Can someone on Yahoo! IM talk to someone on AOL IM?

Can Yahoo! IM users talk to AOL IM users?

 

Close,

Out of sheer curiosity I did a little investigation and at the moment do not think this is possible due to differences in their protocol architecture (though I could be dead wrong ). Interestingly enough, Microsoft's Live Communications Server (LCS) came up along with the Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP). I feel the developers from the industry giants are looking into a universal conversion language for future implementation ... not far off, my guess.


GF

 

Yes it's possible, see here: http://www.easymessage.net/

 

Thanks,

I have a friend who asked me this, and I was not sure. I personally do not use IM. But I do seem to remember a time when AOL was complaining about ICQ users getting onto their IM network. So I did not know if their was a seperation of networks, or if they are all one big happy family now.

I noticed that Easy Message was acquired by 180solutions... That gives one pause.

 

Make that two! No IM for me neither, but if that's true about EasyMessage then a few folks out here in the audience might want to check out Eric's SpywareBlog ... "SOS : Same Old Scam" by Googling.

GF

 

I decided to have a look into this program, as people ask me about them.

It recieved a 5/5 from Softpedia, but i presume that was before the 180 takeover ! Shame because weighing in at 251kb, it certainly looked nice and light to do all it appeared to do.

Out of interest i DL one from the authors website, http://www.easymessage.net/
Easy Message Express 2.3 and the other from Softpedia, Easy Message 2.3.660 http://www.softpedia.com/get/Internet/Chat/Instant-Messaging/Easy-Message.shtml

I don't know what the difference is supposed to be between the the Express version and the other ? but the file size is Exactly the same !

I scanned both at Jottis and Kaspersky and only Easy Message 2.3.660 came back clean ! Now of course that doesn't take into account any bundled Adware etc that may come with the program, and/or any redirects to collect and display these whilst using it !


File: Easy_Message_Express_2.3_setup.exe

Status: MIGHT BE INFECTED/MALWARE (Sandbox emulation took a long time and/or runtime packers were found, this is suspicious. Normally programs aren't packed and don't force the sandbox into lengthy emulation. Do realize no scanner issued any warning, the file can very well be harmless. Caution is advised, however.) (Note: this file has been scanned before. Therefore, this file's scan results will not be stored in the database)
MD5 f230522d3562ae57ac0bed07e4028474
Packers detected: UPX
http://virusscan.jotti.org/


I don't use IM myself, but will Not be recommending this App to anyone in it's current status. Trillian sounds a lot better. You might like to check out the following on 180.


180solutions Installation Methods and License Agreement
The Effect of 180solutions on Affiliate Commissions and Merchants - Ben Edelman

Installation Methods

Like other unwanted software, software from 180solutions often gets installed on users' PCs in ways that do not obtain users' informed consent. 180 installations use at least four distinct methods:
http://www.benedelman.org/spyware/180-affiliates/installation.html


180 Solutions Code of Conduct- Can They Make it Work?
by Wayne Porter

180solutions Code of Conduct

Extract Courtesy of 180solutions.

Recently 180solutions, an adware company struggling with getting their rogue affiliates under control, took the time to share with us their Code of Conduct for distributors. The question looming on everyone's mind is can 180solutions reign in their rogue distributors and enforce their terms against distributors engaging in unsavory distribution practices?
http://www.spywareguide.com/articles/180_solutions_code_of_conduct__73.html


The Sh** Hits the Fan for 180solutions
I’ve written several times about 180solutions, the adware company that essentially was the downfall of COAST (the antispyware consortium).

180solutions recently claimed (pop-up warning for that link) to have changed its practices, but the question is exactly what did they change? I believe we may have the answer now. Today Alex, CEO of Sunbelt Software, posted on their blog the following:
http://netrn.net/spywareblog/archives/2005/03/14/the-sh-hits-the-fan-for-180solutions/


StevieO

 

Try Trillian.

 

Wow! That is some interesting stuff about 180solutions. I knew that they were bad, but not THAT bad. I just got through cleaning a system that was infected with everything mentioned in this article about 180solutions:

http://www.benedelman.org/news/111804-1.html

I just never knew the source.

 

See what a can of worms you opened Close!?

GF

 

Yup - forget anything related to 180 spamlutions and use that Trillian

 

It's the new "thread jinx". Just say "180solutions" and watch your thread go off topic real fast.

Actually, I really appreciate the input from StevieO. That is some real good stuff that he provided. Salutes to StevieO!

Thanks for this. I took a look at it. I will recommend it to my friends.

Close

 

I didn't realise that so thank you. I haven't IM'd for a while now but Easy Message Express was the one I used and it seemed fine. It's also on the ComputerActive downloads website.

I was concerned about this 180 solutions business because I've recommended Easy Message to my friends and I didn't want to be guilty of linking to a site that infested peoples machines (oh dear).

So I decided to do a bit of a StevieO. I downloaded and installed the latest version (2.3.663) from the authors site.

During the install, one setup file ran, followed by my browser automatically opening on the authors web site, followed by the exe for the program itself (monitored with Process Guard).

Once the program was up and running, I updated and ran scans with Ad-aware (free), Spybot S&D, Ewido (free) and ran HijackThis. Everything came up clean.

My conclusion is that you will not become infested but I don't think I'll be recommending Easy Message Express in future.

 

just to add to Detox's suggestion of trillian. heres some more u can try:

GAIM
Miranda IM
Zango Messenger
IM2
Instan-t
Easy Message Express
Global-IM