diff --git a/core/src/main/groovy/com/muwire/core/MuWireSettings.groovy b/core/src/main/groovy/com/muwire/core/MuWireSettings.groovy
index b918fe87..00776e3c 100644
--- a/core/src/main/groovy/com/muwire/core/MuWireSettings.groovy
+++ b/core/src/main/groovy/com/muwire/core/MuWireSettings.groovy
@@ -50,10 +50,15 @@ class MuWireSettings {
     
     int responderCacheSize
     
+    
     boolean startChatServer
     int maxChatConnections
     boolean advertiseChat
     File chatWelcomeFile
+    
+    boolean allowMessages
+    boolean allowOnlyTrustedMessages
+    
     Set<String> watchedDirectories
     float downloadSequentialRatio
     int hostClearInterval, hostHopelessInterval, hostRejectInterval, hostHopelessPurgeInterval
@@ -136,12 +141,18 @@ class MuWireSettings {
         speedSmoothSeconds = Integer.valueOf(props.getProperty("speedSmoothSeconds","10"))
         totalUploadSlots = Integer.valueOf(props.getProperty("totalUploadSlots","-1"))
         uploadSlotsPerUser = Integer.valueOf(props.getProperty("uploadSlotsPerUser","-1"))
+        
+        // chat settings
         startChatServer = Boolean.valueOf(props.getProperty("startChatServer","false"))
-        maxChatConnections = Integer.valueOf(props.get("maxChatConnections", "-1"))
+        maxChatConnections = Integer.valueOf(props.getProperty("maxChatConnections", "-1"))
         advertiseChat = Boolean.valueOf(props.getProperty("advertiseChat","true"))
         String chatWelcomeProp = props.getProperty("chatWelcomeFile")
         if (chatWelcomeProp != null)
             chatWelcomeFile = new File(chatWelcomeProp)
+            
+        // messaging settings
+        allowMessages = Boolean.valueOf(props.getProperty("allowMessages","true"))
+        allowOnlyTrustedMessages = Boolean.valueOf(props.getProperty("allowOnlyTrustedMessages","false"))
         
         watchedDirectories = DataUtil.readEncodedSet(props, "watchedDirectories")
         watchedKeywords = DataUtil.readEncodedSet(props, "watchedKeywords")
@@ -221,11 +232,18 @@ class MuWireSettings {
         props.setProperty("speedSmoothSeconds", String.valueOf(speedSmoothSeconds))
         props.setProperty("totalUploadSlots", String.valueOf(totalUploadSlots))
         props.setProperty("uploadSlotsPerUser", String.valueOf(uploadSlotsPerUser))
+        
+        // chat settings
         props.setProperty("startChatServer", String.valueOf(startChatServer))
         props.setProperty("maxChatConnectios", String.valueOf(maxChatConnections))
         props.setProperty("advertiseChat", String.valueOf(advertiseChat))
         if (chatWelcomeFile != null)
             props.setProperty("chatWelcomeFile", chatWelcomeFile.getAbsolutePath())
+            
+        // messaging settings
+        props.setProperty("allowMessages", String.valueOf(allowMessages))
+        props.setProperty("allowOnlyTrustedMessages", String.valueOf(allowOnlyTrustedMessages))
+        
 
         DataUtil.writeEncodedSet(watchedDirectories, "watchedDirectories", props)
         DataUtil.writeEncodedSet(watchedKeywords, "watchedKeywords", props)
diff --git a/core/src/main/groovy/com/muwire/core/connection/ConnectionAcceptor.groovy b/core/src/main/groovy/com/muwire/core/connection/ConnectionAcceptor.groovy
index 35159c83..cfd623b1 100644
--- a/core/src/main/groovy/com/muwire/core/connection/ConnectionAcceptor.groovy
+++ b/core/src/main/groovy/com/muwire/core/connection/ConnectionAcceptor.groovy
@@ -685,6 +685,16 @@ class ConnectionAcceptor {
         byte [] ETTER = "ETTER\r\n".getBytes(StandardCharsets.US_ASCII)
         byte [] read = new byte[ETTER.length]
         
+        if (!settings.allowMessages) {
+            e.close()
+            return
+        }
+        
+        if (settings.allowOnlyTrustedMessages && trustService.getLevel(e.destination) != TrustLevel.TRUSTED) {
+            e.close()
+            return
+        }
+        
         DataInputStream dis = new DataInputStream(e.getInputStream())
         try {
             dis.readFully(read)