Where has the "encrypt contact list data" option gone?

I've just installed the WLM 9 beta on an XP machine and noticed that the
"encrypt contact list data..." setting is no longer present in the Privacy
options. On my Vista PC I uncheck this box, so the live contacts are
automatically synchronised with the Windows Contacts list (which works pretty
well).

Am I right in thinking that this functionality will no longer work if I
install the new beta, i.e contacts are encrypted by default and there's no
way of disabling that?

hey Al.

With the newest Messenger we no longer support the integration of your
contacts with the contacts folder in Vista. You can manage your Windows
Live Contacts using Windows Live Mail or Windows Live Messenger. We wanted
to make sure your Contacts went with you from machine to machine and using
the Windows Live Contact server helped make that happen. In the latest Beta
the contacts are guarded by XP / Vista file system settings which is why the
option was removed. Unfortunately, with the new way we store your contacts
integration with Windows Contacts was not a priority due to our desire to
"roam" your contacts.

Hope this helps.
Thanks for using Messenger!
Nick H.
Windows Live Team.

> I've just installed the WLM 9 beta on an XP machine and noticed that the
> "encrypt contact list data..." setting is no longer present in the Privacy
> options. On my Vista PC I uncheck this box, so the live contacts are
> automatically synchronised with the Windows Contacts list (which works
> pretty
> well).
>
> Am I right in thinking that this functionality will no longer work if I
> install the new beta, i.e contacts are encrypted by default and there's no
> way of disabling that?

With Nokia PC Sync synchronising Live Contacts with my Nokia phone through
the Vista Contacts, you've now managed to prevent all Nokia users from
keeping their phone lists up-to-date. This is a huge step backwards as I'm
not getting rid of my Nokia - I'll have to stop using Windows Live instead as
I don't want to have to manually keep my phone contacts up-to-date as well as
my computer ones.

"Nick H. [MSFT]" wrote:

> hey Al.
>
> With the newest Messenger we no longer support the integration of your
> contacts with the contacts folder in Vista. You can manage your Windows
> Live Contacts using Windows Live Mail or Windows Live Messenger. We wanted
> to make sure your Contacts went with you from machine to machine and using
> the Windows Live Contact server helped make that happen. In the latest Beta
> the contacts are guarded by XP / Vista file system settings which is why the
> option was removed. Unfortunately, with the new way we store your contacts
> integration with Windows Contacts was not a priority due to our desire to
> "roam" your contacts.
>
> Hope this helps.
> Thanks for using Messenger!
> Nick H.
> Windows Live Team.
>
> > I've just installed the WLM 9 beta on an XP machine and noticed that the
> > "encrypt contact list data..." setting is no longer present in the Privacy
> > options. On my Vista PC I uncheck this box, so the live contacts are
> > automatically synchronised with the Windows Contacts list (which works
> > pretty
> > well).
> >
> > Am I right in thinking that this functionality will no longer work if I
> > install the new beta, i.e contacts are encrypted by default and there's no
> > way of disabling that?
>
>

Can I echo Oz's comments - this is disastrous for me as I also synchronise my
Windows Live contacts with my Nokia phone (and onwards to my work computer).
Not quite sure what on earth I'm going to do now - I used to have one
contacts list, now it looks like I'm going to have to maintain two. Nice one,
big step backwards.

(By the way, I'm sure you understand this better than I do, but using the
old version my contacts roamed very nicely AND synched with my PC. Must be
missing something).

"Nick H. [MSFT]" wrote:

> hey Al.
>
> With the newest Messenger we no longer support the integration of your
> contacts with the contacts folder in Vista. You can manage your Windows
> Live Contacts using Windows Live Mail or Windows Live Messenger. We wanted
> to make sure your Contacts went with you from machine to machine and using
> the Windows Live Contact server helped make that happen. In the latest Beta
> the contacts are guarded by XP / Vista file system settings which is why the
> option was removed. Unfortunately, with the new way we store your contacts
> integration with Windows Contacts was not a priority due to our desire to
> "roam" your contacts.
>
> Hope this helps.
> Thanks for using Messenger!
> Nick H.
> Windows Live Team.
>
> > I've just installed the WLM 9 beta on an XP machine and noticed that the
> > "encrypt contact list data..." setting is no longer present in the Privacy
> > options. On my Vista PC I uncheck this box, so the live contacts are
> > automatically synchronised with the Windows Contacts list (which works
> > pretty
> > well).
> >
> > Am I right in thinking that this functionality will no longer work if I
> > install the new beta, i.e contacts are encrypted by default and there's no
> > way of disabling that?
>
>

I'm in the same boat. That hidden feature within Windows Live Messenger was
the best way to keep my iPhone (mobile), Vista (desktop), and Live (cloud)
all in sync.

Paul Thurrott even featured it here:
http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/wlc_to_iphone.asp

Please bring it back, Microsoft.

Jeff Lundberg


"Nick H. [MSFT]" wrote:

> hey Al.
>
> With the newest Messenger we no longer support the integration of your
> contacts with the contacts folder in Vista. You can manage your Windows
> Live Contacts using Windows Live Mail or Windows Live Messenger. We wanted
> to make sure your Contacts went with you from machine to machine and using
> the Windows Live Contact server helped make that happen. In the latest Beta
> the contacts are guarded by XP / Vista file system settings which is why the
> option was removed. Unfortunately, with the new way we store your contacts
> integration with Windows Contacts was not a priority due to our desire to
> "roam" your contacts.
>
> Hope this helps.
> Thanks for using Messenger!
> Nick H.
> Windows Live Team.
>
> > I've just installed the WLM 9 beta on an XP machine and noticed that the
> > "encrypt contact list data..." setting is no longer present in the Privacy
> > options. On my Vista PC I uncheck this box, so the live contacts are
> > automatically synchronised with the Windows Contacts list (which works
> > pretty
> > well).
> >
> > Am I right in thinking that this functionality will no longer work if I
> > install the new beta, i.e contacts are encrypted by default and there's no
> > way of disabling that?
>
>