Instant messaging world

Many people talk about safety in the corporation from intruders—including, perhaps, its own employees. But who's protecting your instant messages from hackers attacks? Most companies don't pay a big attention for some personal calls, e-mails, and IMs, as long as the privilege isn't abused. But don't forget—they can legally monitor conversations on their equipment, whether phone or computer. So not only are your e-mails fair game, but so are your IM sessions. While we're sure your messages are entirely wholesome and aboveboard, we're equally sure there are some you'd rather not have bandied around the department or forwarded to everyone. Fortunately, you can secure your personal IM messages without too much difficulty. Bear in mind, however, that no encryption scheme prevents keystroke capturing or copying unencrypted text from the screen by spyware and monitoring software; the messages are encrypted only while in transit, on your network, or on the Internet....

A lot of multiclient instant-messaging (IM) services have cropped up that allow computer users to chat with each other over the Internet. Some can be installed onto your desktop, while others can be accessed online on the Internet. In either case, they're worth trying out, if you want to enjoy a fine experience communicating with your friends. Multiclient IM resources Adium Adium is my favorite multiclient instant-messaging tool for a few reasons. It supports practically any IM platform around, including AIM, Yahoo Messenger, Facebook, MySpace, Google Talk (via Jabber), and more. It even has a plug-in for Skype. You'll rarely have any trouble communicating with friends in the service. But its most redeeming quality is that it's open source. So, if you want to modify the code to fit your own IM desires, that's possible. And those in the open-source community are constantly improving the product, whose updates typically install with ease. When you download Adium (it's...

Instant Messaging software (IM), we thought we had it made in the shade when we stumbled over this unique way to communicate! Outside of talking face-to-face on the phone, IM was the next best thing. Texting instant communication was endless and cost was nonexistent. Well, those were the good old days of yore - you know, those days of glorious innocence. Just as we were getting oh so comfortable, happily IMing away to each other, then came the cloak-and-dagger entrance of the treacherous “IM villains”. With their ominous arrival, the party abruptly ended. It seemed like overnight, our instant messaging (IM) turned into instant mercenaries, and the carnage was strewn all over the Internet. First, it was one by one, then the numbers increased and starting growing exponentially, as friends began receiving, and inadvertently sending, viruses, worms, and Trojan horses. Then it went from bad to worse, as report after report surfaced describing the grisly results of innocent victims losing th...

Modern companies have been advised to control workers' use of instant messaging rather than blocking it outright. A new guide to securing instant messaging is the latest in the ‘Securing Social Media' series of guides from Network Box, and claims that companies are increasingly finding that their employees are often using instant messaging for a business reason such as customer contact, or contact with remote teams. However Network Box claimed that many instant messaging services are not secure, and so IT managers should control which services are used and secure them effectively. Simon Heron, internet security analyst at Network Box, claimed that employee education is the most important factor in securing instant messaging. Heron said: “We need to go through a similar education process with employees as for spam email. “Broadly, the messages for employees are: only use the service approved by your IT department, don't trust anyone you don't know, don't click on sha...

There are lot ways that a hosted IM client can help you in today’s economical situation, whether you are unemployed or not. If you ARE employed, of course you can use a hosted Instant Messaging program to help you communicate with your co-workers, employees, and supervisors, along with clients. If you are unemployed, however, you can still used secure IM to your advantage. Even though you may not have a full-time job, you can use Instant Messaging software to network with acquaintances, colleagues, and others. You’ll never know what someone knows someone else who can give you the recommendation, tip, or introduction you need in order to secure the job of your dreams! Communication skills are crucial in ANY job field, and instant messaging can only improve your communication (and typing!) skills. Since I have started using instant messaging on a daily basis, my typing speed (words per minute) has only improved. I can now almost type 70 words per minute! Being able to practice my typing...

Johannesburg, 3 June 2009 - Mitel, a leading provider of IP business communications solutions, has partnered with Itec South Africa in anticipation of huge growth in the local IP telephony market. Both companies believe IP telephony will dominate developments in the telecoms sector over the next 18 months. In terms of the agreement, Itec has been named an accredited Mitel distributor for South Africa. “The partnership will enable Mitel to significantly expand its route to market as it allows us to take advantage of Itec's well-established national footprint,” says Andy Bull, director at Mitel. “There are natural vertical and horizontal synergies between our two companies; we help people respond to real world business challenges with communication solutions that drive productivity, improve performance and reduce costs.” Frank Mullen, chief operating officer of Itec Enterprise Solutions, says the partnership, which is aimed at the medium enterprise segment, forms part of the group...