A huge blow to Messenger Plus!


Recommended Posts

And as far the sponsorware, seems stupid what some antispyware programs say are ok or not, as the Plus! sponsorware in my opinion, is no different than installing MSN Toolbar or Google Toolbar, etc. etc.

586377959[/snapback]

Ahh, but there's a thin line between toolbars that can be installed WITH YOUR BLOODY PERMISSION, and ones that aren't. In Messenger Plus's case, technically you're giving it permission to install the spyware (ahem, I'm not calling it a 'sponsor.' alright?), even if you're too stupid to click on anything with the words 'agree', 'ok' and 'next'. After all, you get the same consequences as clicking on anything you see in Internet Explorer, especially those ****ing ads.

On the topic of toolbars, maybe people should bitch at why the option to install MSN Toolbar is checked BY DEFAULT in the MSN Messenger setup. (Not to mention the option to make msn.com your home page, even though my homepage is msn.ca) At least in Messenger Plus you get enough warnings.

Sign the Petition to have your say: http://www.petitiononline.com/msgplus/

586378234[/snapback]

Patch, just a quick question.

How did you feel about that last beta leak of Plus!, .. and were you really bothered that much by it? BTW how did it get leaked?

BTW: That petition is the most stupid thing Ive ever seen.

No names, emails, only 19 clicks, ... and do you honestly think thats going to get Microsofts attention? Lol.

I heard that Patcho was in talks with Microsoft and he was considering getting rid of the sponsor program and adding the MSN Toolbar in replacement. Since I heard that tho, I have not heard anything else

586378294[/snapback]

Where did you hear that? Your mind?

Patch, just a quick question.

How did you feel about that last beta leak of Plus!, .. and were you really bothered that much by it? BTW how did it get leaked?

586378255[/snapback]

It did bother me a lot yeah, simply because this version is not ready yet and has some important bugs. If it's being distributed too widely (doesn't seem to be the case so far) then more people will complain more about problems associated with it and think things like the tabbed chats feature are final when they are not.

It got leaked the same old fashion way. A tester sent it to a friend, who sent it to a friend, who sent it to a friend who didn't care to understand the damage it could produce. Future beta versions will be tagged to trace leakers more efficiently but for now, this non-sense with MS Anti-Spyware has the priority.

I don't mean to flame and I know a lot of people love the program, but I personally think it's a piece of bloated crap. I only tried it once, and although I do not remember the version, it had no clear warning on the install process about the spyware/adware/sugar-coat-as-you-like-**** included with it. I was royally ****ed and never touched it again.

Now despite my personal opinion, this decision by Microsoft will certainly affect the end-user that knows little of what is going on the PC and trust the program to detect threats. On the other hand, these same users are more likely to install the spyware included on MessengerPlus! without noticing.

To me, any app that included apyware in anyway must be reported for the end user. If it's the end user option to keep it on the PC or not, despite the install options, then oh well.

One more thing... if people love Patchou's work so much, why don't he set up a donation system and takes off the spyware options from the installer?

No it does not. It installs a toolbar on IE, adds a few favorities, and gives random popups. That is not totaly screwing up your system...

586377435[/snapback]

dude are you on crack????

WTF are you saying, that spyware that comes with crap software that slows your system down. I hate mssnger plus, it sucks bit time...

all you really need is a simple ad blocker.. messenger is ok without all that crap anyways

I do agree with some of the above posts. A lot of ppl do not know how to use computers and when installing a program, most people would click on ACCEPT (because mostly all programs u click accept to install it) so it is a bit tricky. They should read it first, but how many ppl honestly do? I think Patcho should take away the sponsor program, BUT add a donation feature. Like ask people to donate something after u install like, like Bit Torrent. It would be a lot easier.

messenger plus sucks there is no reason to have a VERY tricky wording that only the LEET know about to avoid SPYWARE... I say ban it... how many pop ups does the messenger page have.. 10+ ???  total crap

586378360[/snapback]

Uh huh. I don't need you to use the word 'suck' in TWO posts. :argh::

I don't think it's the '1337' that can avoid spyware. Instead I think it's the 'r374rd3d idi075' that cannot understand these points:

1) The next button IS DISABLED for three or so seconds, and a big ass warning is right there, under the directory selection page. Now for those who click next, next, and next, I think they should get the message when they cannot click this Next button.

2) An image is right there of what you're gonna install.

3) Neither the 'I agree' or 'I disagree' radio buttons are checked.

4) No tricky wording is there. The toolbar's license agreement is there, but even the dumbest user should be aware they're installing a toolbar by realizing THERE IS A ****ING screenshot of the toolbar on the installer page.

And about the popups, WTF?

And ban?:boo:: I would rather ban these uneducated idiots clicking on everything they see on their screen from using such software, but that's pushing it.

I could understand if you're ranting from previous experiences, as I believe Plus! used to NOT automatically disable the next button and give you a warning, but things have changed.

Im sorry to see that Patch is having problems with people keeping his betas under wraps ...

So, ... I decided to ask him if I could test for him.

Here is my reply. :laugh:

lol, I'm really sorry about that. When the beta downloads will be more secure, I'll accept new applications. At that time, just mail me at [email protected] .

And here is part of my response.

Will do.

I am testing your betas anyway. I just wanted it to be official. Lol!

It is actually sad when tursted beta testers go and leak stuff to the public before the product is ready. The end user then ends up installing it, mucking up his system, removing the beta, starting a thread on NeoWin about how bad the program sucks, and all for what? Because you can't just test the thing like you were entrusted to do, and let the developer decided when it's right.

It would be like seeing all the rough cuts of your fave sound track, or movie and listening to them for a long time, then spreading the word about how RAW it was.

Sorry to hear about that Patch.

As for the MS problem, I think a trip to MS, and talks with reps there should honestly clear a lot of that up. However, why did you chose to go with that particular spyware advertiser? Just currious. I mean, the software bundler HAs caused a lot of problems for a lot of people. Me included. Once it seemed to self replicate, and took Hitman Pro 2 just to get rid of the damn thing.

As far as having MS block Plus!, ... I think there are so many programs out there that are packaged like yours but actually DO cause harm, that its hard for an anti-spyware program to pick and choose the good guys from the bad. Can you imagine the liability? rant rant ...

:rolleyes:

As for the MS problem, I think a trip to MS, and talks with reps there should honestly clear a lot of that up. However, why did you chose to go with that particular spyware advertiser? Just currious. I mean, the software bundler HAs caused a lot of problems for a lot of people. Me included. Once it seemed to self replicate, and took Hitman Pro 2 just to get rid of the damn thing.

586378458[/snapback]

You did it the hard way.

How to uninstall ad-ware/sponsor

And for everyone who looks at this thread, it is Adware (A trimmed down version). Not spyware.

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

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • Transmission 4.1.2 by Razvan Serea Transmission is a fast, easy-to-use bittorrent client with support for encryption, a web interface, peer exchange, magnet links, DHT, µTP, UPnP and NAT-PMP port forwarding, webseed support, watch directories, tracker editing, global and per-torrent speed limits, and more. Transmission has one of the lowest memory & resource footprints of any major BitTorrent client. Transmission's light overhead is one reason why it is so well suited for home NAS and media servers. Having been used by Western Digital, Zyxel and Belkin, Transmission gives truly impressive performance on almost any compatible hardware. Transmission is an open source, volunteer-based project. Unlike some BitTorrent clients, Transmission doesn't play games with its users to make money. Transmission doesn't bundle toolbars, pop-up ads, flash ads, twitter tools, or anything else. It doesn't hold some features back for a payware version. Its source code is available for anyone to review. Transmission doesn't track users, the website and forums have no third-party ads or analytics. Transmission 4.1.2 changelog: This is Transmission 4.1.2, a bugfix release. It fixes 20+ bugs and has a few performance improvements too. All users are encouraged to upgrade to this version. Highlights Fixed 4.1.0 bug that could cause duplicate HTTP announces to be sent to trackers. (#8639) All Platforms Reject benc data that has invalid characters. (#8577) Fixed a bug during the startup sequence where if one torrent failed to parse, subsequent torrents would also fail. (#8605) Fixed a bug that stalled some downloads at 99%. (#8654) Fixed a 4.1.0 upgrade bug that could overwrite utp_enabled and tcp_enabled settings. (#8658) Fixed a 4.1.0 crash that could happen when a peer supplied reqq value smaller than 32 in LTEP handshake. (#8713) Fixed a 4.1.0 regression that periodically wrote upload & download stats to disk even when Transmission had been idle since the last write, preventing the stats file's disk from hibernating while idle. (#8722) Fixed a 4.1.0 bug that prevented TCP peer connections on some systems. (#8748) Added safeguards to HTTP responses to prevent clickjacking. (#8749) Fixed edge case that didn't preserve the order of a batch of torrents when moving their queue position up or down. (#8782) Added sanitization for UTF-8 client names provided by peers during handshake. (#8809) Stopped appending redundant zeros to blocklist files when downloaded from a remote URL. (#8819) Fixed a build failure that occurred when building with link-time optimization. (#8540) macOS Client Fixed a 4.1.0 memory leak. (#8613) Fixed navigation focus issues in the Inspector. (#8792, #8810) Improved UI code to use less CPU. (#8832, #8833, #8835, #8836, #8842, #8846, #8851) Qt Client Fixed a 4.1.0 crash when parsing some RPC responses from older Transmission servers. (#8618) Fixed a 4.1.0 bug that saved both deprecated and current settings names to settings.json. (#8623) GTK Client Fixed a 4.1.0 bug that did not show translated logging level strings. (#8611) Fixed a 4.1.0 crash when toggling alternative speed limits. (#8709) Web Client Fixed a 4.1.0 bug that displayed timestamps in some dropdowns as 6.75:45 instead of 6:45. (#8624) Fixed a bug that could show incorrect torrent status when reconnecting to the server after a lost connection. (#8780, #8783) transmission-remote Improved transmission-remote console output for JSON-RPC 2. (#8799, #8805) Download: Transmission 64-bit | Qt 5 Setup ~20.0 MB (Open Source) Download: Transmission 32-bit | Qt 5 Setup Links: Transmission Homepage | Other OSes | Screenshot Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
    • The sweet release of death has never looked more appealing.
    • Meh, just another dongle-haven downgrade compared to my Surface Pro 7+. Whenever I decide to upgrade in the next decade or so, it certainly won't be another microslop Surface with this enshitification trend they've been having after the Surface Pro 7+. Hopefully a future generation of the Framework 12 will be a real upgrade...
    • This could exactly be how our Sun ends but it's not as simple by Sayan Sen Image by Drew Rae via Pexels An international team led by Université de Montréal (University of Montreal) PhD student Érika Le Bourdais has found that the ancient white dwarf star LSPM J0207+3331 is still pulling in planetary debris, even though it has been cooling for about three billion years. White dwarfs are dense, Earth-sized stellar remnants left behind when Sun-like stars exhaust their nuclear fuel and shed their outer layers. The star, located 145 light-years away in the constellation Triangulum, is the oldest and coldest white dwarf known to have a surrounding disk of dust. The star was first spotted in 2019 by a citizen scientist through the Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 project. Its cool temperature immediately suggested that it was very old, since white dwarfs gradually lose heat over time. Using the W. M. Keck telescopes in Hawaii, astronomers later confirmed that the star shows infrared signals consistent with dust rings formed by asteroids breaking apart under its strong gravity. Such infrared excesses occur when a star emits more infrared light than expected, often because warm dust surrounding it absorbs and re-radiates energy. “This discovery challenges our understanding of planetary system evolution,” said Le Bourdais. “The fact that we still see planetary debris being accreted three billion years after the star became a white dwarf suggests that asteroids, comets, and even planets can remain in orbit around these stars for a very long time.” Spectroscopic analysis—a technique that studies light to identify the chemical elements present in an object—revealed thirteen heavy elements in the star’s atmosphere: sodium, magnesium, aluminium, silicon, calcium, titanium, chromium, manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel, copper, and strontium. Normally, heavy elements sink quickly in hydrogen-rich white dwarfs, making them hard to detect. “We expected to see only a few elements, but we found dozens!” explained Le Bourdais. The research paper adds more detail. The absence of carbon features suggests the debris came from a carbon-volatile-depleted source. The abundance pattern shows slight deficits of magnesium and silicon compared to iron but otherwise resembles Earth-like material. This points to a differentiated rocky body—one whose materials have separated into distinct layers such as a metallic core and rocky mantle—with a metallic core fraction higher than Earth’s. In other words, the star is accreting the remains of a large rocky object, similar in structure to Earth or the asteroid Vesta. “White dwarfs offer one of the only ways we can directly measure the composition of exoplanets,” said Patrick Dufour, co-author and professor at Université de Montréal. “When planetary debris come too close, they are torn apart by the star’s gravity and end up polluting its atmosphere, leaving a detailed chemical fingerprint of its composition.” The team also detected weak Ca II H & K line core emission, making this only the second known isolated polluted white dwarf to show this feature. These are specific spectral signatures produced by ionised calcium and can indicate unusual physical activity in a star’s upper atmosphere. The finding suggests that extra physical processes may be happening in or above the star’s upper atmosphere. The study stresses the importance of including heavy elements in model atmosphere calculations, since leaving them out can distort the inferred structure and lead to inaccurate stellar parameters. Earlier work suggested the star’s infrared excess came from two dust rings. The new analysis shows that a single silicate dust disk—a ring composed largely of rock-forming minerals rich in silicon and oxygen—can explain the observed signal at 11.6 μm, simplifying the picture of the system’s structure. The question of how debris ended up falling into the star so late remains open. One idea is that giant planets in the system slowly destabilised smaller bodies over billions of years. Another possibility is that a passing star disturbed the orbits of debris. “Future observations with the James Webb Space Telescope or archival data found in the European Space Agency’s Gaia mission could help distinguish between a planetary rearrangement and the gravitational effect of a close stellar encounter,” said John Debes, co-author and researcher at the Space Telescope Science Institute. Dufour noted that hydrogen-rich white dwarfs are the most common type, and the coolest among them are the oldest stars in the galaxy. “We didn't have the habit of looking for signs of accretion in them. This unique case motivates us to expand our search to more of these stars.” The findings show that even after billions of years, planetary systems can remain active and complex. Substantial accretion events—the gradual accumulation of surrounding material onto a celestial object—can still occur long after a star’s death, offering a rare window into the composition and fate of distant worlds. Source: University of Montreal, IOPScience This article was generated with some help from AI and reviewed by an editor. Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, this material is used for the purpose of news reporting. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.
  • Recent Achievements

    • One Month Later
      B2Proxy earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • One Year In
      MadMung0 earned a badge
      One Year In
    • Week One Done
      jefred earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Apprentice
      JoeyNeo went up a rank
      Apprentice
    • Week One Done
      oliviaexpo earned a badge
      Week One Done
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      485
    2. 2
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      228
    3. 3
      Skyfrog
      70
    4. 4
      FloatingFatMan
      58
    5. 5
      neufuse
      56
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!