This week, a reader writes:

My grandson evidently connected his window messenger to my computer when he was here last time. How do I get him off? I’ve now signed up for Windows Messenger but his name kept coming up instead of mine. I had to “knock” him offline and sign in. Can I get him off for good?

I’m going to make an assumption that you’re using Windows XP. If so, your grandson probably “associated” his Windows Messenger account (a free online service from Microsoft) with your Windows XP user account. Messenger prompts you to do this when you first launch it. It then assumes that this account is “yours” and that you want to use it each time you launch Messenger.

Note: “MSN Messenger” is now called a “Windows Messenger” so you might see either of those names used depending on if your computer has been getting all of its “Windows Updates.” Both “MSN Messenger” and “Windows Messenger” are tied to Microsoft’s “Passport” account system. To add to the confusion, those Passport accounts are also referred to as “Windows Live” accounts as Microsoft has continued to evolve the services they offer online.

You can change the Messenger/Live account that is associated with your Windows XP account fairly simply:

• Go to your “Control Panel” and click on “User Accounts.”
• Click on your account. If there isn’t an account with your name, it might be called “Owner,” “Default,” or some other generic name.
• Look for the option that says “Change my .NET Passport.”
• The next screen will show you which “.NET Passport,” (or Messenger/Live ID) that is currently associated with your Windows XP user account. Assuming that this screen lists your grandson’s Messenger/Live account and not yours, click “Use a Different Passport.” This will launch the .NET Passport Wizard. Click “Next.”
• In your case, since you’ve already created your own Messenger/Live account you’ll select “Yes, use my existing e-mail address” on the next screen and click “Next.”
• On the next screen, select “Yes, sign in with my Windows Live ID.” (If you had not already created your own account before, you’d select “No, sign up now” at this screen.)
• On the next screen, enter the email address and password that you used to create your own Messenger ID. Note: Make sure that the check box for “Associate my Windows Live ID with my Windows user account” is selected. This, in fact, is the option that will fix your specific problem. Click “Next” when you’ve entered the information.

That’s it! Next time you launch Messenger it should be using your account instead of your grandson’s.

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[Author’s Note: “Ask the Geek” is published weekly in the Stratford Star - the penultimate reading experience for residents of Stratford, Texas, population 1,920. It is posted on WritersCafe.net for posterity. Feel free to comment, but I can’t promise you’ll make the Star.]