Windows Live Messenger 9 is the latest installment of the Microsoft Instant Messenger. It can be downloaded freely from Microsoft. Installation should not pose a problem either as long as you select only the applications that are offered that you would use anyway.
Windows Live Messenger 9 displays advertisements that is changing frequently in the main program interface. This can be quite irritating at times. There is no obvious way to disable the advertisement from withing the Instant Messenger which means that the only way to get rid of it is to use third party tools.
Some tools patch the Windows Live Messenger 9 files directly which will be a problem when updating to a newer version. A far better solution is to leave the Messenger files would be one that would not tamper with the Windows Live Messenger 9 files itself and that is what Live Advert Removal (via Technix) does.
Above is a screenshot of Windows Live Messenger 9 with ads enabled. Live Advert Removal manipulates the Windows host file so that the advertisements cannot be loaded. It still means that a static Windows Live Messenger logo will be displayed at the exact same position but it means that no advertisement will be loaded from the Internet and that there will be no rotation.
The second screenshot displays the results of the host file addition. Using the Live Advert Removal software program is straightforward. It comes as a zip file that contains files to remove and to enable ads in Windows Live Messenger 9.
Experienced users can manipulate the host file manually for the same result. The host file can be found in system32/drivers/etc. The following line has to be added to get the same result: 0.0.0.0 rad.msn.com
Make sure to enable the option in Windows to see hidden and system files to be able to locate the host file.
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14 Responses to “Windows Live Messenger 9 Ad Removal”
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You know that this is illegal and that its against WLM TOS…
Funny the advertisments always get blocked on my pc. I thing Kaspersky is doing that. So that is a nice thing.
>You know that this is illegal
Illegal by which law of which country if I may ask? :) Can’t remember any laws around here thet prohibit editing hosts file.
Pure Messenger is exactly this, IM and nothing else
http://pank.org/im/
currently at 8.5, i am sure 9.0 will soon release.
the download is a full version of the program, so that you don’t have to be online to install on another computer of yours.
I think it’s better to use IM without ads at all – Miranda IM, for example.
I struggled to get the ads out of Vista and finally went old fashioned to get it done. After editing the dll file with resource hacker I then saved it to C: because Vista will not let you save over the original file. So I jumped into dos command prompt mode, erased the file and then simply copied the modified file back to whee it belongs. While I was there I changed the border too! Pretty simple once you figure out that the old file must be gone to put the new one in place.
Dale you are an f*cking idiot! Its not illegal folks. Another way also is to block certain microsoft ad servers with your router.
Rob, violation of the TOS may be a contractual breach, but that doesn’t mean criminal law disallows it. It’s a civil issue. If Microsoft wants to bring civil action against people editing text files, it is free to do so.
Works great thanks, and Dale I couldnt give a fuck if it was illegal. I do what I want.
Thanks for the info, and Dale, give me a break!
I don’t care if it’s illegal, some adds are moving, and it’s really distracting on dual screen. So thanks for sharing ;)
It is not a violation of criminal law to edit things for your own use on your own computer. It is a violation of the TOS and if whoever gave, sold or whatever the program to you wanted they could demand you 1)put it back the way it was or 2) cease and desist using their software 3) take action in a civil proceeding if they can prove damages
Since people have owned computers they have “modded” their personal stuff. Companies could really care less as long as you do not create a problem for them. For instance if I wrote a program that modified computers to do what I did manually and distributed it then I guarantee I would get some attention. Especially if I sold the program for a profit. Since that would greatly impact their advertising revenue they would be able to go after me for loss of revenue based on my damaging them by developing software for the removal of advertisement. Do you really think a big company is going to go after anyone for changing their own computer. What insignificant portion of revenue do I represent? a few cents? Are they going to spend thousands of dollars chasing me down and then deal with the negative publicity it would generate? You answer that question yourself.
All I am doing is telling my I-net friends what I did. I am not telling you to do it and even if you did your responsible for your own actions aren’t you? I like freeing up the bandwidth and eliminating ads is one way to do this. Just my thoughts on the matter… have a nice day>