Yahoo! Messenger, what to do?

Hi,

I have Yahoo! Messenger on my computer and my other computer which I use for financial things. But because I really cannot afford to back up everything to CDs, etc... I just installed the Yahoo! Messenger on there (newest version) and I was reading 2 articles that concern me and my privacy.

Just wondering how to completely and safely remove Yahoo! Messenger from the entire computer.

And being that we're talking about "Yahoo!", would you suggest unsubscribing to their email service? I am currently a "Plus! subscriber".

Thank you in advance, I'd appreciate it.

Gracie

 

Hi Gracie,
Fortunately, Yahoo uninstalls relatively easy.

First, go to your Add/Remove programs and delete all things yahoo that you do not want.

Second go to your program files (c:\program files) and delete the "Yahoo!" folder.

Third, this is optional, use a registry cleaner such as Registry Tuneup from Acelogix to remove all the excess Yahoo junk from the registry. *Be careful though, removing things from your registry can be dangerious*

I hope that helps

 

Hello Capp,

Yes that helped. But, what I was wondering is... is using Yahoo! services such as Messenger and Mail safe ?

Thank you though for the reply,

Gracie

 

For home use, I don't see a problem with it. I do not allow it on my network at my place of business because it does open a hole into your network.

As I said, for home use, I believe it is safe. Just remember a few things:
1) never open attachments without scanning them with an AV/AT first...even if it comes from someone you know.
2) be very cautious about what hyperlinks you click on.
3) i'd recommend using a firewall if you are going to chat.

good luck!

 

Okay thank you , and one more thing... do you know how to secure messages sent and recieved through Yahoo! Messenger or is there a special program to do this? And if you don't mind answering one more question Capp, do you know of any messenger that secures messages incoming/outgoing ?

Thank you so much!

Gracie

 

I personally don't know of a way to secure incoming/outgoing messages through Yahoo because it travels on port 80 (same as your internet connection).

As far as other messengers that are secure, Jabber Messenger can be set for secure connections although I have never used it myself.

 

gracie123, if you want to secure your Yahoo messenger, you should try IM Secure, from Zone Labs ( IMsecure free ). There's a free version - the one in the link, and a paid, but even the free has lots of security features. I think the pay one is adding encryption, etc... here is what they say about it:

I didn't try this last release, but that looks good

 

Thanks Nico for the assist

 

no problems, Capp .

In fact, I did try the former release with MSN ( trying MSN too, indeed. I currently don't use it ), was working good; at this time, there was the encryption feature in the free version, but less security features than in the paid one. In the new one, seems they included all the security features in the free one, but removed encryption: looks like a good deal !

 

Hi Gracie

Not sure which articles you read about Yahoo, but it's taken a hammering in the press over their latest update, and fair enough too.

That said, Yahoo is still 'safe' so long as you do a 'custom install' and untick all the options except Yahoo Messenger.

Yahoo is deservedly getting bad press, because it's Typical Install (or Recommended Install...can't remember the wording), bundles a lot of useless clutter with YIM <toolbars, and about 3 or 4 other things> that people don't need...and are unlikely to know that they are installing.

However, there is nothing wrong with YIM by itself <done through a custom install, and unticking all boxes exempt IM>. Yahoo at least hasn't been hit by worms yet, like MSN and AIM have (and a few others).

That said, it's always wise to take precautions when downloading files etc across any IM service. Don't know about any that encrypt chat.

 

Yahoo Messenger used to have an option under "preferences" where you could set up your antivirus program for scanning files.
The new Yahoo Messenger with voice doesn't appear to have that feature anymore.

 

That's pretty interesting, Vikorr.

I haven't "upgraded" my messenger, and don't really intend to because I use the messenger for typed messages and communication and don't need the "voice activation" feature that they are highlighting (I have a cell and home phone for calls, thank you very much). But one question I have for people like myself who are NOT interested in upgrading.....is there any way to REMOVE the pop-up window asking users to upgrade? It would be nice to be able to access my messenger without the prompt for me to upgrade each and every time.....

 

If it's anything like ICQ was when i had it, that update prompt will finally turn into a forced update with the app not functioning anymore until u do...


snowbound

 

Man, snowbound....I sure HOPE it's not....

I don't want to be FORCED to upgrade anything if I don't want to. And to think I've actually been recommending Yahoo IM to friends and others to replace their AOL and MSN IMs

 

Hi everyone ,

Ok, I will look into IMSecure from ZoneLabs and also, I made sure to do a custom install on my PC. I reformatted and loaded all my programs

Thanks everyone for your advice,

Gracie

 

snowbound,

Thought you might find this interesting.

The past couple of nights....I have been experiencing SEVERAL problems with my Yahoo messenger. It sometimes shuts down right in the middle of a conversation....other times when I have it open but am not even using it (running silently in the background). I've received the Dr. Watson reporting error 4 or 5 times the past few days while the Yahoo messenger is running...and the first 3 or 4 times I didn't report it. Tonight I did, and this is what I received in return from Microsoft:

Error caused by Yahoo! Inc.: No specific solution found


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you for submitting an error report.

Problem description

An analyst at Microsoft has investigated this problem and determined that an unknown error occurred in Yahoo! Messenger. This software was created by Yahoo! Inc..

Solution

Microsoft has researched this problem with Yahoo! Inc., and they do not currently have a solution for the problem that you reported. Below is a list of recommendations to take that may help prevent the problem from recurring.

Contact Yahoo! Inc. for support or product updates.
Additional information


If this problem continues to occur with the latest product updates for Yahoo! Messenger, we recommend you obtain assistance and troubleshooting information directly from Yahoo! Inc..

Sounds like you were right, and this may be the first step towards "forcing" me to upgrade. I have continually clicked the red X and exited out of the upgrade pop-up window, but maybe Yahoo is getting tired of me avoiding it and this is their way of getting my attention that this is not optional, but mandatory....huh?

 

It could be a hint to update but who knows.....

They always tell u it for your own good anyway(security reasons).

With icq, I used to just wait till it was basically inoperable before i would update.

As for yahoo, i always thought it kinda sucked anyway so i found it no great loss when i finally got rid of it.

Just my.02.


snowbound

 

LOL....yep, that was what it said alright.

I bit the bullet and went ahead with the upgrade tonight...and so far, so good (only been an hour, though, so I'm not holding my breath). But that was one of their main "selling" points - that it was for "security" reasons......

EDIT: so much for that....no change, it still "crashes". Actually, it did so within a matter of minutes after posting this. So much for the "upgrade" solving the problem, I guess......

 

Gracie123 if you have the plus package, I would keep it. I have been thinking about getting it myself. Nothing wrong with yahoo messenger. Only thing you need to watch out for is it trying to installing the toolbar and the yahoo extras. I think this is the article you are talking about Vikorr. If you download the the main yahoo messenger file, the one that you do not have to install while online it will not even install toolbar and the extras. Here it is http://us.dl1.yimg.com/download.yahoo.com/dl/msgr7/us/ymsgr7_437_us.exe, to keep track of the versions I would check out http://www.wackyb.co.nz http://www.wackyb.co.nz/menu/Yahoo_v7/ and their forums to http://www.wackyb.com/zzub/index.php. Do not see the big fuss over it though, I suppose its because you have to choose a custom install. Msn messenger tries to change your homepage and install a toolbar also but you can see it during the install if I remember correctly. Lots of installers does stuff like that though, just have to read every screen, which everyone should do with everything they install. But like I said if you get that ymsgr7_437_us.exe it does not install any toolbars or anything. If you do not want the pops ups about updating it easy to stop them, delete C:\Program Files\Yahoo!\Messenger\yupdater.exe. As far as message encryption here is one and here. Here is something else to just for yahoo messenger, here is the difference between the pro and the free version. I have tried all. At the time encrypted messenger was not free. The one I liked the most at the time when I tried all 3 is the one from secway. The only bad thing I can say about yahoo is their chatrooms and them stupid booters. And the spam from the email. Which I do not pay but have been thinking about so I could have pop access. But the spam is not a problem if you turn on the spamguard. The spamguard works good catches 98 or 99 percent of the spam for me. Jrcates what os are you using? I have seen the crashing before but mainly on windows 98. Yahoo messenger would never crash on purpose or shutdown to make you update. I know people still using the older versions cause they do not like yahoo messenger 7. Just have to delete that file I mentioned above. Only one I know of that makes you upgrade is msn messenger. It will pop up and say you have to upgrade or you cannot use msn messenger lol. And there is no easy way to turn off it asking or making you to upgrade like there is in yahoo messenger. I would look in some forums to see if you can find a solution. http://www.wackyb.com/zzub/index.php?showforum=4 and http://bigblueball.com/forums/f124-yahoo-messenger-support.html is good ones. There is allot of stuff going on in the messenger world, yahoo and msn is joining together. Look here. And its being reported that google and comcast are gonna buy aol lol. That came out after the msn and yahoo joining up articles.