AOL Instant Messenger - Spyware/Adware

The AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) is an ad-supported instant messaging and presence computer program, published by AOL in October of 1997, which uses the OSCAR instant messaging protocol and the TOC protocol. The most recent software versions are AIM Triton 1.0.3 released on November 22, 2005 (for Windows 2K/XP), AIM 5.9.3861, released on August 10, 2005 (for Windows 98/ME), AIM 4.7.1333, released on February 18, 2004 (for Mac OS X), and AIM 1.5.286, with an unknown release date (for various Linux dist ...

Including:

• AOL Instant Messenger - About
• AOL Instant Messenger - AIM terminology
• AOL Instant Messenger - AIM URI Scheme
• AOL Instant Messenger - Spyware/Adware

Read more here: » AOL Instant Messenger: Encyclopedia - AOL Instant Messenger

Viewpoint Media Player is a program that is installed during the installation of AOL Instant Messenger that is a plugin for displaying graphical content in the software's own proprietary format. According to the software's end user license agreement, Viewpoint Media Player collects usage information and forwards it to Viewpoint servers. Each installation of Viewpoint Media Player contains a unique alphanumeric identification number that can be us ...

See also:

AOL Instant Messenger, AOL Instant Messenger - About, AOL Instant Messenger - AIM terminology, AOL Instant Messenger - AIM URI Scheme, AOL Instant Messenger - Spyware/Adware

Read more here: » AOL Instant Messenger: Encyclopedia II - AOL Instant Messenger - Spyware/Adware

AIM allows users to communicate instantly through text to their "buddies" (or bots such as SmarterChild) around the world, provided they have the AIM software. AIM has 195 million users (January 2003), with a large portion using Internet slang. Advocates claim that it is easy to locate these users by visiting chatrooms that AOL has set up solely for those purposes. Chat topics range from heavy metal music to current affairs. AOL also has a member directory where AIM users can locate others online who share their interests. AIM is also noteworthy for its use of buddy icons and buddy profiles, allowing its users to construct a perso ...

See also:

AOL Instant Messenger, AOL Instant Messenger - About, AOL Instant Messenger - AIM terminology, AOL Instant Messenger - AIM URI Scheme, AOL Instant Messenger - Spyware/Adware

Read more here: » AOL Instant Messenger: Encyclopedia II - AOL Instant Messenger - About

AOL Instant Messenger's installation process automatically installs a an extra URI scheme ("protocol") handler into some web browsers, so that URIs beginning "aim:" can open a new AIM window with specified parameters. This is similar in function to the mailto: URI scheme, which creates a new e-mail message using the system's default mail program. For instance, a web page might include a link like the following in its HTML source to open a window for sending a message to the AIM user notarealuser: <a href="aim:goim?screenna ...

See also:

AOL Instant Messenger, AOL Instant Messenger - About, AOL Instant Messenger - AIM terminology, AOL Instant Messenger - AIM URI Scheme, AOL Instant Messenger - Spyware/Adware

Read more here: » AOL Instant Messenger: Encyclopedia II - AOL Instant Messenger - AIM URI Scheme