I think
all the signatures from the
petition back in August had effect again
.
On September 23rd Microsoft Antispyware
already stepped back by not detecting msgplus.exe in the realtime scanner anymore. It seems they made the next step a few days ago...
Microsoft AntiSpyware (Beta) version 1.0.701 was released 11/21/2005. Today I tried it with the spyware definitions 5779. I had the realtime scanner on all the time (default settings).
- Messenger Plus! setup (MsgPlus-361.exe) is not picked up by AntiSpyware anymore (not by realtime scanner, not by full manual scan) .
- Messenger Plus! itself is still not picked up by the realtime scanner (good, no change there).
- Messenger Plus! is picked up as a moderate threat by a manual full system scan.
- The Item Details text in a manual scan clearly states adware in the description (not spyware).
If you want to try it yourself, download the latest version of Microsoft AntiSpyware
here.
Nice to see how all our signatures seem to have effect. I wonder if Patchou ever had any official feedback from Microsoft?
And remember...
- The sponsor in Messenger Plus! is (and always has been) optional.
- If you don't like/want it, then just install Messenger Plus! without the sponsor.
- If you installed the sponsor by mistake, then you can very easily uninstall the complete sponsor/adware with the Plus! uninstaller.
- Patchou does not want to trick you on installing the sponsor. The sponsor doesn't pay him per install. They only pay when you actually USE the sponsor (ie searchbar, shortcuts on desktop).