I just got an alert in MSN Messenger saying that MsgPlus, the popular add-in which I have installed, needed my support. With my curiousity piqued, I clicked on the alert, and found myself at a petition page. From the explanation that precedes the actual petition letter:

In a recent update of Microsoft Anti-Spyware, the threat level of Messenger Plus! was lowered from 3/5 to 2/5, which was a good thing, however, the program itself, msgplus.exe, is now detected immediately at system startup or whenever run manually by the user, and the following message is displayed in bold red: “Warning, Messenger Plus! Software Bundler is trying to install!”. In addition to discouraging anybody in their right mind to click “Allow”, this message is, to put it simply, a lie. Messenger Plus! is not a “threat” and it certainly is not trying to “install itself on your computer”, it’s already been installed at this point and the program is just trying to run and do what the user expects it to do. Why is that important? because the main argument of Microsoft so far against this case has been “the policy of Microsoft Anti-Spyware is to flag all installers which bundle spyware/adware as being potentially dangerous”.

I really like MsgPlus, and I have been using it for a very long time. It is, in my opinion, one of the best software add-ins ever created, not just in terms of MSN Messenger, but in terms of all applications period. It integrates so smoothly and does exactly what you expect it to. I also really like Microsoft’s AntiSpyware. I used to be an Ad-Aware user, but I find AntiSpyware finds just as many threats, if not more, and integrates nicely into Windows XP. I also particularly like the warning messages and alerts that the program displays.

Having said all that, I can’t bring myself to sign the petition, and for a couple reasons. First off, MsgPlus does have the capability to install adware, so I don’t mind that AntiSpyware flags it as a potential threat. Secondly, I really don’t like how Patchou has positioned the petition as a “save MsgPlus” gimmick. I don’t believe for a second that AntiSpyware is enough of a problem to stop work on MsgPlus. Thirdly, and most importantly to me, I have run both applications side by side ever since AntiSpyware was released by Microsoft. The first time I ran a scan, it flagged MsgPlus, and I simply told AntiSpyware to always ignore it. I have never, ever encountered a problem, nor has MsgPlus ever been flagged again. I suppose another reason is that looking at this from Microsoft’s side, caving in to the demands of one developer could mean problems with other developers. Pretty soon all the effort is placed on appeasing developers instead of protecting consumers.

So that’s why I am not signing the petition. I am surprised to see that since August 17th, there have been 82,498 signatures. It’ll be interesting to see what happens.

Read: MsgPlus Petition