Microsoft announced that it will push forced upgrades to Windows Live Messenger 8.1 to all current users of its instant messaging client. The Redmond company argued the necessity of the forced upgrades tying the process to security reasons. A recent vulnerability impacted MSN Messenger 6.2, 7.0 and 7.5 and Windows Live Messenger 8.0 as detailed in security bulletin MS07-054. The primary concern over the security flaw is the fact that proof of concept code is already available, leading to exploits in the wild. In order to contain attack and protect users Microsoft decided to take drastic measures.

"If you are using a Windows XP or later system, then there is no reason why you shouldn't be using the latest and greatest released version of Messenger. Messenger 8.1 was released earlier this year. It the most stable and reliable version of Messenger. It also has the latest security updates. We will soon configure the service such that any user on Windows XP or later system has to use Windows Live Messenger 8.1. When a user using an older version of Messenger tries to login, the client will help the user with a mandatory upgrade to Messenger 8.1. Some of you might feel this inconvenient, but in order to protect you and protect the health of the network we have chosen to take this step," revealed a security PM for Windows Live Messenger.

Users of older editions of Windows have the option to upgrade MSN Messenger to version MSN Messenger 7.0, and Windows Live Messenger 8.5 Beta 2 is also available for Windows Vista and Windows XP as an alternative to the forced upgrades to build 8.1. Microsoft also announced that the Messenger Presence feature will be delivered to the instant messaging client soon. Via Presence users will be able to set up their accounts in order to receive anonymous messages from a "Messenger window" on a website. The new feature will not coincide with the mandatory upgrades to Windows Live Messenger 8.1.