This one definitely falls into the at-your-own-risk category: A beta version of Windows Live Messenger 8, nee MSN Messenger, has been available for download from Microsoft.com for some time now, but without an invitation to the private beta test it has been impossible to use, until now. The trick is to use a recently-released "proxy patch" to fool the MSN network into thinking you're running version 7.5, thus allowing you to log on without being part of the private beta. Pretty clever, but dont' blame me if it messes up your system. Once again, try it at your own risk.