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MSN Messenger

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by berom

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Dearest Friends

How I can disable MSN Messenger version 7.5 or higher in Windows XP?

Thank you in advance

17 replies

by berom

I think that isn't a good idea to uninstall MSN Massager, so can any one to reinstall it again

by stargazerr

by disabling it then? It can just sit in your Computer and you dont need to worry about it. Just turn off "Automatic Sign In" so it doesnt sign in every time you reboot your computer.

It is easy enough to reinstall from http://messenger.msn.com/download.

]:)

by unclerob

MSN messenger doesn't come installed on WinXP by default. Windows Messenger is part of the WinXP install, not MSN messenger. Uninstalling MSN messenger would be the way to disable it, either that or change the name of the executable in C:\Program Files\MSN Messenger from the existing msnmsgr.exe to msnmsgr.old, this will prevent msn messenger from working even if you double click on it's desktop icon or startup list icon if you don't want to uninstall it. However uninstalling seems to be the best way to do it, if you don't want to use it, why would you keep it on the pc? You could always download it again and chances are the next time you download it, the version would be newer than the previous version you had installed.

by berom

Because can any one to reinstall it again.
So I need a solution for stop using MSN Massager on any PC using windows XP
it's very easy....!!!!!

by stargazerr

:^0 thats hilarious.

I think I get what you mean. You need to stop the users on your network from downloading MSN Messenger.

If you are the network admin you will have to block access to the messenger download site or to downloading software. If you are not, you will need to ask your network admin to do it for you.

Somethng like this might help!

http://tinyurl.com/nmla6

]:)

by unclerob

how about changing the local group membership of the winxp users in question from their current administrator or power user group membership to a restricted user (member of the users group) so that they can't install any software period since this is something that should only be done by an administrator.

Why you aren't restricting the users from installing any software in the 1st place is a mystery to me.

Even if you download a piece of software to block the instant messaging software from working, if you leave the users in their existing power user/admin user group membership, they can just undo that restriction by uninstalling the software that you installed that blocks msn messenger from working.

I guess an analogy of this situation would be like this, are you a like a mechanic or a parts replacer? If you're like a mechanic you look for the source of the problem beyond the obvious broken part to see what's causing the failure to begin with so that it doesn't happen again. If you're like a parts replacer - you just replace the broken part and you're done with it, you have no interest in what caused the problem in the 1st place or what's needed to prevent it from happening again in the future, if the problem reappears you'll just perform the same fix by replacing the broken part again - very repetitive work and you're likely to perform this same task very many times.

As per your reply, "it's very easy....!!!!!", anything can be very easy as you put it, you just have to know what you're doing in the first place for it to be easy.

- just my 0.02 cents, feel free to agree or disagree.

by lowlands

I found that renaming msmsgs.exe and msmsgin.exe does the trick as well. You might see some errors in your eventlog about a COM object that can't be loaded, but that's what you were trying to accomplish :)

by miscdr

the best way to disable MSN Messenger is to go through the Group Policy Module.
go to run on the start menu and type gpedit.msc
You will get a group policy editor.
Select Local Computer Policy/Computer Configuration/Administrative Templates/Windows Messenger.
On the right pane, Do Not automatically start Windows Messenger Initially -> Enable.

This should help resolve the problem.

by pounder_arthur

If the machine is located upon the corporate, then why not employ group policies to enfoce the denial of the application.

This way if you have any users who are savvy enough to install the application it will not run.

Just a thought

Arthur

by unclerob

plus he should be changing users group memberships so that they aren't power users or admins on the local machine which I would have to assume they currently are based on his description. They should all be setup as restricted users - why he would allow regular users to install any software on their machines is a mystery to me (heaven forbid we worry about security, viruses or spyware), that's the job of a PC Lan Tech or a Systems or Network Administrator.

Users shouldn't be installing any apps whatsoever on their machines, they should be just using their company pc's for work, let them bugger up their machines at home and leave the company pc's alone.

by Thorarinn

The answer depends on a number of things. I gather you're referring to a network situation, in which case there have already been some good suggestions.

If those are too much for you, I doubt this is the best venue for you to learn network administration. I would also put it to you that MSN Mess may not be the only IM system your users might be using.

The lesson is, if/when you ask for help, try to define your "problem" so that those who try to help you can understand it correctly and respond appropriately. Otherwise it's like playing darts in the dark.

Last Saturday I got a call from a friend who said his computer didn't boot and asked if could I fix it. Do you think you could based on this information?

by unclerob

heck I'm very often wrong more times than I'm right (as per observations made my wife along with close family & friends)

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