Messenger upgrade to disconnect outsiders

Microsoft is planning a security upgrade to its .NET Messenger service that could have far reaching consequences for IM clients not sanctioned by Redmond.

Starting October 15, users of older MSN clients must upgrade or they will be unable to connect to the service, says Microsoft. Users must be running at least Windows Messenger 4.7.2009, MSN Messenger 5 or MSN Messenger for Mac OS X 3.5.

Support for Mac OS 8 has been officially dropped, but Microsoft will issue MSN Messenger 2.5 for Mac OS 9 on August 27, which will support the new security policy.

Third-party clients, which Microsoft labels “unauthorized,” will also be adversely affected by the change.

“It is our expectation that those who use our service with unlicensed or unauthorized third-party clients will likely not be able to log on after October 15,” Microsoft spokesperson Sean Sundwall told BetaNews. “We would encourage those third parties to contact us to work out agreements by which they can continue to have their customers access our network.”

Clients such as Trillian and Odigo have become immensely popular due to their ability to connect to multiple IM networks simultaneously. Trillian users, for example, can communicate with buddies on AOL, ICQ, Yahoo! and MSN all from a single interface.

Read more at Betanews