Shoutbox

[?] Signed in from different location, possible with script? - Printable Version

-Shoutbox (https://shoutbox.menthix.net)
+-- Forum: MsgHelp Archive (/forumdisplay.php?fid=58)
+--- Forum: Messenger Plus! for Live Messenger (/forumdisplay.php?fid=4)
+---- Forum: Scripting (/forumdisplay.php?fid=39)
+----- Thread: [?] Signed in from different location, possible with script? (/showthread.php?tid=94491)

[?] Signed in from different location, possible with script? by trini on 04-30-2010 at 10:32 AM

I used a plugin with WLM 8.5 which notified me if my contacts did signe in from different PC.
Unfortunately this is not working with WLM 9 and plugin maker shows no interest to continue with this, so I thought I ask here if is possible to make a script that show this information.
Messenger used to send out this information, and if nothing has changed in WLM 9 then still is I guess.

Possible with script? No?


RE: [?] Signed in from different location, possible with script? by matty on 04-30-2010 at 12:41 PM

Before WLM9 there was nothing in the protocol about multiple point of presence which has what has been added in the newer version to allow you to login simultaneously on multiple computers. Unfortunatly this information isn't made available to scripts.


RE: [?] Signed in from different location, possible with script? by djdannyp on 04-30-2010 at 01:59 PM

No, I think she means that she could tell what computers her contacts were logging in on....

I don't know how this would have been possible before though.....what data did this script give you?


RE: [?] Signed in from different location, possible with script? by trini on 04-30-2010 at 03:10 PM

Yes, i'm talking about contacts logging in from different pc-s (home or work example). WLM sent (maybe still is) out this information to servers.

This plugin was made available only under private beta testing and never to public, so I can not put it out (i'm talking about Messenger Discovery private beta).

Was hoping someone does know how to get this info with plus script and make one.


RE: [?] Signed in from different location, possible with script? by matty on 04-30-2010 at 03:24 PM

As far as I remember this information is only shown for you not your contacts. Your WLM doesn't care what computer they are logged into. The other thing could be that since MD works deep in the protocol of WLM it could be sending its own message about which computer the contact signed into. However this is a security flaw one would thing.


RE: [?] Signed in from different location, possible with script? by trini on 04-30-2010 at 03:28 PM

It was shown for contact ;) Thrust me, I did use it and it worked accurately.


RE: [?] Signed in from different location, possible with script? by matty on 04-30-2010 at 03:30 PM

But what I am saying is this isn't information that is supplied by Windows Live Messenger. Messenger Discovery would have to be sending this information. Messenger Discovery, if I am not mistaken, acts as a proxy which means any information sent from Windows Live Messenger to the servers is captured.


RE: [?] Signed in from different location, possible with script? by trini on 04-30-2010 at 03:31 PM

So, it's not possible to do with script I guess :(


RE: [?] Signed in from different location, possible with script? by matty on 04-30-2010 at 05:18 PM

That is correct. It is not possible.


RE: [?] Signed in from different location, possible with script? by trini on 04-30-2010 at 06:25 PM

Okey :(  Thanks for your replies anyway.


RE: [?] Signed in from different location, possible with script? by CookieRevised on 05-03-2010 at 10:29 AM

And what Matty is also saying is that both you and your contacts needed that plugin in order to make it work (since this information did not come from Messenger itself, but from the plugin which 'injected' this information). So it wouldn't have been 'accurate' at all (only those who had the plugin would send out this information for you to see).

And if that is true*, then no plugin/script/etc would be able to do it unless both you and your contact, on who you want to check upon, install it.

* Which I have little doubt it it isn't because a) Matty said so :p and b) AFAIK such info was (and still is) indeed not send from Messenger.


RE: [?] Signed in from different location, possible with script? by trini on 05-04-2010 at 08:03 PM

Hey, Cookie, no contact doesn't need the plugin. I talked to Matt and he said, messenger itself is sending out that information. MD didn't get it from contact directly, but used the info WLM sent out.


RE: [?] Signed in from different location, possible with script? by CookieRevised on 05-04-2010 at 08:15 PM

Nice if that would be true... but... how would Messenger know that the user signed in from "another" location. What would be defined then as the "normal" location? It can't... As Matty rightfully said here, there is no such thing as a "normal/default" and a "not normal/default" location as far as Messenger is concerned. This wasn't the case for older versions, and this is still not the case for the current versions. All it knows (and sends) is that the contact has signed in at _a_ location; it doesn't say if it is the contact's "normal" location.

What Matt from MD probably meant (and understood from your question) is that Messenger sends out information if the user has signed in from whatever other location at the same time he is logged in from somewhere else. This is something different than what you meant (detecting if someone is signed in from "work" instead of his usual "home" computer, correct? Because then you would need to ask the contact first what his normal location would be).

This "being-signed-in-at-multiple-locations-at-once" feature is called MPOP (Multiple Point Of Presence) and is a new feature since WLM 9.0 (it didn't existed before that, and certainly not in 8.x). This is also what Matty explained here in the first reply to your question. Also see the Messenger options:
Tools > Options > SignIn > Sign in at more than one place


RE: [?] Signed in from different location, possible with script? by trini on 05-04-2010 at 08:30 PM

As with WLM 8 wasn't possible to log in from multiple locations, sure it had nothing to do with that.
Well, all I know, if I talked to someone and then that person changed PC, I got popup saying: user has signed in from different location. It could not detect which PC, home or work (that was just expmple I said), only that WLM signed in from different PC.


RE: [?] Signed in from different location, possible with script? by CookieRevised on 05-04-2010 at 08:33 PM

ah yes, that would indeed be that (only new since WLM 9.0) MPOP feature where Messenger sends out a Machine GUID. If you would check that* and compare it to a previously stored one, then you could say he has logged in from "another" location. But you indeed couldn't say if that would be his normal location or not (unless you kept statistics I suppose), which was what we understood from your question.

But also note that you can extremly easily change that Machine GUID (you're not suppose to though). So it wouldn't be that super-reliable either....


* This can only be done with a so called sniffer or a proxy.

MD is a proxy; it sits in between Messenger and the outgoing/incomming messages, thus acting like a proxy (which can cause a hell of a lot of trouble if not done properly. Messenger Plus! scripts can not act as a proxy (yet).

A sniffer is a tool which sits on top of everything else and which monitor internet traffic. Such tools can't change something, like a proxy can, but they can 'see' the stuff being sent and received.


RE: [?] Signed in from different location, possible with script? by trini on 05-04-2010 at 08:40 PM

Yes, you explained far better it then me :P Was my crappy description of that option, I never ment be able to see which PC someone is using ehe :P

But some contacts of mine, they log out/in many times during day and not for everyone can send files if they at work PC, so not to ask all the time if can send something or not, I used that info to know if they got home from work or still with work PC, just logging out/in. So it's not totally useless thing to have. Too bad if can't be made with script :(


RE: [?] Signed in from different location, possible with script? by CookieRevised on 05-04-2010 at 08:47 PM

quote:
Originally posted by trini
But some contacts of mine, they log out/in many times during day and not for everyone can send files if they at work PC, so not to ask all the time if can send something or not, I used that info to know if they got home from work or still with work PC, just logging out/in. So it's not totally useless thing to have.
That would be indeed a nice thing to know...
(although not always 100% reliable)

PS: another example is that you could also detect if two different online contacts are in fact logged in from the same PC as the Machine Guid would be the same for both of them... You could then kind of conclude that they are in fact the same person.
(but again, this would not always be 100% reliable)


quote:
Originally posted by trini
Too bad if can't be made with script :(
It can actually be made as a Messenger Plus! script though. That is: by making use of an external sniffer tool/dll. But as of yet, nobody made such a sniffer with Plus! scripting (at least not one which properly works at all times)... It is far from easy to make. And I doubt anyone is going to make one soon.

RE: [?] Signed in from different location, possible with script? by trini on 05-04-2010 at 09:04 PM

Didn't know it's so hard to make. Thanks for explaining me though how it works :) And well, hope dies last so... :P Who knows, maybe someone who wants to have it also, will make one.