After More Than a Decade, MSN Chat Authentication Is Documented (goo.gl) 27
An anonymous reader writes: After MSN Chat closed in 2003, and then again in 2006, some guy has finally documented the authentication system used — over a decade later! Developer Joshua Davison writes by way of explanation:
I think it's important to document the challenge we (users, scripters, hackers) faced connecting to MSN Chat, which is the only known 'proper' implementation of IRCX v8.1 at this time.
MSN Chat introduced a GateKeeper SASL authentication protocol, which implemented 'GateKeeper' and 'GateKeeperPassport' (not dissimilar to the widely documented NTLM authentication protocol, which was also implemented as NTLM, and NTMLPassport)
The GateKeeper Security Support Provider (GKSSP) functioned in two ways; allowing a user to login with a Microsoft Account (Previously known as Microsoft Passport, .NET Passport, Microsoft Passport Network, and Windows Live ID), and also allowed guest authentication for users without, or not willing to use a Microsoft Account.
While most users didn't need or want to understand how the protocol worked, there were many of us who did, and many that just preferred to use MSN Chat outside of the browser.
itâ(TM)s? (Score:4, Insightful)
Can the new owners of Slashdot PLEASE fix this unicode/UTF-8/whatever problem? This is ridiculous.
Re: itâ(TM)s? (Score:5, Funny)
Look, the new owners just took over and they can only do one thing at a time. They've already fired most of the editorial staff, turned timothy's account into a bot, and upped the number of garbage posts that make it to the front page. These things take time.
Re: (Score:2)
IMs (Score:2, Insightful)
It's a pity these days that popular IMs have become completely propriety and do not work with open-source programs such as pidgin. MSN chat was quite nice but it's replacement skype is too bloated and resource hog for a simple chatting. Google chat was also quite nice until they turned it into hangouts and it also stopped working with open-source programs.
Re: (Score:3)
I use Apple's Messages program to talk to friends on Mac/iPad/iPhone and also on other friends who use Google Talk on other platforms.
Isn't it weird that Apple supports more IM platforms than Microsoft and Google?
Re: (Score:1)
Seeing as they paid well to license the tech from those companies in a way libpurple devs never could? No, its not that weird at all.
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
Who said anything about "libpurple"? I'm asking why Google and Microsoft don't support other protocols, compared to Apple who people keep saying are a "closed garden".
Re: (Score:1)
I can finally (Score:4, Interesting)
finish my MSN chat client... *doh*
Seriously though, why in the crap did MS kill MSN messenger? It was actually pretty popular and it worked well. It was the only reason I kept an active Hotmail account for many years (now the MSA useful again with Windows 8/10 and Windows Phone).
Skype chat is just horrid in comparison...
I have used Trillian for years and continue to use it to interface with FB, AIM and GTalk.
Re: (Score:2)
The instant MS updated to Windows Media Player 7, I decided to ignore it and continue to use Windows Media Player 6 (before XP at least, it was still the lightweight "built-in" one, descendant from a useless little player in Windows 3.1). Later, I used Media Player Classic instead (scrollwheel support yay!). Later still VLC got a better UI and everyone was using it.
I didn't have to give much of a thought about WMP7, and it was the same about MSN Messenger 7.
My favorite replacement software was aMSN, it work
Re: (Score:2)
> Seriously though, why in the crap did MS kill MSN messenger?
Apparently they had 8 billion other reasons. [wired.com]
Microsoft has a long history of buying tech [wikipedia.org]. By the time they get version 3 fixed, they are chasing some other fad.
Re: (Score:2)
I'd be interested in how you have GTalk working on Trillian.
For the life of me I can't convince it to connect.
Enough with the URL shorteners ... (Score:5, Insightful)
Look, seriously this isn't fucking Twitter ... stop using bloody URL shorteners ... https://goo.gl/uLqxCT [goo.gl]
If you can't post a proper link, don't publish the damned story.
Why do we keep acting like we're supposed to trust third parties to know where we're going or to not want to monetize this fact?
Oh, wait, between this and the fact that the summary has unicode artifacts, somehow I must be assuming timothy know how to be an "editor" ... what a quaint notion.
Uh... what? (Score:2)
After MSN Chat closed in 2003, and then again in 2006, some guy has finally documented the authentication system used — over a decade later!
Uh, what? "Some guy" documented it twice?
Or did MSN Chat close twice?
Finally found some free time to document (Score:1)
After years of coding.