Messenger Plus! Live

Developer(s)	Cyril Paciullo ('Patchou')
Initial release	May 19, 2001 (2001-05-19)
Stable release	4.83.372 / 2009-10-22; 39 days ago
Operating system	Microsoft Windows (XP, 2003, Vista, 7)
Available in	20+ languages
Type	Add-on
License	Freeware with optional adware sponsor
Website	msgpluslive.net

Messenger Plus! Live (known more as its former name Messenger Plus!, commonly abbreviated MsgPlus, MP!L, or incorrectly as MSN Plus) is a freeware add-on for Windows Live Messenger. The software provides additional functionality to Microsoft's Windows Live Messenger by adding its own controls to the main interface. These controls affect Messenger's behaviour and appearance, often through additional dialog boxes.

The add-on was first released in May 2001 under the name "The Messenger Plus! Extension" for MSN Messenger and Windows Messenger. It later changed its name to "Messenger Plus!" and then, for the release of the new Windows Live Messenger client, "Messenger Plus! Live" was chosen. It has become one of the most widely used add-ons for Microsoft's IM clients, citing over 400 million downloads as of March 2009^[1].

Messenger Plus! Live 4.80, released on the 31st of January 2009, is the latest branch and contains many new features (such as skinning), visual improvements and bug fixes.

[edit] Features

Messenger Plus! Live generally expands the features of the public version of Windows Live Messenger 8.1, 8.5 and 9.0. Notable features include:

• a set of text formatting codes similar to BBCode (people who don't use it will see the BBcode among the formatted text)
• custom status tags
• multiple instances with different accounts
• event logging and chat logging and encryption
• contacts on desktop. Windows always on top which show a specific contact.
• auto-reply messages, usually activated when away from keyboard
• emotion sounds
• tabbed chatting (all the conversations in the same window)
• messenger locking (Boss Mode)
• JScript scripting allowing users to add their own functionality.

Version 4.50 added support for skinning Windows Live Messenger without the user having to physically edit the program's resource files.

[edit] Languages

Messenger Plus! Live is available in 22 languages:

[edit] Creator

Messenger Plus! was created in 2001 by Cyril Paciullo, who is better known by the pseudonym "Patchou". He was born in France and currently resides in Canada. He develops and maintains the Messenger Plus! Live software full-time.^[2]

[edit] Adware

The author currently bundles optional adware software developed by Circle Development Ltd.

Some software review websites criticized^[3][4] the user agreement, stating that the 'sponsorship agreement', which authorized the installation of the optional adware software, was misleading because it looked like a standard EULA, and was only available in English. The user does get the option to not install the 'sponsor' program, however, even if slightly unorthodoxly. Since Messenger Plus! 3.60 was released (on the 27th of September 2005), the setup includes a separate sponsor license agreement in addition to a traditional EULA. Both agreements have also been translated in several languages.

McAfee SiteAdvisor warns that the website http://www.msgpluslive.net/ is linked with adware Adware-Lop/Swizzor.^[5]

A separate adware uninstallation program is provided by Circle Development Ltd. which appears when users attempt to uninstall the sponsor program of Messenger Plus!.^[6]

[edit] Issues with Windows Defender

As of the 17th of August 2005, the Messenger Plus! website contained a petition to Microsoft's anti-spyware division regarding Windows Defender's (known as Microsoft AntiSpyware at the time) detection of the Messenger Plus! executable as spyware and subsequent warning that Messenger Plus! would attempt to install spyware at runtime (post-installation), rather than the setup program itself that contained the installer for the threat detected.

The petition, which had 401,683 signatures and was 10,137 pages long in total, was sent to Redmond on September 20, 2005^[7] stating that Messenger Plus! should not be labeled as being a threat.

On the 23rd of September 2005, just 3 days after the petition was mailed to Redmond from Canada, Microsoft released new definitions for Windows Defender that fixed the false threat detection affecting the Messenger Plus! executable together with other detection improvements.^[8]

Recent versions of Windows Defender also stopped detecting the Messenger Plus! Live installer as being potentially dangerous.

[edit] Renaming

Windows Live Messenger 8.5.1302, with the two added Messenger Plus! Live 4.5.0.312 buttons on the right-hand side.

To coincide with the newly branded Windows Live Messenger, new versions of Messenger Plus! are called Messenger Plus! Live. It has been completely rebuilt from the ground up and includes a totally new GUI design which blends more into the GUI of Windows Live Messenger.

The MSN Messenger compatible Messenger Plus! will no longer be supported. However, the last version of Messenger Plus! (version 3.63) will still be available for download on the official website here and is able to run along side Messenger Plus! Live.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Messenger Plus! Live website
• Official Messenger Plus! Live SoundPacks DB
• Cyril Paciullo's Blog - Author of Messenger Plus!