OK. We goofed. There are three different Microsoft products/technologies named "Messenger:" MSN Messenger, Windows Messenger and the Messenger Service. The recent FTC hearing resulting in a temporary injunction against a spammer involved the dreaded Messenger Service (not Windows Messenger). It's also the Messenger Service, not Windows Messenger, that AOL is shutting off for its subscribers. And it's this same service that Microsoft is promising to turn off by default as of Windows XP SP2. "The Messenger service is a data exchange mechanism for networked computers which is typically only used to manage networks in businesses. Our research has shown that it is not a service that consumer/home users typically use," says a Microsoft spokeswoman. We'd agree with that; most consumers we know want it banished forever. Anyway, mea culpa.