Using with MSN Messenger
The MSN Messenger (also known as Windows Live Messenger and .NET Messenger Service) is an instant messaging service created by Microsoft in 1999. It was the most used IM service in some countries in 2000s, but in 2010s lost its popularity, and in 2017 all servers were shut down.
Nowadays there are a few alternate servers for Windows Live Messenger, allowing to chat using old MSN clients. WebOne Proxy Server can be used to redirect traffic from Messenger application to alternate servers.
- The most well-done alternate server is Escargot. It is made by a group of developers, and supporting most of MSN Messenger features via almost all versions of client application. The daily contingent of users is near 1000 persons connected. WebOne 0.16.1 and up by default will connect Messenger client applications to Escargot servers.
- Another alternate server is OMessenger. It have less support for client application versions, and is less popular.
WebOne is not affiliated with owners of any of these services in any kind.
To use Windows Live Messenger application for chat with other people using Escargot server, all is included in WebOne. Just set your WebOne proxy server IP address in Windows Internet Properties control panel. Or set it in MSN Messenger settings window (pre-4.7 versions only).
At moment of write of this article, only a valid e-mail address is required to create a Escargot account. After register you'll get an equivalent of ".NET Passport" in user@escargot.chat username format.
Escargot project supports both original Windows Live Messenger client application and own patched editions. Patched versions are working even without proxy server(s) or any reconfiguration out of box. Original Microsoft versions are requiring some tricks to connect: Messenger up to version 4.6 are requiring a registry edit (or a proxy), and unpatched versions 4.7 and up will work only via proxy.
| Version | Status | Minimum OS |
|---|---|---|
| MSN Messenger 1.0 | 🟢 Supported by Escargot, but doesn't support HTTP proxies.⁵ ¹ For compatibility, @hotmail.com is equivalent to @escargot.chat. |
Windows 95 |
| MSN Messenger 2.x | 🟢 Supported by Escargot, but doesn't support HTTP proxies.⁵ ¹ | Windows 95 |
| MSN Messenger 3.0 | 🟢 Supported by Escargot, but doesn't support HTTP proxies.⁵ ¹ | Windows 95 |
| MSN Messenger 3.5 | ✔️ Supported¹ | Windows 95 |
| MSN Messenger 3.6 | ✔️ Supported¹ | Windows 95 |
| MSN Messenger 4.x | ✔️ Supported¹ | Windows 95 |
| MSN Messenger 4.7 | ✔️ Supported | Windows 95 |
| Windows Messenger 4.x | ✔️ Supported¹ | Windows XP |
| Windows Messenger 4.7 | ✔️ Supported | Windows XP |
| Windows Messenger 5.x | ✔️ Supported | Windows XP |
| MSN Messenger 5.x | ✔️ Supported | Windows 95 |
| MSN Messenger 6.x | ✔️ Supported | Windows 98 |
| MSN Messenger 7.x | ✔️ Supported. MSN 7 supports receiving offline messages (OIMs), but can't send them to others. | Windows 98 |
| MSN Messenger 7.5 | ✔️ Supported | Windows XP³ |
| Windows Live Messenger 8.1 | ✔️ Supported | Windows XP |
| Windows Live Messenger 8.5/2008 | ✔️ Supported | Windows XP SP2 or Windows Vista |
| Windows Live Messenger 2009 | ✔️ Supported.⁴ Recommended version. 👍 | Windows XP SP3 or Windows Vista |
| Windows Live Messenger 2011 | ❌ Not yet | Windows Vista SP2 or Windows 7 |
| Windows Live Messenger 2012 | ❌ Not yet | Windows 7 |
| Messaging | ❌ Not yet | Windows 8 |
| Microsoft Skype | ❌ Not yet | Windows |
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These versions does not use SSL to log-in. They are working even without WebOne CA Root Certificate been installed. Also you can specify an separate "Legacy Password" in Escargot profile to log-in via these unprotected versions (it does not providing access to Escargot Profile via Web).
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Messenger versions 4.7 and up requires to be configured to use WebOne Proxy via Windows Internet Properties control panel (MSIE options). Just setting HTTP proxy in Messenger options is not enough due to some bug of the application.
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MSN Messenger 7.5 can be run under Windows 2000 SP4 by copying
C:\Program Files\MSN Messenger\directory from an machine where it's installed. -
Apps from Windows Live Essentials 2009, such as Photo Gallery, will also successfully log on using Escargot credentials. But none of Internet features, except nice avatar icon at the toolbar, will work. At this moment Escargot does not providing support for photo or video sharing.
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To connect MSN Messenger 1.0-3.0 to Escargot, it's need to edit Windows registry using Escargot recommendations or edit
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\ETC\HOSTSfile. Also it is need to have a direct Internet connection.
| Version | Status | Minimum OS |
|---|---|---|
| MSN Messenger 1.0 | 🟢 Supported by Escargot, but doesn't support HTTP proxies.⁵ ¹ For compatibility, @hotmail.com is equivalent to @escargot.chat. |
MacOS 8.6 |
| MSN Messenger for Mac 2.0 | 🟢 Supported by Escargot, but doesn't support HTTP proxies. | MacOS 8.6 |
| MSN Messenger for Mac 2.1 | 🟢 Supported by Escargot, but doesn't support HTTP proxies. | MacOS 8.6 |
| MSN Messenger for Mac 2.5.1 | 🟢 Supported by Escargot, but doesn't support HTTP proxies. | MacOS 9.2 |
| MSN Messenger for Mac 2.5.1 | 🟢 Supported by Escargot, but doesn't support HTTP proxies. | MacOS X |
| MSN Messenger for Mac 3.0 | 🟢 Supported by Escargot, but doesn't support HTTP proxies. | MacOS X |
| MSN Messenger for Mac 3.5 | Should work, but really have some troubles. | MacOS X |
| MSN Messenger for Mac 4.0 | Should work, but really have some troubles. | MacOS X |
| Microsoft Messenger Mac 5.1 | Should work, but really have some troubles. | MacOS X |
Some versions of MSN Messenger for Macintosh are compatible with Escargot, but do not support working via HTTP(S) Proxy Servers. They includes at least 1.0, 2.0, 2.1, 2.5, and 3.0 versions of Messenger for Mac.
It is possible to connect them to Escargot via direct Internet connection with a some MacOS system tweak:
- Download the version of MSN Messenger which you want, and run its installer.
- To make the application use the Escargot servers you have to modify the hosts file, which is not very easy in Classic MacOS. First, open SimpleText and create a text file containing the following:
messenger.hotmail.com A 143.198.4.104 - Open the TCP/IP control panel. From the menu bar select Edit->User Mode. Select Advanced and press OK. On the control panel press the “Select Hosts File…” button on the top right. Browse and select the text file you just created.
- Congratulations, you're able to chat with everyone via
. - 🔗
Note: MSN Messenger 1.0 uses username@hotmail.com log-in names, identical to username@escargot.chat in this case.
On MacOS X use /etc/hosts file. Hint: use sudo /Applications/TextEdit.app/Contents/MacOS/TextEdit /etc/hosts via Terminal to open the file for edit. Add the line to it, and save the file:
143.198.4.104 messenger.hotmail.com
The methodic said here is enough for Messenger versions that do not utilize SSL Nexus API to log-in. Nexus support were introduced in Messenger:mac 3.5. The Nexus emulation requires HTTPS Proxy support. However, at time of testing, there were found unknown problems with connections from MSN 3.5+ via WebOne. You may test a luck with trying to get it working.
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MSN Messenger and Windows Live Messenger applications, both original (compatible with WebOne & Escargot) and Escargot-patched versions, are available to download from Escargot Web Site:
- Windows versions.
- Patched versions are requiring Windows XP SP2 or newer to run. And on Windows 7 and up they can work without proxy.
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MSN Messenger for Macintosh (original, Escargot compatible) is preserved at Internet Archive Wayback Machine:
- 1.0: 🇺🇸.bin 🇺🇸.hqx
- 2.0: 2.0 2.0c 2.0r44 (all English)
- 2.1: 🇩🇪 🇺🇸 🇪🇸 🇫🇷 🇯🇵 🇸🇪
- 2.5.1: 🇩🇪 🇺🇸 🇪🇸 🇫🇷 🇯🇵 🇸🇪 or in Microsoft Office v.X
- 3.0: 🇺🇸
- 3.5.1: 🇩🇪 🇺🇸 🇪🇸 🇫🇷 🇯🇵 🇸🇪
- Other versions are available elsewhere. MacTopia archive.
- Maximum supported: OS 8.6 - v2.1. OS 9.2 - v2.5. OSX 10.1.3 - v3.5. OSX 10.2.8 - v4.0. OSX 10.3 - v5.1. OSX 10.4 - v7.0. OSX 10.5 - v8.0.
Pocket MSN Messenger (shipping with Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0) and mobile version of Windows Live Messenger 10.6 are using a different network APIs, which is not currently supported by Escargot. However it is HTTPS based and WebOne is making a redirect of the traffic to Escargot servers, the project does not support API requests from these client applications at this moment.
NINA is a friendly project which is providing servers for ICQ (or QIP 2005), AIM (Netscape-AOL Instant Messenger or Apple iChat), Yahoo Messenger and classic America-On-Line. It's using Escargot accounts (and Escargot is using NINA accounts too) to log in.
However default WebOne configuration does not contains OSCAR server redirection, known ICQ and AIM clients are supported to work through WebOne. Just specify login.oscar.nina.chat:5190 as network server (works with both ICQ/QIP and AIM clients), and your WebOne proxy server IP & port as HTTP proxy server. Work of OSCAR-over-SSL is not guaranteed.
Yahoo Messenger have no proper HTTP Proxy servers support, so it does not working with WebOne.
This section to be written.
To allow connecting MSN Messenger clients to OMessenger server, remove or clear escargot.conf file in WebOne installation directory or /etc/webone.conf.d/. Then reconfigure using latest manuals for OMessenger.