing a version that needed a connection the 'net while installing.

Do you mean "automatically boots" or "automatically logs in"? Try the Computer Management control panel to find out about automatically logging a user in after the machine has booted. There's a problem with your C:\boot.ini file if your machine doesn't automatically boot when it starts up. Anyway, why does the computer have to have someone locally logged into it to allow someone else to remotely administer it? This seems like a bit of a design flaw. Don't you get tools with your OS to allow remote administration, without requiring someone to be locally logged in? I have a telnet server and a decent shell running on my XP machine here (behind a firewall, before anyone starts talking about how insecure that is ;-). I can do any administration I've ever needed (apart from changing registry settings) using that. I would actually be surprised if there's no way to edit the registry that way too.

On XP Professional, it's just called "Messenger", not "Messenger Service".

Does anyone know (or is willing to make a guess) when Microsoft will make .NET the "native" format for .exe files, and will provide a Win32 compatability layer instead of Win32 being native as it currently is? I'm sure I saw something about it on the Internet a few weeks ago, when reading about Longhorn and Windows Server 2003, but can't remember where is was. Is this actually going to happen? Do we think it's a good thing, or will it just cause problems? Personally, I like the sound of it from a desktop software point of view, but don't think its good for servers doing a lot of number crunching as software compiled to byte code isn't too fast in this area.

You seem to be getting confused between Microsoft .NET Messenger and the Microsoft Windows Messenger Service. To turn off the Messenger Service, go into Control Panel, then Administrative Tools, double click on "Messenger" and choose whether or not you want it to automatically start when Windows starts. The description you've given sounds more like the .Net Messenger client rather than the Messenger Service. As for chat services (or which the Windows Messenger Service is not one), Jabber is nice and open, can be encrypted, and does not rely on the unreliable .Net Messenger servers.