IM Headlines – 2005 Archives
Secure Instant Messaging
Traditional firewall products allow administrators to control traffic by port, so the only way to stop all IM would also stop all web activity. So the best way to control IM viruses and to control IM is to check every packet.
Deep Packet Inspection
Security Park | 12 23 05
IM Threats: The Dark Side of Innovation
The dark side of innovation is evident in the rising threat from smarter IM worms.
eWeek | 12 23 05
meebo Secures Financing From Sequoia Capital
Leading Web-Enabled Instant Messaging Service to Use Capital to Further Support Expanding User-Base
BusinessWire | 12 19 05
Google pushes open IM standard
This is an important step forward, claims analyst Michael Osterman, because IM providers will eventually have to adopt open standards, and the confluence of VoIP and IM is getting great interest from users. "It's an important step forward in the right direction. It won't change the world overnight but it's something the industry will have to move towards," he said.
TechWorld | 12 19 05
Third Annual AOL Instant Messaging Trends Survey Discovers IM Has Taken Over the Desktop
Instant messaging (IM) has gone mainstream. According to a recent survey, 'IM' is now a part of the fabric of everyday life. 70% of Internet users use instant messaging.
Prime Zone Media | 11 10 05
The Work Force is Surfing
Here's worse news for bosses: it's not just blogs that employees are digging into while supposedly at work. Your staffers are shopping, emailing, IM'ing, and surfing up a storm on the company dime. They are planning vacations, researching cars, and hunting for apartments from 9 to 5.
iMedia Connection | 10 28 05
Staff Edit: The AIM revolution
Instant messaging became a popular method of communication well before any of us set foot in college, making many students unable to imagine what college life would be like without it.
Daily Free Press - Boston University | 10 27 05
Experts: Microsoft-Yahoo alliance is food for IM worms
The planned bridge between MSN Messenger and Yahoo Messenger has one drawback, experts warn: It could act as a conduit for a massive IM worm outbreak. On Wednesday in the US, Microsoft and Yahoo announced that they would make their instant messaging services interoperable. By the middle of next year, users of both are expected to be able to exchange instant messages, see if their contacts are online, share emoticons, add friends from either service and make PC-to-PC voice calls.
ZDNet | 10 13 05
P2P activity doubles in two years
Despite the best efforts of the music industry, peer-to-peer activity has more than doubled over the past two years according to the latest figures from a p2p tracking service.
PC Pro | 10 11 05
AIM virus infects campus computers
It starts with an instant message from a friend, inviting you to click on a link, but seconds later your computer has been compromised, sending data to spyware Web sites across the world. The virus then spreads itself to members of your buddy list.
Daily Illini | 10 10 05
IDC: IM Use is Booming in Business
The market for instant messaging software among businesses is expected to expand considerably for another few years, thanks to new products, word-of-mouth hype and media coverage.
Enterprise IT Planet | 10 10 05
AOL Launches IM Presence Campaign
AOL (America Online Inc.) is enlisting prominent blogging, media and social networking Web companies to encourage the implementation of AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) presence technologies throughout the Web.
PC Magazine | 10 06 05
With Nearly 12 Billion Instant Messages Each Day, IM is Growing Into a Serious Business Collaboration Tool, IDC Finds
Riding a wave of media attention, hype and new product releases, the worldwide enterprise instant messaging market, which includes both instant messaging server products as well as enterprise instant messaging security, compliance, and management products, jumped 37% in terms of year-over-year revenue in 2004, and is expected to grow from $315 million in 2005 to $736 million in 2009.
Business Wire | 10 05 05
Worms biting harder into IM, P2P
Instant messaging and peer-to-peer fans are being hit with more worm and malicious code attacks than ever before, according to research reports.
CNET | 10 03 05
Two Out of 3 Organisations Fear Network Security Threats Through Instant Messaging (IM)
New research released by analyst firm Osterman Research reveals that, while over half of organizations believe that instant messaging improves overall communications, over two thirds are concerned or very concerned about the potential security threats of this emerging enterprise technology from viruses, worms and spyware.
Security Park | 10 03 05
Messaging—is it an instant threat?
There are now few schoolchildren not in touch with their friends via ICQ, MSN or AOL Messenger—but also stockbrokers, currency dealers and the IT department are constantly 'chatting' with their most important contacts via messaging software.
SC Magazine | 10 03 05
Computer virus spreads on campus
Virus spread by AIM worst in several years
Diamondback Online | 09 30 05
Instant Messaging Requires Business Caution
Companies will probably use IM federation in order to gain the convenience and connectivity it provides, but they will still need to protect against the transfer of malware via IM, just as they need to protect their intellectual property, and make sure their employees' IM and e-mail conversations meet all regulatory compliance rules.
NewsFactor | 09 29 05
Congress to legislate file swapping?
A California senator has suggested that because file-sharing networks continue to house illegal files, they should be shut down.
Cnet | 09 28 05
IM worms pose significant threat
After the ordeal was over, I searched the various antivirus vendor sites to see just what sort of info they had about IM threats. This was in January 2005 and I was able to find only 28 descriptions from 2001 through to the end of 2004. That's when I decided to track the threats, checking for new descriptions on the various antivirus vendor sites and logging it in an Excel spreadsheet. Here's some of what I've found.
About.com | 09 28 05
Can Google bring openness to messaging?
Georges Harik, Google's director of product management, assures me that the intention is to make Google Talk an open service where members of the community can communicate without gatekeepers.
ComputerWeekly.com | 09 26 05
Messaging proving an instant hit
Westminster resident David Christianson completely understand his kids' love for instant messaging.
SentinelandEnterprise.com | 09 26 05
Reducing liabilities
"What do you mean I can't download... fill-in-the-blank?" As IT managers we are constantly berated by users because they want to do something on their company computer that we know they shouldn't. But getting users to conform to reasonable standards is a real challenge for most IT departments.
Richmond.com | 09 22 05
What's the future of email?
First of all, it isn't really about email; it's about messaging in general. Email is only a part of the picture.
The Register | 09 21 05
Instant Messenger Mania
Instant messaging in today's world has expanded beyond the simple line-by-line communication between two people. Instant messaging becomes interesting when you move beyond the basic use of the main programs and begin to combine the advanced features they offer for a more rewarding and fun messaging experience.
The Anchor | 09 20 05
Despite security threats the business benefits of instant messaging are too strong to ignore
The staggering increase of public IM users in recent years is a direct result of the business benefits. Finding the status of a colleague or friend via a persistent Internet connection, sending a short text message in real time to anyone worldwide, integrated file transfer, voice and video calls and the ease of use when installing and adopting the public IM service - all these are factors that contribute to IM's continued success.
Security Park | 09 13 05
IM market chat: from text to VoIP
With nearly a billion instant messaging accounts in use worldwide, what is the current state of instant messaging market and where does it go from here?
Internet News | 09 09 05
RIAA sues 754 more file swappers
The world's major record labels, represented by the Recording Industry Association of America, have filed more than 14,000 such lawsuits since September 2003.
Reuters | 08 31 05
Concern over compliance, instant messaging and internal attacks is spurring changes, survey finds
Regulatory compliance, internal attacks and the vulnerability of electronic communications—especially instant messaging and email—are among the key factors reshaping data security systems, according to the US results of the 8th annual Global Information Security Survey by InformationWeek Magazine and Accenture.
Consultant News.com | 08 31 05
Filesharing traffic leads Internet
A recent survey has revealed that the practice of P2P file swapping forges on unabated, with 60 per cent of all Internet traffic being the result of peer-to-peer file-sharing platforms such as eDonkey and BitTorrent.
Techspot | 08 30 05
Google Unveils Instant Messaging, Phone
Continuing its relentless product release schedule, Google, Inc. today introduced Google Talk, a free downloadable Windows application for instant messaging and PC-to-PC voice calls.
InformationWeek | 08 24 05
Instant messaging useful tool for students, staff
Forget email. In large numbers, collegians are communicating with one another using messaging programs, such as America Online's popular Instant Messenger.
TechWorld | 08 11 05
Gaim hit by another critical hole
Gaim, the popular cross-platform instant messaging client, has been hit by a serious security flaw for the second time in three months.
TechWorld | 08 11 05
Businesses should control instant messaging
Your firm has computer, Internet and email use policies. Now you need an instant messaging policy.
London Free Press | 08 11 05
Beginning Of The End Of E-Mail
According to a study by the Pew Internet and American Life project, barely 5% of American teens aged 12 to 17 prefer email over instant messaging as their digital communications method of choice. Teens view email as a way to talk to 'old people' or institutions like companies.
Forbes | 07 29 05
79.8% of 18-24-year-olds use instant messaging
BIGresearch conducted a survey of new media usage among various age groups. Instant messaging and text messaging proved to be the most popular activities among young adults, while the older group of 55 and above admitted to using instant messaging and listening to Web radio among various communications channels.
ZDNet | 07 22 05
Instant Messaging Comes Of Age In Business
Instant messaging has historically been looked at with some level of disdain in a corporate environment, for some good reasons.
CPA Technology Advisor | 07 19 05
IM Accounts to Number in The Billions
Instant messaging use is expected to increase over the next four years with a growing percentage of use by enterprises as well as the general public.
InternetNews.com | 07 19 05
Open-source P2P projects keep swapping
The legal threat facing many of the most popular file-swapping software companies may well radically change their operation and strategies. Yet open-source projects like Shareaza, which create software of similar function and popularity, are continuing unabated.
News.com | 07 15 05
Securing instant messaging
It was only recently that IM was the preserve of teens and net-savvy companies. But like so many applications that start small, IM has made the leap from cool tool to useful business application.
SC Magazine | 07 06 05
Radicati Group Survey Finds That Fighting Spam Is Still the Top Concern of Corporate Organizations
The Radicati Group, Inc.'s latest study, 'Messaging and Collaboration Corporate Survey, 2005-2006' finds that many organizations are still struggling with spam. Despite several years of aggressive anti-spam product development, many companies are still not satisfied with their anti-spam solutions. Of the top four messaging priorities reported by companies (spam, spyware, email archiving and viruses), three relate to security issues.
ArriveNet | 07 05 05
Which file swappers are vulnerable?
The Supreme Court ruled Monday that file-sharing services Grokster and Morpheus could be liable for piracy by their users because they promoted the illegal swapping of copyrighted media files.
USA Today | 06 28 05
FTC Issues Report on Peer-to-Peer File Sharing
Peer-to-peer file-sharing technology offers significant benefits but also poses risks to consumers who use it, according to a Federal Trade Commission staff report issued today.
FTC | 06 23 05
Spyware, adware hide in BitTorrent downloads
Purveyors of the applications that produce pop-up ads on PC screens and track browsing habits have discovered BitTorrent as a new distribution channel. According to observers of the trend, videos and music that hide adware and spyware are increasingly being offered for download on various BitTorrent Web sites.
News.com | 06 16 05
Instant Messenger Security: Securing Against the Threat of Instant Messengers
It is expected that as many as 300 million people use instant messaging products. Organizations are facing two problems with IM services; adoption has been driven by the end user and not by management, and the client applications were initially built for home users not businesses—consequently they emphasize functionality over security.
Windows Security | 06 16 05
What IT Pros Must Know About Sarbanes-Oxley
Chances are you've already been affected by sections 404 and 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), whether or not you realize it. SOX is intended to mitigate the growing problem of public companies failing to accurately and truthfully report their finances.
Windows IT Pro | 05 27 05
IM Security Under The Gun
Users of the multi-protocol Trillian instant messaging client may be at risk from a security flaw
Instant Messaging Planet | 05 25 05
AOL Suspends Trojan-Infected AIM Accounts
The suspension is directly related to the virulent "Oscarbot" Trojan Horse that targets AOL's Instant Messenger users and propagates by sending IMs to every buddy on an infected user's buddy list.
eWeek | 05 24 05
Morgan Stanley $1.45B Judgment Points to E-Mail Peril
Banks and broker-dealers are obliged to retain e-mail and instant messaging documents for three years under U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rules. But similar requirements will apply to all public companies from July 2006 under the Sarbanes-Oxley corporate reform measures.
eWeek | 05 20 05
New IM worm infects AOL software
Users of AOL's instant messaging software, AIM, should be on the lookout for an innovative new worm...
Computerworld | 05 18 05
You can't stop IM so learn to love it
Instant messaging is the future, says Jim Carr, and there is a world of possibility waiting out there. But there is risk as well as benefit, and it must be faced.
SC Magazine | 05 16 05
April 2005 virus roundup
In the first quarter, messenger worms became the center of attention.
ZDNet | 05 03 05
Instant Messaging: delivering a new and improved threat model
In the instant messaging (IM) arena, the security warnings that have been put forward on a regular basis from specialist solutions providers have consistently positioned IM and its Peer-to-Peer (P2P) derivatives as having the potential to cause real damage. Following the recent highly publicized problems at Reuters and Microsoft, these fears appear to be well and truly justified.
Datamonitor | 04 22 05
SOX and security affecting messaging archiving market trends, says Osterman Research
Based on a study of the email and IM messaging archiving market in North America, Osterman Research expects to see a growing emphasis on the knowledge management aspects of archiving as well as ongoing acquisition activity among messaging archiving and security vendors. Meanwhile, the analysts say most companies still use simple back-ups for email/IM server restore rather than 'true' archiving.
ZDNet | 04 20 05
IM security: the worst is yet to come
The number of instant-messaging (IM) worms is on the rise—but users should expect only a short-lived surge before tech administrators act against IM in their companies, a security expert has claimed.
ZDNet | 04 19 05
Do not allow instant messaging to undermine compliance efforts
Instant messaging is not exempt from compliance laws. Sarbanes-Oxley and Basel2 demand that companies falling within the scope of these pieces of legislation store certain data for several years. The sanctions for non-compliance with these pieces of legislation are severe and can result in criminal liability for chief executives and chief financial officers.
ComputerWeekly | 04 11 05
Phishers change bait as IM use grows
The Anti-Phishing Working Group found that, for the third month in a row, the number of attacks that do not use email has steadily grown. The nonprofit organization, which monitors phishing trends, published the findings for February in its report last week.
CNET | 03 30 05
Demand for instant messaging security skills rises as use doubles
Analysts predict mainstream acceptance of IM from 2006
ComputerWeekly | 03 29 05
Phishing Grows in Severity, Sophistication
Phishing is one of the most significant threats to online consumers, and as the incidence of this type of fraud increases, so does the perpetrators' average take. Phishers who lucked out and lured several customers of a British bank into false communications recently made off with an average of 5,000 pounds sterling, or US $9,348, per phished account.
TechNewsWorld | 03 28 05
IBM's Sametime enterprise IM to gain telephony links
IBM Corp. plans to launch in the second half of this year an API (application programming interface) for linking the Lotus Sametime enterprise instant messaging product to VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol) platforms, mobile phones and traditional office telephony systems.
IDG News Service | 03 25 05
Report: Companies unprepared for IM attacks
Many businesses are leaving themselves vulnerable to the emerging crop of IM-borne attacks because they aren't managing employee use of instant messaging software, a new report finds.
New York Times | 03 23 05
Attacks on Corporate Networks Rising
Security experts say cybercrooks are finding new ways to break in through Web applications -- and scoring bigger payoffs. Of the companies in Mazu's survey that experiencedsecurity breaches Latest News about security breaches, 40 percent reported critical system disruptions, and 38 percent reported losing data.
Enterprise Security Today | 03 21 05
IM viruses increase by 50 per cent a month
Instant messaging security threats are growing by 50 per cent each month and could potentially spread across the globe in seconds.
VNU Business | 03 17 05
Connected: Instant messaging making business inroads
America Online's Instant Messenger is going mainstream; and if you're not using it for business now, you might in the near future.
PG Publishing Co. | 03 03 05
Instant Mess(enger)
Remember, instant messaging services like MSN and AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) are the leaky holes in your otherwise tight perimeter. With more and more malicious code seeking to use them as conduits, we become very reliant on the messaging service providers to filter out such malware.
Microsoft Certified Professional Magazine Online | 02 28 05
Corporate instant messaging usage: opportunities and threats
Ovum and the EEMA (The Independent European Association for e-Business) have conducted a joint survey to examine the state of corporate instant messaging. The organizations surveyed member enterprises to discover where they are in their IM deployment, where they expect to be at the end of 2005 and what are their major concerns.
Continuity Central | 02 25 05
Information Security Forum announces new standard of good practice for 2005
Leading International companies including 50% of Fortune 100 lead the drive for best practice in information security organizations facing increasing risks and pressures from corporate governance legislation, the Information Security Forum (ISF) has announced the latest version of its international industry benchmark, the Standard of Good Practice for Information Security.
HNS | 02 23 05
IM security threat still being ignored
A recently discovered security flaw in MSN Messenger demonstrates that instant messaging presents a serious security threat and should act as a wake up call for enterprises, industry experts have warned.
Computeractive | 02 18 05
CIOs 'recognizing the threat of IM'
The recent flaw plugged by Microsoft in its MSN Messenger software highlights a serious security threat to enterprise security, according to analysts.
ZDNet | 02 17 05
MSN Messenger Worm Danger Underplayed, Says Analyst
The latest worm to wriggle its way around the Web is spreading as quickly as an instant message. A new variant of Bropia, first discovered by Symantec (Nasdaq: SYMC) Latest News about Symantec on Jan. 19, has mutated and is whipping around the Internet via MSN Messenger communications.
eCommerce Times | 02 04 05
IM can save time, promote team spirit
Analysts are finding good and bad news for instant messaging in business. Intel Corp. found that the technology promotes team spirit and interaction among individuals, according to a company white paper.
delawareonline.com | 01 31 05
Will instant messaging take over?
In Sage Research's latest 'Market Pulse' which was published today, the company reported that 51% of its respondents believed that instant messaging will surpass email as the preferred form of business communications within their organization. Another 41% did not think it would happen, and the rest had no opinion.
CMPnet | 01 26 05
Companies at risk from instant messaging abuse
The majority of global businesses have still not implemented management systems to protect against the potentially serious legal, security and compliance risks associated with employee use of instant messaging.
Computing | 01 18 05
