Seems so, I subscribe to WinXPNews, dunno why, but eh. Anyway check this out.
http://www.winxpnews.com/?id=146
This is what caught my eye:
Send your Windows XP questions to
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Can I Get Rid of Annoying Toolbar?
QUESTION: Help! I installed Messenger Plus and it also installed an annoying search toolbar in Internet Explorer. I'm not having any luck getting rid of it. Why does Microsoft include spyware like this? - Ben C.
ANSWER: Messenger Plus! is a third party add-on product for MSN Messenger. It is not made by Microsoft, but by Patchou. It extends your Messenger software by providing statistics about your contact list, letting you filter words from messages you send and receive, resend recent messages, search within conversations, and use advanced logging. It's a free program, and you might recall the old saying: there ain't no such thing as a free lunch. When it comes to free software, often the price you pay is getting something you don't want along with the program you do want. Although its Web site (http://www.winxpnews.com/rd/rd.cfm?id=041012QC-Messenger_Plus) assures you that it doesn't contain any type of spyware or Trojan, many users have reported that the MySearchNow toolbar was installed when they installed Messenger Plus! and that the toolbar is definitely adware, if not spyware. So far, the only solution we've found is to uninstall the entire Messenger Plus! program.
Yeah.. I'm a bit miffed to, making messenger plus! look bad because some idiots don't know how to check or uncheck a box.
Oh look... forgot to take off the e-mail addy...