It's a heads up from us — to continue using Messenger you'll need to upgrade to the latest version soon.
There's an important new update for your security, so Microsoft is asking that all users upgrade to the latest version as soon as possible, as access through older versions will be phased out gradually over the coming weeks.
Here's what Microsoft HQ had to say about it on their blog:
We are committed to providing a safe, secure and positive experience for our more than 300 million customers across the globe using Windows Live Messenger every month. To deliver on that commitment, beginning on August 25, we started asking our customers using versions 8.1, 8.5 and 14.0 to upgrade to the newest version of Messenger. The upgrade will provide customers with the latest software updates including code fixes and feature enhancements, as well address vulnerabilities discussed in the Microsoft Security Advisory 973882 that existed in previous versions of Windows Live Messenger.
The upgrade process will take place in a phased approach over the next several weeks. For details on the phased approach and information on the new features that this upgrade will turn on, please visit the Messenger blog.
Want to upgrade now? You don’t have to wait for the notification. In fact, we encourage you to download the updated version of Messenger right now by visiting http://download.live.com.
If you aren’t sure which version you have, you can go to the Help menu and select About Messenger. Help – About Messenger. If you have a version that is lower than 14.0.8089 you will need to upgrade.
How it works