AOL blocks Messenger spam

AOL has blocked a port in Windows Messenger that was being used by spammers to create pop-up text messages on users’ screens.

“It was a vulnerability and we have blocked the port used to exploit that hole,” AOL spokesman Andrew Weinstein said Tuesday.

“[The feature] was designed to allow system administrators to contact people on the same LAN, but it was exploited by spammers,” he said.

System administrators will still be able to contact people on their LAN, he said, as it is only Internet use of the port that has been blocked.

The problem has been a U.S. one to date, according to AOL in the U.K. A spokesman said Tuesday that messenger spam has not been a major problem in the U.K. “but it’s good to block it before the problem starts.”