Home »
Instant Messaging
»
MSN Instant Messenger
Summary: MSN Messenger and Windows Live Messenger users are being told they must upgrade. We'll look at why, and what some alternatives might be.
|
I'm trying to launch MSN Messenger and it's telling me I must upgrade to the latest version of Windows Live Messenger. I don't like Windows Live Messenger, can't I just keep my old MSN Messenger? There must be a way. |
There isn't.
And you don't really want there to be, for reasons I'll explain in a moment.
The bottom line is that if you're running MSN Messenger or even an older version of Windows Live Messenger itself, you must upgrade. There's no avoiding that.
Now, as to what you upgrade to, well, there's a little wiggle room.
•
The reason you must upgrade is simple: as reported in the infopackets windows newsletter there's a vulnerability in the older Messenger programs that can be exploited by a malicious attacker and can be used, in the worst case, to take over your machine. Microsoft has fixed this in the latest Windows Live Messenger and is now requiring that you upgrade to squash the vulnerability.
Much like the forced upgrade from MSN Hotmail to MSN Live Hotmail there's no alternative; you must upgrade. The old versions are no longer supported and will soon simply not work, if they haven't stopped working already.
Could they have fixed the older versions? Perhaps. But I'm not at all surprised that Microsoft would also use this as an opportunity to also help push the migration to "Windows Live" along. And particularly when it comes to free software and services, it just makes sense to support one and only one version of the software rather than trying to keep old versions working as well.
Remember, "Windows Live Messenger" isn't a new program, it's just the latest version of MSN Messenger with a new name.
So my first recommendation is to simply upgrade and give Windows Live Messenger a chance. You may be surprised.
But what if you still don't like Windows Live Messenger? There are two basic approaches:
Stop using the Windows Messenger Service all together, and switch to another IM service.
Switch to one of the alternative, non-Microsoft IM client programs.
Switching services is a big deal. All of your contacts now are on MSN/Windows Live Messenger, and if you switch to one of the other services such as AIM, Yahoo, Google Talk or others, then all your contacts would need to move as well. It may be easier than you think - you might want to check with your contacts and see if they already have accounts on those other services.
But of course you'll want to check out the client programs that work with those other services to make sure that they work and don't irritate you in the same way that Windows Live Messenger apparently does.
The second alternative is actually what I do. Run a third party IM client program. In my case I run Trillian. Trillian is a single program that allows you to IM with MSN/Windows Live Messenger contacts as well as AIM, Yahoo and others. You'd install and use it instead of Windows Live Messenger, but you're able to IM with all your Windows Live Messenger contacts.
Another alternative is Pidgin, an open source equivalent to Trillian. Same idea: you install Pidgin and use it instead of Windows Live Messenger to communicate to the same buddies you had before.
A third and completely different alternative is to use a web based IM service such as Meebo. You can IM through several different services via the Meebo website. (Caveat: while I've used both Trillian and Pidgin, I've not played with Meebo at all. Readers have reported good things about it, however.)
Related:
Ask Leo! - How do I switch Windows Live Hotmail back to the old style MSN Hotmail?
Ask Leo! - Are forced upgrades a bad thing?
Article C3154 - September 20, 2007
Thanks for setting up this site! I use Trillian and since I switched from Hotmail/MSN Messenger to Windows Live Messenger a while back, Messenger shows as being logged off. When I click on the icon, I am brought to the Windows Live login page, where my login name is set but I am asked for my password. I use XP sp2 and Firefox. Same issue on both PCs. I have never used Trillian on the PC I am typing this message on.
Posted by: Will at May 13, 2008 9:08 AMi cant logon by Windows Live Messenger code 8100036
Posted by: GoodLuck at July 1, 2008 3:18 PMYou can actually still use MSN Messenger 7.5. There is a trick. First install MSN MEssenger 7.5. After insallation, shut down the program, browse to msnmsgr.exe (usually under C: -> Program Files -> MSN MESSENGER -> msnmsgr.exe) Then right click on the file and chose Properties -> Compatibility -> Chose "Run this program in compatibility mode for" Windows 2000. Then start up msnmsgr.exe again and it will "rebuild" and not ask to download new version again.
There might be some vulnerabilities in MSN Messenger, but I have not noticed anything yet and I chose to take the chance, as I'm very carefull with what I do.
Posted by: PTK at July 31, 2008 9:31 AMI want to get the latest version of Windows Messenger, because my one is old and bad, but whenever i go onto the update site, it says internet cannot display webpage. Do i have to uninstall my msn to get upgrade, if so how or if i don't then what is the problem?
Posted by: Oliver Cupitt-Osborne at October 7, 2008 7:06 AMI already have a windows live messenger account, and when I log in it tells me I HAVE to upgrade...press the button, there's a good girl..so i do and each time I do, firefox pops an error box saying it cannot connect to the URL - it is an invalid address... so now I have LOST my msn altogether, because EVERY time I try to upgrade, I get the error... ho hum, what can I do? I am running Windows Vista XP SP2 with Firefox. i have to say, I had not a single problem with the messenger i already had - and now lost...
Posted by: Pippy Longstocking at October 13, 2008 12:33 AMcould u send me the correct way to invite in spades we try and a message comes up we need to be signed in on windows live messenger we are signed in and it still wont work both computers are xp then some are vista
Posted by: norman at February 27, 2009 6:59 AMPTK is right!!!!
Simply "install MSN MEssenger 7.5. After insallation, shut down the program, browse to msnmsgr.exe (usually under C: -> Program Files -> MSN MESSENGER -> msnmsgr.exe) Then right click on the file and chose Properties -> Compatibility -> Chose "Run this program in compatibility mode for" Windows 2000. Then start up msnmsgr.exe again and it will "rebuild" and not ask to download new version again." It WORKS!!!
Posted by: universal at March 10, 2009 2:59 PMhere is a nice tutorial to use msn without updating, however i agree with the security issues..
http://techtadka.net/tutorials/software-tutorials/178-how-to-use-old-msn-messenger-without-upgrading.html
Posted by: kush at March 11, 2009 10:13 PMThanks PTK. Upgraded my messenger to latest version which is a piece of $#*&. Uninstalled and reinstalled old version but it would always try to force me to upgrade. By using PTK's suggestions I manage to use v8.x now by using it in windows 2000 compatibility mode. Kudos to PTK.
Posted by: msnuser at April 1, 2009 8:25 AMhttp://patched-up.blogspot.com/2007/10/running-msn-messenger-75.html
This site explains how to make your MSN Messenger 7.5 work without updating...
It is possible, it's just not as "safe" as stated above.
I downloaded and am now, as I am typing, using MSN Messenger 7.5
You can also download other versions of MSN Messenger from this site
Posted by: Ben Brabec at April 27, 2009 7:30 PMhttp://www.oldapps.com/msn_messenger.php?old_msn=6