New Messenger Has Same Old, Gaping Privacy Holes

An anonymous reader writes "Microsoft released the beta of the new 'Wave 4' Windows Live Essentials last week. The new beta of Windows Live Messenger 2011, while plugging some privacy holes and shoring up the user interface, fails to tackle the one biggest privacy-buster of all. Say you use Messenger to IM your wife. You also use Messenger to IM your old girlfriend. The next time your wife logs on to her Hotmail account — not Messenger, Hotmail — she will see that you and your old girlfriend 'are now friends.' It all happens without your knowledge or permission, and it happens even if you tell Messenger you want your personal information to be 'Private.'"

Comments

Re:Err what?

[Anonymous Coward]

You can untag yourself in a facebook photo, you can unfriend someone so they can't tag you, etc. With this, there are no options. Facebook isn't exactly the golden standard of user-controlled privacy settings, but it's better than this.

Re:Err what?

[minsk]

I would LOVE for facebook to have a privacy option "Disable the ability to tag me in any photo"

Like the privacy setting entitled "Photos and videos I'm tagged in", which can be customized to Only Me or blocked from specific people?

I can't swear that it works properly. So test with someone other than your mistress first :)

Privacy Setting Windows Live

[ShawnDoc]

Can't you turn this off in the Windows Live privacy settings (not the Live Messenger privacy settings)?

Re:Privacy Setting Windows Live

[bloodhawk]

If you mean private as in the 3 default options, then no it doesn't, you have to explicitly go into privacy and then advanced and edit the settings.

PRivate is defined as : allowing friends to still have some access.

go into privacy settings->advanced->Basic Information->friends list and set who can see your friends list to "JUST ME"

Re:This is so irrelevent it's not even funny.

[westlake]

Microsoft Messenger? Oh you mean that thing i don't have installed on this computer? The thing i specifically removed from the silent install disc i made?

Relevancy is best seen from the view outside the basement.

Messenger has 330 million users and is available in 50 languages. Windows Live Messenger

 

Re:Thats the biggest security hole?

[man_of_mr_e]

None that i'm aware of. Same with most VOIP services. Skype has encryption, but they also tap peoples calls at the drop of a supeona.. Which is not a good thing even if you're not doing anything wrong (there are lots of people in jails and prisons for things they didn't do based on evidence which "seems to fit")