Windows Live Messenger Config

Ive been using Pidgeon for a while and really like it but couldnt get it to work with my webcam so have decided to go back to messenger. After setting it up again I couldnt belive how busy and cluttered the interface looked compared to Pidgeon. Here are the steps I took to get it running in as minimalist look as I could.

1) Under Tools/Options/Layout I turned off show favourties/groups/the tab bar/the whats new list.

2) Under Sign In I unticked Open Windows Live Messenger main window when windows live messenger starts. Also unticked show windows live today after I sign in to Messenger.

3) That sorted out the cluttered interface a bit but I still had these annoying ads popping up at the bottom. A quick google came up with the solution. Edit the hosts file and add the following entries.

# Windows Live Messenger ad servers
127.0.0.1 rad.msn.com
127.0.0.1 global.msads.net
127.0.0.1 rss.video.msn.com
127.0.0.1 ads1.msn.com
127.0.0.1 rad.live.com

The file can be found in C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\Etc. I had to open it with notepad then save the file to the desktop as it wouldnt let me save over the original. I then deleted the original and copied the file from the desktop to the correct folder which it let me do. Hey presto, no more ads.