Windows Live Messenger

Windows Live Messenger

Windows Live Messenger still commonly referred to by the previous name of MSN Messenger ( MSN for short), is an instant messaging client for Windows XP , Windows Server 2003 , Windows Vista , and Windows Mobile , first released on December 13 , 2005 by Microsoft . It is part of Microsoft's Windows Live set of online services. The current version is Windows Live Messenger 8.1, which was released on January 29 , 2007 . Version 8.5 Beta was released on May 31 , 2007 .

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"MSN Messenger" (or often just " MSN ") is often also used to refer to the Microsoft Network (the protocols and servers that allow the system to operate), rather than any particular client. Corporations can also integrate their Live Communication Server and Active Directory with the network on behalf of its clients. Most major multi-protocol clients can also connect to the service.

Features new to Windows Live Messenger

To the features available in MSN Messenger , Windows Live Messenger adds the following:

Sharing folders

The Sharing Folder feature of Windows Live Messenger is an alternative to the " direct transfer " method of file distribution. When a user wants to deliver a file to another person on his or her contact list , the "sharing folder" window appears, which is an individualized representation of all previously shared items.

When files are added to the "sharing folder" for that particular person, the file will automatically be transferred to the corresponding computer when they are online. This means that the folder is literally "shared" between two computers. If a user deletes a file, for example, the file will also be deleted from the corresponding computer's shared folder.

To minimize risk of virus-infected transfers, the "sharing folder" feature is bundled with an anti-virus program. The "sharing folder" feature can only be used on computers with NTFS -formatted hard disks .

PC-to-phone calls

Windows Live Call In addition to PC-to-PC calls that have been supported in previous versions, Windows Live Messenger now supports PC-to-phone calls with Windows Live Call . In the US, this feature is supported by Verizon, branded as "Verizon Web Calling". Orange France also has a similar service. This feature is only available in selected countries, including the US, the UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Ireland, Finland, Belgium, Spain, and Italy.

Windows Live Messenger to Yahoo!

On October 13 , 2005 , Yahoo! and Microsoft announced plans to introduce interoperability between their two messengers, creating the second largest instant messenger user base worldwide: 40 percent of all users. The announcement comes after years of 3rd party interoperability success (most notably, Trillian , Pidgin ) and criticisms from Google that the major instant messengers were locking their networks. Microsoft has also had talks with AOL in an attempt to introduce further interoperability, but so far, AOL seems unwilling to participate.

Interoperability between Yahoo! and Windows Live Messenger was launched 12 July , 2006. This allows Yahoo! and Windows Live Messenger users to chat (using text or voice) to each other without the need to create an account on the other service, provided both contacts use the latest versions of the clients. However, if a user uses an older or third-party client, they will appear offline to the users on the other network.

Offline messaging

Unlike previous versions, one can start conversations even when his or her status is set to Appear Offline , similar to behaviour in Yahoo! Messenger . If talking to someone who has an older MSN Messenger client, they will lose the ability to talk to you after a short period of no activity, due to their client thinking you are offline. As Windows Live Messenger has now been made available on several phones, a new trend has appeared where people send messages over Windows Live Messenger to each other as a way to have free SMS text messages.

Games and applications

Main article: Games and applications for Windows Live Messenger There are various games and applications available in Windows Live Messenger that can be accessed via the conversation window by clicking the games icon and challenging your "buddy".

i'm initiative

The i'm initiative is a new program Microsoft launched in March 2007, that connects the user with nine organizations dedicated to social causes through Windows Live Messenger. Every time someone has a conversation using i'm , Microsoft Corp. shares a portion of the program's advertising revenue with the organization of the user's choice. Unfortunately, only conversations that are sent or receive (or both) to United States will be recognized. There is no set cap on the amount donated to each organization. The more i'm conversations the user has; the more money goes to one of the nine causes. Each participating organization is guaranteed a minimum donation of $100,000 during the first year of the program. There is currently no end date for the program. The i'm initiative only works with the most recent WLM version 8.1 and 8.5 beta.

Xbox 360

Windows Live Messenger support was included in the Xbox 360 Spring 2007 dashboard update released on May 9 , 2007 . Unofficially, it is known as Windows Live Messenger 360.

Those using Windows Live Messenger are able to see the Gamertags of friends logged into Xbox Live , including the game they are playing. Xbox 360 users can chat in-game (or while watching a movie). Although only text chat is supported, Microsoft has suggested that voice and video chatting may come in a future update.

Also to coincide with the arrival of the integration of Windows Live Messenger with Xbox Live, Microsoft has revealed a new Xbox 360 keyboard adaptor called Xbox 360 Chatpad for easier text input. The keyboard device attaches to the standard Xbox 360 controller through the headphone jack and features a QWERTY-style key layout with 47 keys, although any USB keyboard will work just as well with an Xbox 360.

For users who have "child accounts" (accounts made before the age of 18), the Windows Live Messenger feature is disabled. There is currently no remedy to this due to the Xbox 360 Gamertag system being unable to change or update when a user wants to change the ID or reaches the age of maturity. A solution is being planned for the Xbox 360 Fall 2007 dashboard update.

Other changes

The color scheme drop-down The status "On the phone" from the previous version was renamed to "In a call" due to the addition of Windows Live Call .

Nicknames of individual contacts can be customized to appear differently from what the contact has set.

Messages from contacts can now be time-stamped.

Windows Live Messenger has the ability to turn off prepending of contact names if the same person writes multiple messages. If the same contact writes more than one message, the contact name will be displayed for only the first message. However, if messages are timestamped, and the time changes, the contact's name will be displayed with the new time.

A color scheme can be chosen for the entire application, including the status window, and not just the conversation windows. A paint brush menu is situated below the personal message box in Windows Live Messenger, to facilitate choosing colors.

Microsoft Passport has been replaced with Windows Live ID .

Word wheel search within the contact list.

Beginning with version 8.1, one's display picture and personal message are stored on the server, so wherever one signs in, the display picture and message will still appear. However, all computers must have version 8.1 or later for the feature to work.

Protocol

Windows Live Messenger uses the Microsoft Notification Protocol (MSNP) over TCP (and optionally over HTTP to deal with proxies ) to connect to the .NET Messenger Service?a service offered on port 1863 of messenger.hotmail.com. Its current version is 15 (MSNP15), used by Windows Live Messenger and other third-party clients. MSNP15 introduces a different authentication mechanism. The protocol is not completely secret; Microsoft disclosed version 2 (MSNP2) to developers in 1999 in an Internet Draft , but never released versions 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, or 14 to the public. .NET Messenger Service servers currently only accept protocol versions from 8 and on, so the syntax of new commands from versions 8 through 14 is only known by using sniffers like Wireshark .

Competition

The most significant rivals of Windows Live Messenger are AIM and ICQ (both from AOL ), Skype , Pidgin (formerly Gaim) and Jabber based clients including Google Talk .

In China QQ is the predominant instant messenger. Although usage outside of China is minimal, domestic usage is in excess of 226 million users. [ citation needed ] However with MSN Messenger's recent entrance into the Chinese Market, QQ's popularity has been significantly curtailed. Currently MSN Messenger holds approximately 17 percent of the Chinese market share.

Malware

Windows Live Messenger (along with other networks such as Yahoo! Messenger and AOL Instant Messenger) is often used as a conduit or "vector" for delivering malicious software such as spyware, viruses, worms, and trojans to unsuspecting computer users. The two methods used by hackers to deliver malware over the IM vector are (1) sending a file transfer with a virus-infected file, and (2) delivering a message with socially engineered content containing a web address (URL) containing active malicious code. Viruses and worms with colorful names such as W32.Yalove or Troj/Msnfake-L have been identified as targeting users of the Windows Live Messenger network (and the former MSN Messenger network) over the past few years.

The threat of infection by these two methods is substantial and growing. The IM Security Center , a collaboration between security companies and corporations, has tracked attacks over IM since 2003 and shows well over 1000 distinct attacks over the public IM networks. The first half of 2007 saw an 84% increase in IM attacks over the first half of 2006. While IM-specific attacks remain a small percentage of overall virus and malware threats, the continued growth in usage of IM, along with the rapid adoption of IM in the workplace (See Instant Messaging ) make IM an attractive vector for hackers, and both individuals and companies must take precautions to avoid infection.

The most common method of delivering a malicious payload is the use of social engineering to construct a message that appears to be coming from a contact on the recipient's contact list. A socially engineered message is one that is written in a friendly, informal manner, that could easily be mistaken as coming from a friend. The message usually will say something like "Click here to see pics of me from vacation!" or "Is this you?" with a web address -- known as a "poison URL" -- for the recipient to click. Upon clicking the web address, the recipient is connected to a website containing active content, which is immediately downloaded to the recipient's computer. In most cases, the payload contains an installer, a number of hidden files containing text, and code which causes the same socially engineered message with poison URL to be sent to every contact on the contact list. When the message is sent to all contacts, the cycle starts again, as each contact believes they are receiving a message from a trusted friend. In this manner, IM-borne malware is capable of propagating very rapidly through company and external networks.

Worms and viruses are discovered on a regular basis by security companies, particularly by the three companies with network-certified IM-specific security products , Akonix Systems, FaceTime Communications, and Symantec. According to IM security researchers at Akonix, the mean number of new threats per month identified during the period January 2006 through August 2007 is 34, with a high of 88 in October, 2006, and a standard deviation of 19.

Security vulnerability

On September 12 , 2007 , the Windows Live Messenger blog posted an entry that reported of a security vulnerability discovered in versions of Messenger older than 8.1. The vulnerability "could allow remote code execution when a user accepts a webcam or video chat invitation from an attacker. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could take complete control of the affected system." This led to an auto-update being released to all older versions. Versions running on Windows 2000 and below were required to update to a new version of MSN Messenger 7.0 , and versions running on Windows XP and above were required to update to Windows Live Messenger 8.1

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