IM Headlines – 2006 Archives

The Year in Instant Messaging
· Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP)
· Interoperability & Federation
· Presence & Integration
· IM-to-VoIP
· Security, Compliance & Archiving
Instant Messaging Planet | 12 21 06

Double Skype attack confuses security firms
Both malware samples seem to behave in a similar fashion -- the Skype users receive an instant message (IM) asking them to download and run a file. Once that file is executed, it installs spyware that can steal passwords and other personal information. The spyware then connects to a remote server and is able to download additional code.
ZDNet | 12 20 06

Kaspersky: Malware quality drops, quantity rises
Because much of the code is not new, it tends to remain effective for shorter periods of time before antivirus companies detect it. Still, the time it takes to identify and create a signature for a new virus, which can range from a few minutes to a few hours, is often long enough for hackers to infect computers.
IDG | 12 19 06

Yahoo Messenger releases security update
The update is designed to combat software flaws that could allow an attacker to take over a person's computer. The flaws affect versions of Yahoo Messenger 5.0 through 8.0
CNet | 12 15 06

Messaging insecurity fuels data leakage fears
Employees aren't supposed to use email or IM to transmit sensitive patient information, according to the security policy in Lane Timmons' organization. Doing so could violate HIPAA, expose patients to identity theft and damage the company's reputation.
SearchSecurity.com | 12 11 06

Survey of Securities Industry Employees Confirms Growing Use of Instant Messaging, Despite Compliance / Security Barriers
A new survey conducted by TowerGroup confirms that instant messaging is an increasingly common communication tool within securities firms.
Earthtimes.org | 12 11 06

IBM Lotus Sametime Instant Messenger to Interoperate With AIM, Google Talk and Yahoo! Messenger
Connecting the instant messaging communities will enable Lotus Sametime users to send and receive instant messages with, and view the presence awareness status of, more than 157 million instant messaging users worldwide.
ebiz | 12 06 06

New E-Discovery Rules Benefit Some Firms
The new rules, which took effect Friday, require U.S. companies to keep better track of their employees' e-mails, instant messages and other electronic documents in the event the companies are sued, legal experts say. They are part of amendments to federal rules governing civil litigation and were approved by the Supreme Court's administrative arm in April after a five-year review.
Newsfactor | 12 04 06

E-Discovery May Target Unexpected Sources
Examples of nontypical electronically stored information (ESI), which we will examine in further detail, include: Web-based e-mail, IM, voicemail, internal database systems, iPods and other portable storage devices.
Law.com | 12 04 06

CIO instant messaging checklist
Conduct an internal audit on who is using IM within your organisation, and why it is being used – for work, play or both?
VNUNet | 11 30 06

Companies fail to track security threats
Roy Illsley, senior research analyst at Butler Group, said: 'Today's knowledge based workers regularly use email, Internet browsing, and Instant Messaging (IM) as tools to conduct company business. While organisations have constructed elaborate defences to protect them from external threats, such as firewalls and encrypted passwords, most ignore the threat from within.'
Computing | 11 28 06

IM Profits for VARs
IM is going beyond user-to-user communications and being implemented for one-to-many communications such as those between applications and users.
Strategic Partner | 11 22 06

Reuters' Dr. Scott Petrack on the Future of Enterprise IM
The ability to connect to your customers who wish to use IM via publicly available IM clouds such as Yahoo!, Google (News - Alert), AIM, and other such solutions. If customers want to use these tools, and thus demand interoperability with those “clouds,” we need to give them what they want.
TMC | 11 20 06

Presence: What It Means for the Call Center
Last in a six-part series on "Technology Trends You Need to Understand
International Customer Management Institute | 11 17 06

Foley Scandal Lessons: Manage IM Use
Instant message conversations can be just as damaging as e-mail, says Shawna Swanson, a partner with San Francisco-based law firm Fenwick & West's Employment Practices group.
CIO | 11 15 06

Is the boss reading your e-mail?
E-mail privacy is a myth, Sandra Gittlen explains, and what you're doing right now with e-mail, IM or blogs could get you fired.
Computer World | 11 14 06

Evolved worms target instant messaging networks
The first noted IM worm, WORM_CHOKE.A, automatically sent itself as an attachment to whoever initiated a chat session with an infected user.
Al Bawaba | 11 06 06

Instant Messaging Conquers Email?
According to the surveys findings, "less than one-fifth of people aged 13-17 use e-mail as their primary communication method with friends, compared with nearly 40 percent of adults aged 25-54."
TMC Net | 11 02 06

Instant response
By 2010, Gartner says, 90 per cent of IM systems will be controlled by technology departments, rather than run independently.
Australian IT | 10 31 06

Study: Over two-thirds of employees use IM at work to talk to family and friends
The survey shows that 71 per cent of workers use IM at work to communicate with family and friends, over a third have received an IM or email message that upset or offended them, and 29 per cent of organisations have blocked or banned messaging websites. Moreover, a fifth of workers are not familiar with their company's policies on non-corporate email and IM, and over a fifth don't know if such policies exist.
SC Magazine | 10 30 06

Securing voice over the Net
Skype isn’t VoIP, it’s Net telephony—Skype uses the public Internet, VoIP works over a closed user group (CUG). Also Skype is a P2P (Peer-to-peer) application while VoIP applications follow the client-server model. A Skype user directory is entirely decentralised and distributed among network nodes, which means that the network can scale up easily without a complex and expensive centralised infrastructure being necessary.
Express Computer | 10 27 06

The Ten Most Dangerous Online Activities
If you're like many organizations today, prohibiting instant messaging is out of the question. IM is rapidly becoming a standard corporate communication tool, even as the number of IM exploits rises.
Forbes | 10 25 06

IM monitoring on company computers a growing business
Its rapid spread has spawned fears that corporate secrets will be leaked, viruses will be transmitted, and ill-advised online conversations will make employers liable in court – not to mention the lost productivity. Monitoring employees’ instant messaging on company computers is a growing business.
The Virginian-Pilot | 10 23 06

Instant messaging: Problems and solutions
Many businesses think they'll be more secure if they use an enterprise network rather than the public networks, but those systems offer nearly as little in the way of user or system protection as do the public networks.
Computer World | 10 19 06

Strategy Analytics: Time for Real-Time -- Business Use of Wireless IM to Exceed $2 Billion
A new report from Strategy Analytics finds that a number of supply and demand side catalysts are aligning to accelerate business use of mobile Instant Messaging (IM) into a $2 billion-plus opportunity in Western Europe and North America by 2010.
Business Wire | 10 19 06

Microsoft and Orange set to link IM networks
Microsoft and Orange are planning to link their instant messaging systems later this year, allowing up to 375 million people to chat with each other using their PC or mobile phone.
TechWorld | 10 18 06

Corporate Instant Messaging Tips for Avoiding the Foley Folly
Assume that your employees are using instant messaging. Only 47 percent of employees using free IM tools reported that their companies knew about its use.
CIO | 10 17 06

Phishers hijack IM accounts
A Yahoo employee found that scammers had used her account. They sent her Yahoo Messenger contacts a link to a phishing site. The miscreants had gotten hold of her login credentials, probably through another scam that she had fallen for, the company said.
ZdNet | 10 16 06

IM and blogs next target for litigation
"People are your biggest challenge" to installing a records retention policy, Emery said. Training should be done routinely, not just once. And CIOs should take steps to make sure compliance to a records retention policy is easy.
TechTarget | 10 11 06

Fighting security threats from IM and rogue Web access
1. Ready or not, it's already here
Computer World | 10 11 06

The Radicati Group, Inc. Releases Q3 2006 Market Numbers Update
Revenue in the Enterprise Instant Messaging market will increase at an average annual rate of 23% over the next four years.
Radicati Group | 10 11 06

Putting IM Chats On The Record
On Dec. 1, civil procedure rules for electronic discovery will change to place an emphasis on streamlining the way companies retrieve stored electronic documents. Nine new clauses, covering everything from subpoenas for electronic information to the way electronic data is preserved, to the format in which it is reproduced, could help cast a wider net on what counts as a business record, making IM conversations fair game.
Forbes | 10 11 06

IM, Blogs Next Target for Litigation
"People are your biggest challenge" to installing a records retention policy, Emery said. Training should be done routinely, not just once. And CIOs should take steps to make sure compliance to a records retention policy is easy.
Search CIO | 10 10 06

Increasing Security Needs of Enterprises to Fuel Growth in the World Content Filtering Market
Although the content filtering industry is maturing, there is growing demand from two areas, the first being security. Content filtering is increasingly overlapping with the broader security field. Malware attacks have increased in spread and potency. These attacks are increasingly motivated by financial gain. Phishing, botnets, denial-of-service and directory harvest attacks have become increasingly common over the last 18 months.
Market Watch | 10 10 06

IM Chats Can Easily Linger for Years
The tougher part may be proving the messages' authenticity, particularly when the evidence comes from the recipients. Logs are generally plain text files that can be easily altered.
CIO Today | 10 06 06

Keeping a Lid on Chat
"IM is e-mail with presence awareness," Osterman says. "And that's becoming hugely important in today's world."
Law.com | 10 06 06

Instant messaging can quickly get you in trouble
The case of Foley, a Republican from Florida who resigned Friday after revelations about his illicit exchanges, should reinforce the serious consequences of inappropriate online activity, Flynn said.
The Columbus Dispatch | 10 05 06

Companies Risk Millions in Failing to Address Outbound Messaging Security Breaches, Says AberdeenGroup
Eighty percent of companies are aware of the threat of loss of confidential data by insiders, yet only 43 percent have implemented messaging security solutions that will stop that outbound threat, according to an AberdeenGroup benchmark study sponsored by a half dozen security providers.
Tekrati | 10 04 06

Instant Message, Instant Infection
WORM_SOHANAD.A -- is spreading in MSN Live Messenger and Yahoo Messenger, but not AIM. It started with a link to a "photo" of the new Miss World 2006 winner but has gotten more insidious in the past few days with a more legitimate-sounding message: "A new dangerous computer virus that can destroy all your data has just been released. Click here to know how to avoid it."
Dark Reading | 10 04 06

Instant messaging and the security pro
Enterprise packages balance security, comm concerns
Computer World | 10 04 06

Ex-Rep in Rehab After Dicey IMs
Tough regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley and HIPAA, however, mean that all organizations are on the hook—and instant messaging software can bypass many of the protections set up to control other forms of electronic communication, such as email.
Red Herring | 10 02 06

Corporate IM Use Shows Strong Uptake in 2006, Enterprise IM Market Growing at a Rate of 22%
As always, no matter what instant message or e-mail software you use, think thrice about whether you really need to click on any link sent to you via IM or e-mail.
Washington Post | 09 25 06

Corporate IM Use Shows Strong Uptake in 2006, Enterprise IM Market Growing at a Rate of 22%
The Enterprise IM segment of the market is expected to reach $123 million in 2006, and grow to $282 million by 2010.
Radicati Group | 09 18 06

Creating a Security Policy and Enforcing It
In order to be truly effective, enterprises must take a complete view of potential data security and privacy problems their organizations could face, blocking all potential exit points for confidential data.
Technews World | 09 14 06

VoIP and instant messaging used by 1.7 million
Consultancy Carrier y Asociados has said that about 17% of Argentina’s ten million internet users are using VoIP and instant messaging, BNamericas reports. This represents a 31% increase in the last twelve months
Telegeography | 09 11 06

Skype slips into business
Skype and similar programs also lack centralized management capabilities, such as the ability to review and retain call detail records, and they may represent security risks, says Lazar. "For companies subject to Sarbanes-Oxley or HIPAA, that has been the showstopper," he says.
Computerworld Today | 09 11 06

Core Security: Multiple flaws in AOL messenger
AOL has recommended that users upgrade to version 5.1 of the product to fix the flaws.
SC Magazine | 09 07 06

Corporates warm to instant messaging
Research conducted among the Corporate IT Forum's FTSE 100 corporate subscribers revealed that IM can prevent the build-up of unanswered emails because it is ideal for asking and answering many of the simple questions that staff tend to send each other via email.
VNU Net | 09 07 06

Fighting Spam Continues to be a Top Priority for Businesses in 2006, Says Radicati Group
According to the Radicati survey, demand for Instant Messaging (IM) continues to be strong. 87% of survey respondents indicated that they use IM at work, and 71% of respondents indicated that their organization uses a sanctioned IM product.
Radicati Group | 09 06 06

Instant messaging boom brings security concerns
By 2007, it will be considered strange if a company is not using some form of instant messaging (IM) technology.
Computer Weekly | 09 05 06

Sustainable IT Compliance
IT compliance may be interpreted in numerous ways, but the purpose of an increasing number of recent regulations, industry standards, and best practices frameworks is to achieve a common result: to preserve the security, the availability, and, ultimately, the integrity of business information.
IT Observer | 08 31 06

Managing instant messaging
Ignoring IM usage will lead to an increase in overall risk and liabilities, an exposure to security threats and higher IT support costs. Blocking the usage may lead to backlash from the employees, and lower morale and productivity. And there will definitely be an emergence of rogue IM users.
Computer World | 08 25 06

Corporate Canada kills the messenger
Some enterprise adopters have seen IM's value in facilitating real-time communications, resulting in improved efficiency and productivity. A member of a sales team in the field, for instance, can use IM to get immediate answer to a business question that can make or break a sale.
PC World | 08 24 06

Police link added to Windows Live Messenger
The UK's Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre announced on Monday the 21st of August that it has struck a deal with Microsoft to have a 'report abuse' button on its popular instant messaging service.
Computer World | 08 24 06

Google Talk marks first year with upgrade
Google Talk, which is celebrating its first birthday with an upgrade, will let people easily transfer files and leave other people voice mail beginning Wednesday.
CNET | 08 15 06

IBM brings Sametime IM to Linux
With the release of Sametime 7.5 later this summer, IBM will offer a version that runs on Linux desktops.
CNET | 08 14 06

Worms AIM At Microsoft Flaw
The Department of Homeland Security warned Windows users to patch MS06-040, and the threat to that vulnerability has been reported by Sophos as a pair of worms that travel over AOL instant messenger to exploit it.
SecurityProNews | 08 14 06

Bankers on your buddy list
For bank customers too busy to use telephone hot lines or visit a branch to have their questions answered, a tiny bank here has a speedy solution: Send an instant message to the local branch manager.
Boston Globe | 08 11 06

Viruses for instant messaging increase
Kaspersky said IM worms such as IRCBot.lo, discovered in January, will become the greatest IM threat, as they can spread to a large number of networks and can use variable messages and download links.
Webuser | 08 11 06

New identity theft and online fraud techniques
Authors of computer viruses and threats (including phishing scams) are looking for direct financial profit from cybercrime. For this reason, they are using more innovative and diversified techniques to, above all, steal users' identities or obtain bank details to commit fraud.
Online Recruitment | 08 09 06

Companies can't block sensitive data sent by employees: survey
A new study has found that the vast majority of companies can monitor, but not block, sensitive content flowing out of the network by e-mail, instant messaging, Web mail, or other applications that communicate outside the network.
eChannelLine | 08 03 06

Meebo offers embedded instant messaging
Meebo, a Web-based instant messaging provider, was set to unveil on Wednesday the capability for people to add instant messaging into any Web page.
SC Magazine | 08 02 06

KaZaa users warned of p2p worm
Researchers are warning peer-to-peer (p2p) application users of a new proof-of-concept virus that acts similarly to the W97M/Melissa malware.
SC Magazine | 08 01 06

How safe is Instant Messaging?
Instead of being simply a tool for instant message delivery, IM is now even evolving into a platform that can be a front-end for enterprise applications. The research group Gartner has described instant messaging as 'the sleeping giant of the Internet,' and predicted that the majority of employees will eventually use it for business or personal communication.
CIOL Cybertimes | 08 01 06

AJAX-Based Jabber Messenger for the Web 5.0 Available to U.S. Government Customers
Jabber Messenger for the Web 5.0 is a full-featured IM client that requires no installation and is compatible with open standards such as the Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP)
JavaScriptSearch | 07 27 06

Perspective: Why employers are cracking down on e-mail
Employers are quite concerned about the legal and financial risks caused by inappropriate employee electronic communications. In fact, they are firing employees who violate workplace computer policies.
CNet | 07 26 06

Businesses discover IM isn't just for kids
Robert Stephens, 37, founder of the Twin Cities-based Geek Squad tech-help service, said he became an IM convert about a month ago when he needed to keep in better touch with his far-flung workers.
St. Paul Pioneer Press | 07 24 06

Is instant messaging your workplace nemesis?
Whether your company uses an in-house instant message system or a product available to the public, it's important you act professionally. Here are a few tips to consider:
HamptonRoads.com | 07 20 06

Video Without Boundaries Brings AOL's AIM Service to MediaREADY(TM) Media Centers
Beginning in April 2006, purchasers of any MediaREADY set-top product will find the AIM(R) service pre-loaded with their device, ready for use.
Instant Messaging Planet | 07 17 06

IM's Latest Convergence
Wireless features that push instant messages to (and enable instant messages to be sent easily from) phones and PDAs are already appearing and will become more common.
Instant Messaging Planet | 07 14 06

Your washer's calling and the dryer's on IM
Laundry Time's high-tech vision: "While running errands, you get an alert on your cell phone that the dryer is done. You don't want your clothes to sit in the dryer and wrinkle so you use a key on your cell phone to tell the dryer to 'fluff' the load for an additional 15 minutes, the time it will take you to finish your errands and return home."
Network World | 07 13 06

Finally, Microsoft, Yahoo messaging users can chat
Specifically, users of an upgraded version of MSN Messenger, recently rebranded "Windows Live," can trade messages with Yahoo Messenger, creating the world's largest instant messaging community, with 350 million accounts.
Reuters | 07 12 06

2006 Workplace E-Mail, Instant Messaging & Blog Survey: Bosses Battle Risk by Firing E-Mail, IM & Blog Violators
Last year, the inability to produce subpoenaed e-mail resulted in million dollar—even billion dollar—lawsuits against U.S. companies. In fact, 24% of organizations have had employee e-mail subpoenaed, and 15% of companies have gone to court to battle lawsuits triggered by employee e-mail.
Business Wire | 07 12 06

The Hidden Dangers of Instant Messaging
Public companies can be subpoenaed for IMs that may indicate Sarbanes-Oxley violations.
CIO Today | 07 05 06

AOL instant messenger worm poses as Microsoft's Windows Genuine Advantage
Researchers at Sophos said the WGA worm, known as Cuebot-K, spreads by AOL Instant Messenger and registers itself as a new system driver service named wgavn.
SC Magazine | 07 05 06

Lotus IM platform to integrate with Microsoft apps
IBM has announced that its forthcoming Lotus Sametime 7.5 collaboration platform will be integrated with Microsoft Office, Outlook and SharePoint applications.
Computer Weekly | 06 27 06

IM Security: A Balancing Act
In the light of all that's being said and written about Instant Messaging (IM), it's not really difficult to gauge that IM is fast becoming the medium of choice for real-time communication across the globe.
CXO Today | 06 26 06

More Offices Smile on Using IM
But times change quickly when it comes to technology. Just as e-mail supplanted faxes in many offices, so is IM replacing e-mail.
Red Orbit | 06 25 06

Instant Messaging 2.0: Secure Instant Messaging Set To Be The Center Of Your Communication And Collaboration Universes
Why secure instant messaging is poised to become my communication and collaboration platform of choice?
MasterNewMedia | 06 23 06

Consumer apps—the new enterprise frontier?
Andrew Namboka, chief technologist for Nokia Enterprise Solutions Asia, describes the process as "infiltration", where tech-savvy employees who understand the technology that benefits them would not hesitate to use these tools at the workplace. "Consumer characteristics are driving enterprise applications," he said.
ZDNet | 06 22 06

Instant Messaging and Collaboration Converge
Such convergence is becoming so pervasive—and so easy to achieve—that the concept of shared calendars or other stand-alone group applications is likely to disappear in the near future.
Server Watch | 06 22 06

Microsoft releases new IM service
Microsoft Corp. launched on Monday its newly branded instant messaging system, Windows Live Messenger, the first major release in a wave of online services Microsoft plans to offer to grab a larger share of Web advertising revenue.
Reuters | 06 20 06

Yahoo Messenger Adds New Collaboration Tools
Yahoo Inc. is set to allow users to embed in its instant messaging service formerly independent programs that help them collaborate on activities ranging from calendar scheduling to watching videos or even trading commodities.
CMP | 06 19 06

IM Security: A Threat or Just Marketing Hype?
Adoption of instant messaging (IM) as a mainstream business communications platform is moving at breakneck speed. IDC estimates that one billion IM messages are being sent daily by business users and consumers, and according to the Gartner Group, IM usage will surpass email usage by 2006.
IT Observer | 06 14 06

Perspective: Time to crack down on tech at work?
The question thus arises: Should employers take steps to potentially control employee blogging, instant messaging and their use of iPods and camera phones?
News.com | 06 14 06

The Problem of Keeping, Producing Electronic Records Grows
In addition, firms need to be aware that staffers have a lot of ways to send emails, including Blackberry devices, instant messaging programs and web-based email accounts. Firms must implement and enforce prohibitions so they can monitor all of their employees' work-related electronic communications, McCarthy said.
CCH Wall Street | 06 12 06

Instant messaging integration into the Desktop
KDE4 is a good time to think more about Instant messaging integration into the Desktop. I'm writing this blog entry to help me and others to understand our needs and how we should proceed.
Oliver Goffart - KDE Developer | 06 06 06

IM service integration inching closer
News out of Redmond, WA today indicates that full interoperability (with yahoo!) will be here soon.
Ars Technica | 06 06 06

Gartner Says Enterprises Must Implement an Instant Messaging Management and Security Program
As IM use increases, so do IM threats, typically viruses, as attackers begin to shift focus from better-protected e-mail systems to IM. Gartner analysts said IT administrators who do not manage and protect public IM will experience 80 percent more IM-related security incidents than those that do.
Gartner | 05 31 06

Instant Messaging (IM) services for transmitting securities orders?
From a regulatory compliance perspective, the SEC views IM as it views e-mail. All IM communications must be logged, recorded and archived. They must be readily accessible to review or inspection. To avoid any compliance concerns, IM order capabilities have to be integrated into the broker's Order Management and Routing Systems. The major concern for the financial regulators remains the possibility that the trader may have access to another IM service, where messages are not recorded and archived. This could lead to so-called "front running of orders". The unlogged orders from the "alternative IM service" could be used to set the best price for the logged orders coming through the authorised and integrated system.
IT Analysis | 05 23 06

Gartner to Enterprises: Don't Be Afraid of Consumer-Oriented Technologies
Businesses should accept consumer-oriented technologies by:
— Assuming it will find its way into your enterprise, whether you want it to or not. You shouldn't ban it, and you can't pretend it's not there. Just as you wouldn't ban telephones as a business tool from your organization based on employees making a few personal calls, you shouldn't eliminate a potentially productive tool such as IM out of fear that your employees will abuse it by occasionally sending out personal messages.
Gartner | 05 04 06

Instant Messaging: Instant Exploitations
Many businesses have neglected to apply the "lessons learned" in managing insecure email to insecure IM—they choose the ostrich approach. Six years later, IM is mainstreaming, and businesses are taking their heads out of the sand.
Grey Consulting | 05 04 06

IT security more imporant to most U.K. businesses
Three-quarters of U.K. businesses rate security as a high or very high priority for their senior management or board of directors, according to the latest government-sponsored survey of breaches in the U.K. released at Infosec London.
SC Magazine | 04 26 06

Microsoft Says Recovery from Malware Becoming Impossible
In a rare discussion about the severity of the Windows malware scourge, a Microsoft security official said businesses should consider investing in an automated process to wipe hard drives and reinstall operating systems as a practical way to recover from malware infestation.
eWeek | 04 04 06

Jabber creator launches online identity project
The system works in a distributed fashion, which means that no single party would be in control of a database of MicroID identity information.
LinuxWorld | 03 28 06

One in Four Large Organizations Say Confidential Data Is Vulnerable or Very Vulnerable, Finds ESG
"Large organizations identified security holes across a number of areas. Security processes are fair at best, and most users have not been trained on security policies and risks. I view the data from this report as a cry for help - clearly something must be done soon."
Tekrati | 03 27 06

Best Practices For Securing Your Enterprise
Furthermore, organizations should also deploy a secure instant messaging product quickly and disallow use of non-secure IM. Instant messaging has become a common part of business and serves a very useful function; however, critical company information is being transmitted over IM systems and could be archived by uncredentialed parties. With a secure IM, that would no longer be an issue.
IT Observer | 03 22 06

Hackers target instant messengers
Chat clients (example AOL, Yahoo! Messenger and Google Talk) use the SMTP protocol, a carrier that has many vulnerabilities. These can be used to propagate worms and viruses quickly across systems
Computing | 03 21 06

RIM adds instant messaging in Blackberry Server 4.1
The service allows for threaded chat sessions and provides presence information. It can also link to existing corporate IM systems such as Lotus Sametime, Novell GroupWise Messenger and Microsoft's Live Communications Server or Windows Messenger.
Computing | 03 06 06

AOL Opens IM Network
AOL today is launching its Open AIM initiative, which includes SDKs that will enable developers to build their own AIM client and plugins for AOL's own Triton IM application.
DevX Mews | 03 06 06

A Buttoned-Down AOL IM?Consumer Version Suits Most
America Online and WebEx Communications last week teamed up to provide an instant-messaging service for businesses that includes online conferencing and collaboration.
InformationWeek | 02 27 06

Corporate-class IM comes at a price
Employees, particularly remote staff located outside the office, often use IM to communicate with their colleagues while online.
Computing | 02 27 06

Ten million Britons use MSN Messenger
MSN Messenger is the most used instant messaging service in the UK, with a sixth of the UK population using the service.
WebUser | 02 23 06

AOL Developing Workplace AIM
America Online is developing a version of its instant messaging (IM) service for workplace use in an attempt to give the consumer-oriented AIM the security, collaboration, and IT management features businesses require, the Dulles, Virginia, company plans to announce today.
PCWorld | 02 21 06

Mobile email and IM key drivers for 2006
Mobile email and instant messaging (IM) will be the main drivers for growth in the mobile industry this year, according to Mike Short, vice president of O2 and chairman of the Mobile Data Association.
VNUNet.com | 02 15 06

Homeland Security Spells Out Coming Online Threats
Brace for more IM and cell phone attacks, the Department of Homeland Security cautioned Wednesday.
Information Week | 02 15 06

The National Cyber Security Alliance Announces the 2006 Emerging Internet Threat List
According to the 2006 Department of Homeland Security and NCSA Emerging Internet Threat List viruses continue to pose a threat to consumers, as malicious codes become more sophisticated and targeted towards popular activities, such as Instant Messenger and text messaging.
National Cyber Security Alliance | 02 15 06

Advisers log on AIM
The College of Communication advising office launched advising through instant messaging software Monday in what staff say is an effort to provide alternative assistance for students who have general questions regarding classes, graduation and other advising issues.
The Daily Texan | 02 09 06

Researchers: Popular Apps Mismanage Security
The researchers looked at a number of popular applications, including AOL Instant Messenger and Adobe Photoshop, and determined that many of them made changes to the operating system that could allow attackers to bypass some Windows security mechanisms.
PC World | 02 06 06

Google merges Gmail with chat
Google on Monday was set to launch Gmail Chat, which will let users send instant messages with one click from their e-mail account, see when contacts are online and save the chat history like an e-mail message.
News.com | 02 06 06

Researcher: WMF Exploit Sold Underground for $4,000
It wasn't until a cyber-criminal purchased the code and found a way to incorporate it into adware, spyware and Trojan attacks that the severity of the vulnerability became public.
eWeek | 02 02 06

Enterprise Collaboration Suite Market Valued at $1.6 Billion in 2006, and Poised for Strong Growth
New Study by The Radicati Group Provides an Analysis of the Enterprise Collaboration Suite Market, Including Market Trends, Market Share, Revenue Forecasts, and Vendor Analysis.
The Radicati Group | 02 01 06

Is Instant Messaging becoming mainstream for business users?
However, before making the leap to IM using a mixture of public services and enterprise IM platforms, IT departments should be aware of the following issues with public IM services.
Butler Group Blog | 01 31 06

IM interoperability raises virus threat
Confluence: a place where things merge or flow together. Shape Services' IM+ Mobile Instant Messenger application provides confluence by merging multiple instant messenger services into a common and consistent user experience for AOL, ICQ, MSN, Yahoo!, Jabber and Google Talk. IM+ version 4.04 now supports Windows Mobile 5.0. Let's take it for a spin!
M&C Tech | 01 30 06

Confluence Has Arrived For Windows Mobile 5.0
Confluence: a place where things merge or flow together. Shape Services' IM+ Mobile Instant Messenger application provides confluence by merging multiple instant messenger services into a common and consistent user experience for AOL, ICQ, MSN, Yahoo!, Jabber and Google Talk. IM+ version 4.04 now supports Windows Mobile 5.0. Let's take it for a spin!
Pocket Now | 01 27 06

Enterprises ignorant of outsourcing security risks
Organizations that outsource their IT systems are increasing their vulnerability to security breaches, causing possible long-term damage to their businesses, insurers have warned.
SC Magazine | 01 27 06

Net viruses set to phish out more data
According to a forecast by the world's third largest anti-virus company Trend Micro for 2006, spam will permeate local languages, but stick to the more profitable Western culture which has the capacity to pay. Instant messaging (chat) protocols like IRC, IM, and P2P will continue to break firewalls and be used as infection vectors.
Financial Express | 01 25 06

Spam Slayer: Next-Generation Spam
Spammers will innovate, morph, and adapt in 2006. What can you expect?
abc News | 01 24 06

IBM Global Business Security Index Report
Instant Messaging—Botnets, a collection of software robots that allow a system to be controlled without the owner's knowledge, will continue to represent one of the biggest threats to the Internet. Newer botnets, which will have smaller cells to better hide, will likely move to instant messaging and other peer-to-peer networks for command and control of infected systems.
EFY Times | 01 23 06

IBM instant messaging links to AIM, Yahoo, Google
International Business Machines Corp. said it plans by midyear to allow its Lotus Sametime corporate instant messaging system to work with the three consumer messaging systems, marking the latest move to breakdown barriers that have separated instant messaging audiences from one another.
Reuters | 01 23 06

Perspective: Good security news to be in short supply in 2006
Suffice it to say, 2006 will likely be an ugly year. The number of attacks will probably decrease, but the severity will continue to rise—think one step forward and two steps back.
News.com | 01 20 06

Computer crime costs $67 billion, FBI says
Respondents spent nearly $12 million to deal with virus-type incidents, $3.2 million on theft, $2.8 million on financial fraud and $2.7 million on network intrusions.
News.com | 01 19 06

Gizmo Project and Google Talk Connect IM Networks
SIPphone and Google Talk became the first major instant messaging networks to launch complete compatibility between their user bases.
Converge! | 01 18 06

Google May Push IM Interoperability
Interoperability between instant messaging services has moved at a glacial pace. In October, Microsoft and Yahoo announced interoperability between their respective messaging services. AOL barely tolerates third-party services like Trillian and Meebo, both of which provide a single point of connectivity to multiple IM system; users still need accounts for each messaging service.
WebProNews | 01 17 06