Microsoft has suspended the beta testing of the next
version of its MSN Messenger client because of a potential security
problem.
Testers discovered a potential security issue in the early
version of MSN Messenger 7 shortly after Microsoft made the instant
messaging client available to a select group of testers.
The problem lies in a new MSN Messenger feature dubbed "winks"
that allows users to send each other sound animations. The feature
can be abused to overwhelm a user's system.
The company has decided to put the test on hold and pull the
software while it looks into the issue. It will provide a new
version of the client, one without the winks feature in the next
few days.
The test version of MSN Messenger 7 was designed to only allow
approved animations to be sent. However, Microsoft is investigating
the possibility that the feature may be exploited to send "rogue
winks that could cause security issues," a company spokeswoman
said.
Although winks will no longer be in this test version of MSN
Messenger, Microsoft still plans to include the feature in the
final version of the product.
It is unclear how many people downloaded the potentially
vulnerable version of MSN Messenger. The software had not
officially been released to testers and only a small group of
people was given access to the download. However, the potentially
vulnerable instant messaging client has popped up elsewhere on the
web.
The limited beta of MSN Messenger 7 is a significant step in the
release process for MSN Messenger, which has 135 million active
users per month. Microsoft hopes to release a final version of the
software in the first quarter of 2005, after a public beta test
scheduled for later this year.
While Microsoft's MSN group has pulled one trial version of its
products, another is back. The company on Monday quietly launched a
second "technology preview" of its upcoming internet search engine,
MSN Search.
The first preview went online in early July with an index of 1
billion web pages and was taken offline in August. The second
preview is similar, but Microsoft has now indexed 5 billion web
pages.
In addition to the larger index, MSN Search has been improved to
provide more relevant search results. The service also offers
results from more internet domains, as well as spelling correction
and cached pages.
The launch of the final version of the MSN Search product,
Microsoft's answer to Google's search success, is expected later
this year or early next year.
Joris Everswrites for IDG News
Service