Disable sounds in MSN Web Messenger

Since i primarily use Linux and Mac on the desktop at home, i sometimes point visitors to MSN Web Messenger when they want to IM. This way they don’t need to learn to work with a new program (Adium/GaimPidgin/Kopete) as the Web Messengers interface is quite the same as the original one.

There is only one drawback in using this messenger, they do not offer the option to disable the sound alerts you get when a contact comes online, or when a message is received.

I posted an inquiry to Microsoft to ask for this feature. In the meanwhile i kept searching for a solution, this is what i found:

Short version (how to disable it):

• Create a new AdBlock rule, and filter the following address: http://*.webmessenger.msn.com/*.wav

Long Version (how i found it):

• i signed in to Web Messenger using a Squid HTTP proxy server.
• I then played with Web Messenger a little, enough to make it beep (for example: when you are in a conversation with someone, and you do not have focus on that window, you will be alerted through a little sound)
• After that i checked my proxy server’s logfile for the existence of .wav documents
• # grep "\.wav" /var/log/squid/access.log*
• What i found where these two matches, the first one is the ‘new message’ sound, the other is the ‘user online’ notification:
• http://sc.webmessenger.msn.com/10.1.0323.0/session/sound/type.wav
• http://sc.webmessenger.msn.com/10.1.0323.0/session/sound/online.wav
• Being a Firefox user i have the ability to filter the content i download with an Add-on called AdBlock. I created a new rule, and filtered the following address:
• http://*.webmessenger.msn.com/*.wav

So there you have it, a silent MSN Web Messenger. It took a little time to find it out, but it was more then worth it.