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==Creator==
==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 started developing Plus! as a hobby next to his day job as developer, but soon maintaining the Messenger Plus! Live software became a full-time job.
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 started developing Plus! as a hobby next to his day job as developer, but soon maintaining the Messenger Plus! Live software became a full-time job.


In Q4 of 2009 Paciullo announced he is no longer in full control of the product and Messenger Plus! is now owned by Yuna Software Limited.<ref>{{cite web
In Q4 of 2009 Paciullo announced he is no longer in full control of the product and Messenger Plus! is now owned by Yuna Software Limited.<ref>{{cite web
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| date = 2010-10-31
| date = 2010-10-31
| publisher = MsgPlusLive.net
| publisher = MsgPlusLive.net
}}</ref>
}}</ref>


==Adware==
==Adware==

Revision as of 19:35, 8 November 2010

Messenger Plus! Live
Developer(s)Yuna Software
Initial releaseMay 19, 2001 (2001-05-19)
Stable release
4.90.392 / October 12, 2010; 14 years ago (2010-10-12)
Operating systemMicrosoft Windows (XP, 2003, Vista, 7)
Available in20+ languages
TypeAdd-on
LicenseFreeware
Websitemsgpluslive.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 Instant messaging client 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 62 million users as of February 2010.[1]

Volunteers from the Messenger Plus! Live community around the world develop skins and scripts for submission into the database of the website for the software.

Features

Messenger Plus! Live generally expands the features of Windows Live Messenger 8.1, 8.5, 2009 (9.0) and 2011. Notable features include:[2]

  • A set of text formatting codes similar to BBCode (people who don't use Messenger Plus! will see the BBcode among the formatted text).
  • Custom status tags.
  • Running multiple instances of Windows Live Messenger with different accounts.
  • Event logging and chat logging in either plain text or HTML with optional encryption.
  • Chat log viewer. For browsing and searching all saved logs.
  • Contacts on desktop. Small windows always on top which show a specific contact.
  • Auto-reply messages, usually activated when away from keyboard.
  • Emotion sounds. Custom sounds which can be send to other Messenger Plus! users.
  • Tabbed chatting (all the conversations in the same window).
  • Messenger locking (Boss Mode).
  • Contact list clean-up. Showing statistics about the user's contacts and allowing him to remove people who removed him or he never talks to.
  • Skinning Windows Live Messenger without the user having to physically edit the program's resource files.
  • JScript scripting allowing users to add their own functionality.

Languages

Messenger Plus! Live is available in 21 languages:[3]

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 started developing Plus! as a hobby next to his day job as developer, but soon maintaining the Messenger Plus! Live software became a full-time job.

In Q4 of 2009 Paciullo announced he is no longer in full control of the product and Messenger Plus! is now owned by Yuna Software Limited.[4] Financial details or names of the people behind the new company are not disclosed. Yuna Software has offices in several places in the world and opened a new office in Montreal where Paciullo is the manager of a development team working on the new version, Messenger Plus! 5, [5] targeted for release in early December, 2010.[6]

Adware

Yuna Software currently bundles an optional toolbar, custom search page and custom home page all branded as the Messenger Plus! Network. Formerly, the software came bundled with adware software developed by Circle Development Ltd. Yuna also operates associated sites launched by Messenger Plus! in 2010 including Plus! Games, Plus! Sports and Plus! Network.

Some software review websites criticized[7][8] 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. A separate adware uninstallation program was provided by Circle Development Ltd. which appears when users attempt to uninstall the sponsor program of Messenger Plus!.[9]

As of early 2010, Messenger Plus! Live versions 4.84 and later no longer contain the sponsor program. However, links on the website to earlier versions caused sites such as McAfee SiteAdvisor to warn that the website http://www.msgpluslive.net/ was linked with adware Adware-Lop/Swizzor.[10]

SiteAdvisor is retesting the website with the results pending on their website.[11]

Other sites have already found the site safe, such as Norton Safe Web has found no issues with this site, stating 0 computer threats, 0 identity threats and 0 annoyance factors.

[12]

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[13] 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.[14]

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

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 was rebuilt from the ground up and included a new user interface design which was intended to blend more with the user interface of Windows Live Messenger. On April 18, 2010, Messenger Plus! Live version 4.84 was released.[15]

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[16] and is able to run along side Messenger Plus! Live.

References

  1. ^ "Messenger Plus! Live official website". Retrieved 2010-2-25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  2. ^ "Messenger Plus! Live - Features". Retrieved 2010-2-25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  3. ^ "Messenger Plus! Live - Download". Retrieved 2010-2-25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  4. ^ Cyril Paciullo (2009-12-15). "The Messenger Plus! Story". Patchou.com. Retrieved 2010-02-25.
  5. ^ Cyril Paciullo (2010-02-17). "Back to the roots… for a fresh start". MsgPlusLive.net. Retrieved 2010-02-25.
  6. ^ Yuna Software (2010-10-31). "Messenger Plus Live paves the way towards the release of plus 5". MsgPlusLive.net. Retrieved 2010-10-31.
  7. ^ Turner, Suzi (2006-10-09). "MVP awards, Messenger Plus! and adware — a good combination?". Spyware Confidential. ZDNet.com. Retrieved 2007-12-26.
  8. ^ paperghost (2006-10-05). "Microsoft give MVP Award to Adware Pusher". Vitalsecurity.org. Retrieved 2007-12-26.
  9. ^ "How can I uninstall the sponsor program?". Messenger Plus! Live - FAQs. Retrieved 2007-12-26.
  10. ^ "msgpluslive.net Web Safety Rating". McAfee SiteAdvisor. Retrieved 2007-12-26.
  11. ^ "msgpluslive.net Web Safety Rating". McAfee SiteAdvisor. Retrieved 2010-09-21.
  12. ^ "msgplus.net". Norton Safe Web, from Symantec. Retrieved 2010-06-15.
  13. ^ Patchou (2005-09-20). "The MSAS Petition has been sent". Messenger Plus! Live - News. Retrieved 2007-12-26.
  14. ^ Patchou (2005-09-24). "Microsoft AntiSpyware steps back!". Messenger Plus! Live - News. Retrieved 2007-12-26.
  15. ^ Cyril Paciullo (2010-04-18). "Messenger Plus! Live 4.84". MsgPlusLive.net News. Retrieved 2010-05-04.
  16. ^ www.msgpluslive.net/download/old/
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