Massive adds, bandwith usage Windows Live Messenger

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weblordpepe

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#19891 5-Mar-2008 00:29

Hello there boys & girls. I was using my standard stock XP and Windows Live Messenger tonight when a huge popup with video came over my screen. Turns out it was from messenger:

This raised two flags inside my brain:

Now I don't mind advert-supported programs (I despise them, but acknowledge that they can be a requirement to use a service) but hijacking the rest of the screen?
Bandwidth. I do not have bandwidth to burn. This thing was playing video and had the option of sound too. What gives?

My real query about this is - whats the justification for branching out of the application window and can I turn it off? I hate to think of what kind of bandwidth this thing is sucking in - bandwidth that I pay for.

And while I am in an angry mood I might just add a footnote that the 10,000 movie is inaccurate in about 10,000 ways but thats another thread & another day.

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#114742 5-Mar-2008 04:49

I made the mistake of letting MSN upgrade itself the other night and I am now getting those ads too. If you figure out a way to turn them off, let me know.

I dislike rich media ads ever since they first appeared on Stuff.co.nz when I was using T3G. That was painful. Unfortunately they're here to stay - and according to Internet NZ, our lives will only get better with more rich media on the Internet, including advertising.

Dratsab

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#114747 5-Mar-2008 06:21

Rich content is going to be a great earner for many ISP's because of the bandwidth usage.? Ad firms also love the internet because they have the potential to reach so many more people than via traditional channels such as TV.? So, we can expect to see a rise in rich media content whether we like it or not.

There are a few lawyers at my work - when I get the chance (which may not be this week) I'll run the suggestion of theft past them and see what opinion they come up with.

Proposing that?the unauthorised usage of someone else?s bandwidth is stealing is not entirely?without precedent.? ?A few years ago I remember reading about an employee of an NZ company who was convicted of theft for using the company?s internet connection to download material for himself.? No, it wasn't porn...? I'll do my best to track this down and will post the article as soon as I can.

Anyway, you pay for the bandwidth.? If someone is taking it away from you via rich media, and you have not authorised this, it would seem to me that you have been stolen from as you are potentially out of pocket and you?have considerably less bandwidth available while the content is being downloaded.

Advertising is a fact of life and is the only way many sites can afford to stay running.? And I'll be honest, whenever I've had an interest?in the banners that are currently de rigueur (such as the BoxWave ads on this site) I'll take a look, as do many thousands of other people around the globe every second.? But there has to be a limit to the intrusiveness; and there shouldn't be a tangible?cost associated to the end user.

Come to think of it, as things currently are,?you do not have an option to "opt out" of this unsolicited material, so perhaps there are some other legal approaches that could be explored as well?? After all we can put a "No Junk Mail" or "No Circulars" on our physical mailboxes to stop the never-ending kilo or so?of rubbish that would otherwise be delivered every week.? And we can also now "opt out" of unsolicited emails.? I am struggling to see a difference here!

I?refuse to have MSN/Windows Live on my computer.? Perhaps if Microsoft were willing to pay for a larger hard drive (to accommodate the bloatware) and subsidise my internet connection for the rest of my life I might change my mind?

Hmmm, don't fancy my chances...

Or perhaps I could change my mind and install it, then invoice someone for every rich media ad I'm sent - but who?
- Microsoft for the software which enables this content?
- The ad firm for creating the content?
- The company for whom the content is created?
- My ISP for allowing this content to get to me without my say so?

No, still don't fancy my chances...

tonyhughes

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#114756 5-Mar-2008 08:12

None of this holds water if the Ts&Cs of the software you agreed to, let them run ads like this.

Have you read the terms and conditions?

Dratsab

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#114767 5-Mar-2008 09:10

tonyhughes: None of this holds water if the Ts&Cs of the software you agreed to, let them run ads like this.

Very good point.

I'm generally not likely to read the Windows Live T&C's as I'm not going to install the software - and as it comes preinstalled on most new machines, plenty of people will not an opportunity to read them either...

But now, out of curiosity, I'm going to see if I can find them and will have a read through. I wonder if people who are using this system are being informed that advertising may be detrimental to the performance of their machines or may be highly obtrusive or may use a lot of their bandwidth?

dnb4life

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#114809 5-Mar-2008 12:23

i upgraded last week when the update was first avaliable and i haven't seen a single ad other than the usual small one at the bottom of the messenger screen. i'm running vista ultimate, anyone running vista having problems with these ads? i do have a pop up blocker enabled however i think that only effects firefox as opposed to messenger running on my pc.

chakkaradeep

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#114823 5-Mar-2008 13:37

I use Kaspersky Internet Security which blocks all these ads (even in browsers too)

This is what I get if KIS is enabled,

Regards,
Chaks

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heavenlywild

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#114826 5-Mar-2008 13:40

I use Vista Ultimate and upgraded MSN Messenger a week or so ago and haven't experienced anything different in terms of the ads - just the standard little ad at the bottom of the Messenger window.

PenultimateHop

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#114834 5-Mar-2008 14:13

Vista Business with the new MSN and I see the same ad as weblordpepe.

tonyhughes

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#114863 5-Mar-2008 16:34

I use MSN on Vista/XP but havent upgraded. I also use aMSN on Mac, which is available for other platforms too.

Plenty of alternative clients around, though none support all features. Mostly just text and smileys, some with webcam and winks as well.

dnb4life

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#114868 5-Mar-2008 16:39

it would appear vista ultimate is uneffected by these ads? extra security maybe? anyone on ultimate actually experienced these ads popping up? i used to use emessenger a lot but i like to use windows live messenger coz its got more functionality and i use a sidebar gadget in conjunction with the program. surely it wouldn't be too hard for someone affected to simply install a pop up blocker or ad blocking addon to prevent these and still use live messenger?

dnb4life

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#114870 5-Mar-2008 16:46

weblordpepe: I might just add a footnote that the 10,000 movie is inaccurate in about 10,000 ways but thats another thread & another day.

by the way incase you haven't seen a movie based on a historical event, they all have inaccuracies. hollywood can't make them without having to change stuff a bit. it's just the way things go. if there was ever a movie put out that was 100% historically accurate it would get rubbish reviews and poor attendance. the same goes for all other movies based off something else - for instance the rings movies based on tolkiens novels. hugely inaccurate yet highly rated no?

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Dratsab

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#114878 5-Mar-2008 17:32

As with Tony's first post, a lawyer at my work has pointed out the Terms and Conditions are always the first port of call. I rang Microsoft earlier today and a very helpful chap pointed me to http://www.messenger.msn/com/help/terms.aspx.

Have a good read through your terms there. Specifically section 11.

A third party has sent you content, so in reality your beef is with them as you don't have an opt out mechanism. Try installing a pop-up blocker as alluded to by Dnb4Life.

weblordpepe

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#114953 5-Mar-2008 23:16

Wow neat responses everyone. Everyone gets a sticker.
Thanks for the URL.

Is it just me - or is becoming increasingly difficult to use a computer without a lawyer?

rphenix

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#115213 7-Mar-2008 14:29

Thats why I use Miranda Im for my msn needs :)

Kinda like old icq98 in functionality (or even more simple) which is the way I prefer my IM clients.

weblordpepe

460 posts

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#115509 9-Mar-2008 03:42

Aahhhh IC98. I remember ICQ2000 was the beginning of the end.

I much preferred ICQ's format of messages, where you clicked on reply to send one back.
And you initiated a chat - which was really a chat - with realtime keypresses.Those were the days. I want to see that in MSN.

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