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MSN Messenger 7 Beta Drops 'Winks'

By Nate Mook | Published October 15, 2004, 10:39 AM

Microsoft has released to beta testers a new preview build of MSN Messenger 7, numbered 225, which removes the touted "Winks" feature. Described as animations with sound that grab the attention of IM contacts, Winks first appeared in Microsoft's ThreeDegrees concept before being added to the Messenger 7 beta. But testers soon found many avenues to exploit the feature, allowing malicious content to be loaded on a contact's computer. Nudges, which make IM notification windows vibrate, remain in the beta.

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supernick
Oct 15, 2004 - 11:37 AM edited

Just got the new beta and the winks can still be seen they're just completely unusable. It's there but no function. Greyed out. Few other bugs. Still like it much more than 6.2.

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Portal3
Oct 16, 2004 - 8:18 PM

Where would this beta be located?
It's always good to see a program being tested for vulnerabilities before releasing it publicly. Past MSN Messengers have been exploited a lot. Perhaps MSN is in need of new protocol. If a key->lock algorythm was used but changed with every release you'd see some other programs becoming obsolete when trying to connect to the MSN Messenger network.

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