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Jupiter Media Metrix tracks Internet use in Canada and in April it logged more then eight million visitors for Microsoft Instant Messenger. More than two million were under 18. Second in popularity was ICQ at 3.8 million total visitors, followed by the IM products of Yahoo, AOL, mIRC and finally Trillian, an innovative program that lets users chat with friends who use other services. Part of the problem with many IM clients is they won't allow users to talk to those who use other clients. That means unless you and all your friends agree on one IM, you have to have several installed. Or you can opt for something like Trillian, which allows users to chat across all the major platforms. A big problem for business use is security. Viruses can be transferred easily through an IM file transfer, bypassing all the elaborate security systems many companies employ. Of more concern to parents, however, is the physical security of their children. Some IM clients, such as ICQ, have random chat capabilities that can open the door to strangers. Roz Prober works with Beyond Borders, a group battling the sexual exploitation of children, much of which is taking place through the Internet. Parental checks She sees parental controls slipping away as technology advances. The spread of IM services to mobile phones further erodes any parental checks. In some ways, messaging technology presents even more of a threat than traditional Internet chat rooms, says British expert John Carr, who works with Beyond Borders. "You can have moderation and some supervision in chat rooms," he said from London. "You can have filtering software and many companies do, but I don't know any company that applies or can apply ... the same security systems in relation to instant messaging." Increasingly, he says it all boils down to trust and education about the perils involved. Links Some links to sites with information on instant messaging and related topics:
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