• 0

MSG Plus! - update warning!


Question

FYI, When you install the automatically downloaded MSN Plus update (support for 6.2), it automatically installs a toolbar and some other kind(s) of spyware onto your computer. One was installed into the Program Files/Mp3Grid folder and another was installed into Documents and Settings/Local Data/Temp (Enable view hidden folders to view this folder).

So be careful when you try to update... and download it separately if possible, since the installer would probably have an option to disable the ad/spyware (unless Patchou has become greedier).

Edit: I was wrong :o. As long as you choose "I refuse, do not install the sponsor program" when the window that looks like an EULA agreement pops up, the adware/spyware will NOT install.

If you installed it with the sponsorship program already, follow this guide to remove it.

Also, feel free to flame me for my blunder (even Patchou agrees! do what your god says!). Hateful attention isn't that bad sometimes, especially when other people put a lot of effort into it :happy:.

Edited by Monkeh
Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/160532-msg-plus-update-warning/
Share on other sites

Recommended Posts

  • 0

In the EULA, its explained that if you try to change your home or search or error pages that a toolbar will be installed "and shall remain there", etc.

Also that they will all be transmitted to C2 Media (hence tracking you).

Also here's the zip for you. Should contain everything that you need. Keep in mind, the F: drive is my main HDD on the report...in txt, HTML, and CSV for your enjoyment hehe ;)

plusinfo.zip

Edited by dotRoot
  • 0

Huh, how then, have I used Plus! for over two years, and have never had a problem with spyware?

You idiots really should quit spreading your FUD. Patchou has forsaken a lot to program Plus! (including risking his relationship with his significant other) for us, and release it for FREE, with the OPTION OF NOT INSTALLING SPYWARE. You ungrateful ###### better power off your computers, unplug them, and pull out your tin foil hats... Patchou? Greedy? That's complete bull****. So you n00bs, STFU.

  • 0
You idiots really should quit spreading your FUD. Patchou has forsaken a lot to program Plus! (including risking his relationship with his significant other) for us, and release it for FREE, with the OPTION OF NOT INSTALLING SPYWARE. You ungrateful ###### better power off your computers, unplug them, and pull out your tin foil hats... Patchou? Greedy? That's complete bull****. So you n00bs, STFU.

Thats his choice, no one forced him to do that. He apparently liked MSGPlus more than girls, so he decided to keep at it... No one forced him to. It doesnt justify being so greedy as to add spyware to his excellent program. It's our choice to boycott it.

The developers of Kazaa put a lot of time and effort into it, and lots and lots of people yell at it for having spyware.

Hell, SPYWARE DEVELOPERS spend countless hours creating spyware that will efficiently monitor you and give you specifically targeted ads. Most spyware applications are more complex than MGSPlus. You don't see anyone praising spyware, do you?

Edited by HellBender
  • 0
You do realize that its NOT an option if you automatically upgrade, right?
Errr... the "auto update" just tells you when there's a new version and downloads it, the installation process is EXACTLY THE SAME whether you update it from the program or download it manually. And in BOTH manual and automatic setup you have to choose YES or NO to the sponsor. The only difference between auto and manual is that manual asks you for the desired path for Msgplus.

Please people, PLEASE, check the facts before talking about something you don't read.

Uninstalling Plus and reinstalling without the sponsor will solve it. Tried that? If not, well, it seems you were all too hurried to talk **** about someone who you don't know, whose software you've been using for years for free and for someone who asks you "Do you care if my software installs ads on your computer? If you do just don't install them. If you don't, you are paying me my living, thanks.".

If that's being greedy, well, 90% of the world population is ten times more greedy than him.

The developers of Kazaa put a lot of time and effort into it, and lots and lots of people yell at it for having spyware.
The people of Kazaa force you to install the spyware. Here, it's not even a default setting in the setup.
Most spyware applications are more complex than MGSPlus. You don't see anyone praising spyware, do you?
You don't see anyone wanting to install spyware do you? People install Plus because they want to. If something's forced on them, they don't care if it's complex or not. Plus' not forced on them, it's complex and great so that's why people get it. Those who can live with the ads install the sponsor, those who don't just choose No in the setup and forget about it, and those who don't read insult the developer countless times on random forums on the web without even rechecking their info.

Argh.

[edited to fix some grammar mistakes]

Edited by el22
  • 0

you guy are acting like little kids......

for gods sake, there has been a sponcer program since version 2

get over it

mp3grid...

only a guess but..

Messenger Plus 3

:) hopefully thats a good guess.

when u use the upgrade thingy. i needs to download the files any way to give you the option, it dont install them :s

greedy...he gets like 2 cents for every download.....

when u have to pay like 9 dollars for win 95 :p

yes great comparison i no :p

your all surposed to be computer geniouses and you cant even take a little bit of ad ware on your pc's......

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • Surprise Execs are dumb. I hope the rehired engineers said were not coming back until we get 2x our salary.
    • Ford execs say they made a mistake when they replaced human engineers with AI by David Uzondu Ford recently announced that over the last three years, it's had to rehire about 350 "gray beard" engineers to mentor younger staff and reprogram diagnostic systems and AI tools that were failing to meet up to quality expectations. The company's VP of vehicle hardware engineering, Charles **** said that leaders overlooked the deep experience of veterans who survived many product cycles. **** admitted that simply replacing them with AI was a huge mistake, and that while AI is "a fantastic tool," it remains "only as good as the information you use to train it." The rehired engineers now run mandatory meetings to troubleshoot vehicles and reprogram automated engineering software and AI tools to prevent glitches before production. These technical specialists hunt for failure points before parts ever reach the plant floor, helping prevent the massive recalls and defects that previously cost the company billions as it aims to cut one billion dollars in expenses this year. In last year's JD Power Quality Survey, an annual study that measures the quality of a car during the first three months of ownership, Ford finished 10th among mainstream brands and scored below the industry average. But this year, JD Power ranked the automaker as the top mainstream brand, placing it above the likes of Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. Ford attributed this massive improvement directly to the expertise of these returned engineers. Ford's realization that AI cannot magically design and test quality vehicles without senior human oversight is just the tip of the iceberg. When Careerminds looked at companies that conducted AI-driven layoffs, researchers found out that 35.6% of those companies had to rehire more than half of the employees they previously fired. Another 32.7% had to rehire between 25% and 50% of them. In 2024, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CEO of Klarna, proudly announced that its new chatbot was doing the work of 700 full-time customer service agents. As a result, the fintech company froze hiring and cut hundreds of positions. But by mid 2025, and into 2026, Klarna was scrambling to recruit human agents again because customer satisfaction had plummeted. It turns out, while AI is very good at answering basic questions like how to check an account balance, when faced with complex customer issues that require nuance, the thing usually resorts to the unhelpful, robotic corporate jargon we all know and love.
    • Free AI in IDEs is shifting to paid models Or you know, you could just learn to actually design and code apps, use frameworks to handle the repetitive parts and not use AI at all - and voila... free for life!
    • In a sane world US antitrust laws wouldn't even allow these companies to be in the position to be subjected to EU directives. As you say, better than oligarch nothing.
    • Apple reportedly has a second-generation iPhone Fold planned for 2027 Good grief, Apple hasn't even released a first folding phone and the Apple faithful is already obsessing over the sequel? Seriously people, go out and touch grass... because this level of obsession is borderline stalkery/neurotic.
  • Recent Achievements

    • Week One Done
      xvvxcvv earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Month Later
      xvvxcvv earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Enthusiast
      Xonos went up a rank
      Enthusiast
    • Conversation Starter
      Admir earned a badge
      Conversation Starter
    • First Post
      The_Focal_Point earned a badge
      First Post
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      405
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      169
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      129
    4. 4
      neufuse
      69
    5. 5
      Xenon
      68
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!