I followed the directions above and the annoying "please go to: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkId=144689" is gone.
This has now created a new problem. Now when I try to sign into Windows Messenger I get a message to update to a new version. It starts to install but fails stating that previous Skype version has not completed installation and I have to restart. Restarting did not help and I get the same error message. Figuring the Skype was corrupt I uninstalled Skype. This did not help. I tried not updating but it will not allow me to sign in without updating. Any suggestions?