Live Messenger a security concern?

Anyone get a weird problem where Live Messenger permantly leaves ports open on a routers firewall? I know its not a virus or a setting because I have checked a few other computers who appear to have the same problem with Messenger...It affects anyone using UPnP and I cant figure out how to stop WLM using its built-in upnp service.

Check your router settings and disable UPnP if you dont want Messenger turing your firewall into a free4all, Does it do the same thing on your routers?

I would also recommend stoping and disabling the SSDP Discovery service. It's the service responsible for UPnp.

Shawn

Live messenger uses its own UPnP service, it was orginaly designed for computers on win98/NT/ME to enable Messenger to use UPnP. On 2000, XP and 2k3 it bypass the SSDP service completely, the only way I can stop it from leaving open these ports is completely disabling the UPnP service of the router but that messes up my xbox live and some other programs port forwarding...

Any ideas where to go when the WLM8.1 connect site is closed?

Sorry dmex,

I don't know.

Shawn

Its ok

Dmex,

I guess you could try the Feedback area for messenger.

http://feedback.live.com/eform.aspx?productkey=wlmessenger

Is this the one you tried before? :

http://support.live.com/default.aspx

Good luck. I hope you can find what you need at one of these sites.

Shawn

I will give them I try but I doubt they will read the bug and send it to there developers to fix. The site I used was connect.microsoft.com Its where I am trying to contact the WLM team with more chance they will have a look there.

Here's another that I found that might be helpful:

http://forums.microsoft.com/MSDN/ShowForum.aspx?ForumID=112&SiteID=1

Shawn

P.S.

There's a newer Live Messenger 8.5 beta version download available that might work better.

http://get.live.com/betas/messenger_betas