Are 'Windows Messenger' Messages Easily Intercepted?

[Confused]

Is there any security built into Windows Messenger (I'm using 4.7.3001 on XP
with .NET Service) to prevent someone on the same LAN from intercepting and
reading others' messages?

If not, is this easy for a savvy hacker to do and should I assume everybody
can see the Windows Messenger messages I type?

Thanks.

 

[Jonathan Kay [MVP]]

Greetings,

Of course this really depends how your network is made, but, there's no encryption using the
public .NET Messenger service and messages are sent in plain-text.
____________________________________________
Jonathan Kay
Microsoft MVP - MSN Messenger/Windows Messenger
Associate Expert
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/
Messenger Resources - http://messenger.jonathankay.com
All posts unless otherwise specified are (c) 2005 Jonathan Kay.
You *must* contact me for redistribution rights.

 

[Phillips]

As a rule of thumb, assume that anything that goes over a network is widely
open for anyone to see - unless you are the administrator who set up the
network and know what you did.
Michael

 

[Sparda]

Greetings,

Of course this really depends how your network is made, but,
there's no encryption using the
public .NET Messenger service and messages are sent in
plain-text.
____________________________________________
Jonathan Kay
Microsoft MVP - MSN Messenger/Windows Messenger
Associate Expert
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/
Messenger Resources - http://messenger.jonathankay.com
All posts unless otherwise specified are (c) 2005 Jonathan
Kay.
You *must* contact me for redistribution rights.


intercepting and reading others' messages?

How ever you could use IMsecure which alows you to sent messages
encypted, how ever i much prefer the combined efectivness of GAIM and
GAIM Encyption.

IMSecure:
http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/catalog/products/sku_list_ims.jsp

GAIM: http://gaim.sourceforge.net/
GAIM Encyption: http://gaim-encryption.sourceforge.net/