Add as a preferred source on Google


News

Microsoft Upgrades Instant Messenger

Microsoft Corp.'s latest instant messaging program is ready for prime time, the company said Monday.

(Redmond, Wash.) Microsoft Corp.'s latest instant messaging program is ready for prime time, the company said Monday.

Windows Live Messenger, which had been available in test form, will officially launch today.

The free program is an upgrade to MSN Messenger, the previous name for the software maker's tool for quickly communicating online. Such products have become incredibly popular for a wide variety of audiences, from teens to business people.

The basic service gives people a way to quickly type messages back and forth. Windows Live Messenger also offers video calling and ways to easily share files, among other features.

Competitors, including market leader AOL, also are adding such functions. On Monday, Yahoo Inc. said it was opening up its messaging service so that outside developers can create programs that plug into it.

Windows Live Messenger is one of the first products to debut under Microsoft's new "Live" brand. The company is renaming some products and launching others under the "Live" brand as part of an overall push to offer more Web-based products. It faces intense competition in the field from companies including Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc.

MSN Messenger was the second-most popular instant messaging service, after AOL, for U.S. home and worker users, according to May data from Nielsen/NetRatings.

Globally, MSN Messenger is the most popular instant messaging client, with 204.6 million users in April, according to comScore Media Metrix. Yahoo is No. 2 with 76 million users, while Time Warner Inc.'s AIM and AOL messaging products together had about 51.3 million users, the research firm said.

Featured

  • Microsoft Dismantles RedVDS Cybercrime Marketplace Linked to $40M in Phishing Fraud

    In a coordinated action spanning the United States and the United Kingdom, Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit (DCU) and international law enforcement collaborators have taken down RedVDS, a subscription based cybercrime platform tied to an estimated $40 million in fraud losses in the U.S. since March 2025.

  • Sound Wave Illustration

    CrowdStrike's Acquisition of SGNL Aims to Strengthen Identity Security

    CrowdStrike signs definitive agreement to purchase SGNL, an identity security specialist, in a deal valued at about $740 million.

  • Microsoft Acquires Osmos, Automating Data Engineering inside Fabric

    In a strategic move to reduce time-consuming manual data preparation, Microsoft has acquired Seattle-based startup Osmos, specializing in agentic AI for data engineering.

  • Linux Foundation Unites Major Tech Firms to Launch Agentic AI Foundation

    The Linux Foundation today announced the creation of a new collaborative initiative — the Agentic AI Foundation (AAIF) — bringing together major AI and cloud players such as Microsoft, OpenAI, Anthropic and other major tech companies.

Most   Popular