Even if the site appears to look like a Live ID sign in page, look for the green address bar, lock icon and company name to verify it truly is. Additionally, depending in your Windows version, browser and Live ID site you're signing into, you might need to click the ‘Sign in using enhanced security’ link on the page to see these indicators.
Finally you'll arrive at the password changing page and can change your password. One minor feature that’s been added recently is an option to prompt you to change your password every 72 days. I'm not quite sure how this will work with regards to Messenger yet, but time will tell.
View Kay's outline of Messenger phishing and the steps to follow if you have been affected
We at Messenger Stuff would like to warn people not to open or follow any links in these emails and instead report them as junk and/or spam as well as delete them.
Currently there is no Messenger 9.5 available in public or private beta testing so for the sake of your computer's health do not open or download anything from these emails It's highly likely to only lead you to a virus, worm, spyware, malware or other nasty that really you don't want on your computer.
Take care. We'll have news covering the Messenger Plus! Live skinning contest and our favourite entries coming soon.
Some of the sites are asking you to pay some money using text messaging in order to receive a code to unlock a modified setup program of Messenger Plus!
Patchou, Messenger Plus! creator, has posted a thread on the Messenger Plus! forums warning users of this. Patchou recommends the following:
- Only download Messenger Plus! from the official site, which is msgpluslive.net or its localized language domains. The official site will never ask you to pay for Messenger Plus!
- Check the setup files digital signature, which can be found by right clicking the setup file and selecting properties, it should be signed by "Patchou" with a VeriSign Class 3 certificate. If it doesn't, it was not approved by Patchou, therefore shouldn't be trusted. A screenshot of what the digital signature should look like can be seen here.
View: Patchou's post in full Official download: Messenger Plus! Live
I see threads about this issue in Messenger forums regularly and Salem has provided an interesting summary of the problem:
I've just come across website(s) which actually charge you to download Freeware (freely available) software. Take CryptoSoft.com for example. CryptoSoft charges £6 (approx US$12.12 or 8.88 euros) for a single download of software such as MessengerPlus! Live, Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, Skype and more, all of which are available as FREE downloads. CyrptoSoft even charges you to download Open Source software like Mozilla's Firefox & Thunderbird.
So, what does CryptoSoft.com do? Once you click on the 'Download' button you are asked to send a text (SMS) message with a given prefix to a designated number. Each text message costs you £2, and there are a total of three text messages involved in completing a purchase (£2 x 3 = £6).
Now there's nothing wrong with freely distributing freeware, but the problem comes in when you actually charge people for the free software you're giving them, which is illegal.
When looking for a software always download from official sources (the official product website). If however you find a (third-party) site wants to charge you for downloading, use you're trusty friend Google (or any other search engine) to have a look at the official website to see if there are any costs involved in downloading.
Unfortunately these websites are becoming incredibly popular. They prey on young minds who may own a mobile phone and thus making it a convenient way to pay. You just have to look how much people spend on ringtones via similar techniques, so this may in fact seem a good deal, when in reality people are getting scammed.
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