Hi there,

I don't know if any of you remember me but I've just nipped by with a bit of a tiny complaint about the sponsor (and my sister!).

Now believe me I know all the existing 'problems' and status regarding the sponsor in msgplus but never before have I really experienced a problem with it (at all).

The Story:

(Ok, before I start you should know I run a very tidy computer and I'm doing a degree in Computer Science at the moment so please don't reply with the "The sponsor is optional ....... etc etc" standard post.)

Right, I'm on my computer messing with my new Bluetooth GPS Toy in java while my girlfriend is watching something about the Moor's Murderer's on tv.

Her program ends so she asks me if I can drive her home because shes up at 7 for work. As I'm about to log off my pc my little sister (13) comes in and asks if she can quickly nip on msn to chat to a friend about homework and she promises to log off when shes finished (saving her having to boot up the family pc)

I saw no problem with that and said yep sure as long as you dont touch anything but msn. - She promises.

Twenty minutes later I come back and the computers logged off as promised. I log into msn and i notice the familiar plus! menu - but the computers just been formatted, reinstalled and i didn't install plus. - thats strange i thought - then plus pops up with its configuration wizard. Hmmm - i think my little sisters slightly broke her promise!

A little bit of moaning and she admits she broke her promise, her friend wanted to show off her funky new name so she saw no harm in installing it.

The Problem: 13 Year Old girls don't read installer's - in fact if they did i'd say theres only a pretty small chance they will fully understand what it will do. So when the sponsor question comes along its a quick "hmmm, dont understand, oh well",click, click, click, click, ..., finished.

Oops the sponsors installed but the owner didn't want it too be - its still not fool proof. (or 13 year old sister proof either). - There must be a way! .

Just wanted to let you know, Tah,

Hah

P.s. (Please dont post about trusting 13 year old girls either, when my little sister promises to me, i can't help but accept it! - i think its a brother thing!)

I've seen many stories like yours posted on these forums.

All I can say is that it takes less then a minute to uninstall the sponsor, it's very simple. I don't think Patchou designed Messenger Plus! for 13 year old girls. He designed it for people who would read the installation correctly. So your right, it's not fool proof.

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Originally posted by Patchou
Of course the adware is harmless, and yes, as a developer, I can affirm it. There's nothing wrong about advertisement popups and a search bar (yes, a search bar IS handy).

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well with the way the sponsor is now, you can go to add/remove programs, and choose to uninstall the just the sponsor... Easy as that... It's making it easier for those people who accidently install the sponsor and later complain/think back on how stupid they are for doing it when they notice all the spywear.... But in reality..... it's ALL adware... And really no harm to your computer. I don't have it on mine, but only because I can't clutter my computer with more useless stuff.

Yeh your both not getting the point. The point is some people, including myself don't want anything but what they want on there computer. I don't want a search bar (though i believe this is no longer included) or any advertisments. My computer is mine, end of story, not an advertisers. I have my tv if i want to watch some adverts.

And yes ofcourse its easy to uninstall, i figured you would understand i'd know how to but never mind but again, thats not the point. In a reputable program like Messenger Plus it should be near impossible to make the mistake of installing such a thing as the sponsor.

Also, trust me, lots of people from 8-80+ will be using messenger plus and your nieve to think otherwise. It wouldn't surprise me if under 15's are a huge part of Patchou's user base.

Edit: I should also add here, this isn't just a problem with plus, I'm amazed with the amount of Yahoo and other toolbars installed on peoples computers from Yahoo Messenger, MSN Messenger etc. The users dont have a clue where these come from. There should be more protection for these users.

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Originally posted by Hah
Messenger Plus it should be near impossible to make the mistake of installing such a thing as the sponsor

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quote:

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Originally posted by Hah
It wouldn't surprise me if under 15's are a huge part of Patchou's user base.

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Originally posted by UTI

quote:

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Originally posted by Hah
Messenger Plus it should be near impossible to make the mistake of installing such a thing as the sponsor

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It is... if you can't read that blatent [insert language here], then you probably aren't old enough to even wanna think about installing something on your computer.

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Originally posted by Hah
It wouldn't surprise me if under 15's are a huge part of Patchou's user base.

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I think much of it is... and I think most of it (with the new sponsor layout) are smart enough not to install it. Be our guests and completely reinstall Messenger Plus to see how hard it is to accidently install the sponsor program.

I do agree with you on the last bit you put in there though

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If they don't read, [i think you don't want to see/accept this] they are lost, messages cannot be read aloud, and if they are installing, they should at least read what it says, I bet you, that if there was a program to format the , with the setup renamed to WLM.22..2.0.2006 Many people who dont read will install it, and erase their whole HDD.

The installer contains simple language, its not using technical words.
There is no excuse for not reading the installer and then blaming plus.

skilled user such as yourself
just don't let her on your computer if you don't want her to do things that you don't want...
as you said your a more skilled user and shes not so you should have made her take that extra 1 minute to boot the family pc because she doesnt know wtf she's doing...

I am 13 years old and I'm reading what's in the installer ^^ and I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who reads the installer, even at 13 years old

I think the installer could have been made clearer like a box that you have to tick which you would miss if you were like your sister. Not everyone is computer savvy.

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Originally posted by zach
I think the installer could have been made clearer like a box that you have to tick which you would miss if you were like your sister. Not everyone is computer savvy.

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Originally posted by Vilkku

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Originally posted by zach
I think the installer could have been made clearer like a box that you have to tick which you would miss if you were like your sister. Not everyone is computer savvy.

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Well, when you choose to install or not to install the sponsor nothing is ticked by default, and the option that installs it clearly says sponsor. I don't think it can be made any simpler, because to be honest, even if Patchou wants to avoid problems with people installing the sponsor in mistake he still wants you to install it and make money. About the original problem, your sister broke her promise, that's the source of the problem. If you really want your computer clean you shouldn't let ohters who aren't that computer experienced use it, but that is indeed a bit harsh. Also, there are loads of ohter software with adware like this (even if Plus! is made for younger people aswell, at least used by them).

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quote:

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Originally posted by dylan!
skilled user such as yourself
just don't let her on your computer if you don't want her to do things that you don't want...
as you said your a more skilled user and shes not so you should have made her take that extra 1 minute to boot the family pc because she doesnt know wtf she's doing...

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Originally posted by Nagini
If they don't read, [i think you don't want to see/accept this] they are lost, messages cannot be read aloud, and if they are installing, they should at least read what it says, I bet you, that if there was a program to format the , with the setup renamed to WLM.22..2.0.2006 Many people who dont read will install it, and erase their whole HDD.

The installer contains simple language, its not using technical words.
There is no excuse for not reading the installer and then blaming plus.

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Originally posted by Hah
Who said I was blaming plus? I'm not blaming plus. The reality is some users need protecting from there own ignorance (i think thats the right word ) for exactly the reason your example portrays

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Originally posted by UTI

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Originally posted by Hah
Who said I was blaming plus? I'm not blaming plus. The reality is some users need protecting from there own ignorance (i think thats the right word ) for exactly the reason your example portrays

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Basically your saying Plus! should be responsible for that... TBFH installing the sponsor with Messenger Plus! is no more harmful then letting a PC game put an icon on your desktop asking you to try a 30 trial of AOL.... I can't remember which games have that, the Sims maybe?... I used to never read installers.... just blow right through them checking yes for everything.... I got a little smarter, started to read them... that's all it takes... oh wow, you're getting a little adware on your computer, big deal... right?... well... when you're really fed up with it, you'll learn how to prevent/stop it from happening and you won't be ignrorant and just blow through installers to hurray up and get the new program.

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Originally posted by Hah
OK I give up

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