The new Windows Live Essentials Wave 4 beta has been leaked and it can be found on torrents and file sharing sites. I really wonder how does this Windows Live Essentials Wave 4 got leaked out when it is supposed to be a private beta? Surely it must be a Microsoft employee that either accidentally or intentionally leak this out. A leak is not necessarily bad because the Windows Live development team will only receive more feedback on the new Wave 4 and they don’t need to answer for any problems that can cause on the user’s computer.

Basically Windows Live Essentials is like a whole suite that allows you to install a bunch of Windows Live applications such as Windows Live Messenger, Windows Live Mail, Windows Live Family Safety, Windows Live ID, Windows Live Movie Maker, Windows Live Photo Gallery, Windows Live Sync and Windows Live Writer. Out of curiosity I downloaded the Wave 4 and installed all of the Windows Live applications. The first thing I noticed is that all of the application now has ribbon. When I tried to sign in to Windows Live Messenger Build 15, I got the error “We can’t sign you in to Windows Live Messenger. You don’t have permission to log into this version of Windows Live Messenger. Error code: 810003cc“. Clicking on the Get more information links to me a Microsoft Federation Services employee sign in page.

I don’t know why all of the Windows Live Essentials Wave 4 Beta applications can be used except for Windows Live Messenger which is limited to only Microsoft employee…

There is a patch that replaces the original Windows Live Messenger 2009 build 15 with a patched version that allows you to sign in without getting the 810003cc error code. It only works for Build 15.2.2583.119 but when a new beta is leaked/released again, the patch cannot be used and will only revert the newer Windows Live Messenger to an older build.

To get around this restriction, I’ve created a patch that will auto search and replace the necessary offsets to allow sign in to Windows Live Messenger beta. Basically it is pretty much the same thing as the full patch but this tool allows you to do it your own and it also works with future Windows Live Messenger beta since it has offset scanning capabilities. The patch is created with dUP2 and some antivirus flags this tool as malicious. 14 out of 42 detects the patcher created by dUP2 as backdoor, cracker, hacktool and etc but both ThreatExpert online sandbox analysis shows that the patcher is clean and does not perform any malicious actions. Simply run and click the Patch button. It will auto locate where Windows Live Messenger 2010 is installed and creates a backup of the original messenger.

VirusTotal Analysis: LINK

ThreatExpert Analysis: LINK

When I signed in for the first time, the WLM interface is really huge. Then after playing around with the menus, I found out this is the Social Mode and I can switch it back to the contacts mode which is like the current Messenger interface. Tab feature has also been implemented to the chat window so you won’t get multiple chat window flooding your taskbar.

It seems to also have some sort of Facebook integration at the bottom right Add > Facebook but the feature is incomplete. I am asked to sign in with Windows Live ID after adding Facebook and then it shows my Live account main page. Clicking the Skip button closes the window and that’s it.

Download Windows Live Essentials 4 Beta
Download Patched msnmsgr.exe created by Windowsette.com
Download Windows Live Messenger Beta Sign In Dynamic Patcher by Raymond

[tags]messenger, live, beta, 2010, signin, patch[/tags]