Vista - Where has the "encrypt contact list data" option gone?

I've just installed the WLM 9 beta on an XP machine and noticed that the
"encrypt contact list data..." setting is no longer present in the Privacy
options. On my Vista PC I uncheck this box, so the live contacts are
automatically synchronised with the Windows Contacts list (which works pretty
well).

Am I right in thinking that this functionality will no longer work if I
install the new beta, i.e contacts are encrypted by default and there's no
way of disabling that?

hey Al.

With the newest Messenger we no longer support the integration of your
contacts with the contacts folder in Vista. You can manage your Windows
Live Contacts using Windows Live Mail or Windows Live Messenger. We wanted
to make sure your Contacts went with you from machine to machine and using
the Windows Live Contact server helped make that happen. In the latest Beta
the contacts are guarded by XP / Vista file system settings which is why the
option was removed. Unfortunately, with the new way we store your contacts
integration with Windows Contacts was not a priority due to our desire to
"roam" your contacts.

Hope this helps.
Thanks for using Messenger!
Nick H.
Windows Live Team.

So far as I can see, Nokia PC Suite syncs contacts with Windows Vista Contacts and NOT Windows Live Mail. Therefore, with the new Messenger beta, anyone with a Nokia phone that doesn't have internet access cannot sync their phone with their Live contacts. This seems to be a huge step backwards.

With Nokia PC Sync synchronising Live Contacts with my Nokia phone through
the Vista Contacts, you've now managed to prevent all Nokia users from
keeping their phone lists up-to-date. This is a huge step backwards as I'm
not getting rid of my Nokia - I'll have to stop using Windows Live instead as
I don't want to have to manually keep my phone contacts up-to-date as well as
my computer ones.

"Nick H. [MSFT]" wrote:

Can I echo Oz's comments - this is disastrous for me as I also synchronise my
Windows Live contacts with my Nokia phone (and onwards to my work computer).
Not quite sure what on earth I'm going to do now - I used to have one
contacts list, now it looks like I'm going to have to maintain two. Nice one,
big step backwards.

(By the way, I'm sure you understand this better than I do, but using the
old version my contacts roamed very nicely AND synched with my PC. Must be
missing something).

"Nick H. [MSFT]" wrote:

I'm in the same boat. That hidden feature within Windows Live Messenger was
the best way to keep my iPhone (mobile), Vista (desktop), and Live (cloud)
all in sync.

Paul Thurrott even featured it here:
http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/wlc_to_iphone.asp

Please bring it back, Microsoft.

Jeff Lundberg


"Nick H. [MSFT]" wrote:

I was in exactly the same boat with my Sony Ericcson cell phone. I found a solution that works for me.

I just deinstalled the new Windows Live Messenger (deinstallation of Windows Live Essentials asks what components you want to get rid of) and reinstalled the previous version 8.1. Now syncing works again, but I don't know if there are any side effects of this version mismatch if you use it for anything else than syncing (which I don't).

Another thing I came across is a beta by Microsoft called Microsoft Phone Data Manager: What is Microsoft Phone Data Manager (beta)? - Microsoft Phone Data Manager (beta) - MSN India

Haven't tried it as I'm happy for now with my solution, but it might fit the bill for you if you're cell phone is compatible.