ICQ
Encyclopedia
ICQ is an instant messaging
computer program
, which was first developed and popularized by the Israel
i company Mirabilis
, then bought by America Online
, and since April 2010 owned by Mail.ru Group
. The name ICQ is a homophone
for the phrase "I seek you". This is an adaptation of the Morse code
callout "CQ
", which means "calling any station".
The first version of the program was released in November 1996 and ICQ became the first Internet
-wide instant messaging
service, later patenting the technology. AOL acquired Mirabilis on June 8, 1998, for US$407 million.
In April 2010, AOL sold ICQ to Digital Sky Technologies
for $187.5 million. According to Time Warner, ICQ has over 100 million accounts registered.
was first established in 1996 by five Israel
is: Yair Goldfinger, Sefi Vigiser, Amnon Amir, Arik Vardi, and Arik's father Yossi Vardi
. They recognized that many people were online
accessing the Internet through a non-UNIX
operating system
, and that there was no software that enabled an immediate connection between them.
What was missing was the technology for locating and connecting the users of the Windows
operating system
.
The technology Mirabilis developed for ICQ was distributed free of charge. The technology's success caused AOL
to acquire Mirabilis on June 8, 1998, for US$407 million. At the time, this was the highest price ever paid to purchase an Israeli technology company.
ICQ's management changed at the end of 2003. Under the leadership of the new CEO, Orey Gilliam, who also assumed the responsibility for all of AOL's messaging business in 2007, ICQ resumed its growth and turned into a highly profitable company, and one of AOL's most successful businesses.
Eliav Moshe replaced Gilliam in 2009 and became ICQ's managing director.
, as the user name assigned to each user upon registration. The meaning is either Universal Internet Number or Unified Identification Number. Issued UINs started at number 10000 (5 digits) and every user receives a UIN when first registering to ICQ. As of ICQ6, users are also able to log in using the specific e-mail
address they associated with their UIN during the registration process.
Unlike other instant messaging software or web applications, on ICQ the only permanent user info is the UIN, although it is possible to search for other users using their associated e-mail address or any other detail they have made public (by updating it in the public profile). In addition, the user can change all of his or her personal information, including screen name
and e-mail address, without having to re-register. Since 2000, ICQ and AIM
users are able to add each other to their contact list without the need for any external clients. As a response to UIN theft or sale of attractive UINs, ICQ started to store email addresses previously associated to a UIN. As such, UINs that are stolen can sometimes be reclaimed. This applies only if (since 1999 and onwards) a valid primary email address was entered into the user profile.
. The company was founded by four young Israelis: Yair Goldfinger, Arik Vardi, Sefi Vigiser and Amnon Amir. After AOL bought it, it was managed by Ariel Yarnitsky and Avi Shechter.
America Online acquired Mirabilis on June 8, 1998, for $407 million ($287 million in cash and $120 million over a three-year period based on growth performance levels).
, use of ICQ may cause security problems because it was purchased by Russian investment company Digital Sky Technologies. ICQ has fallen out of fashion in US and Britain, but it remains popular in eastern Europe and Russia. Carr says the new ownership may be used by Russia's powerful secret service, the FSB (formerly the KGB) since Russian law requires ICQ to open its logs "whenever the spooks want". But so are other IMs too (see Skype security, YIM SPIM, AIM vulnerabilities etc.).
. This is facilitated by ICQ's use of usernames consisting of multiple-digit numbers.
in the posted information to ICQ Inc. This implies that ICQ Inc. may publish, distribute etc. any messages sent through the system that could be meant to be private:
It is not possible to cancel or delete an ICQ account.
pursued an aggressive policy regarding alternative ("unauthorized") ICQ clients.
On icq.com there is an "important message" for Russian-speaking ICQ users: "ICQ осуществляет поддержку только авторизированных версий программ: ICQ Lite и ICQ 6.5." ("ICQ supports only authorized versions of programs: ICQ Lite and ICQ 6.5.")
's OSCAR
network protocol used by ICQ is proprietary
and using a third party client is a violation of ICQ Terms of Service, nevertheless a number of people have created more or less compatible, third-party clients, by using reverse engineering and protocol descriptions available on the net. These clients include:
AOL has recently begun making its ICQ software more AIM
-like by adding AIM
Smilies, as well as introducing cross AIM–ICQ communication. Such capability made it to beta
stages, but AOL announced discontinuation of cross AIM-ICQ communication on November 5, 2010.
Instant messaging
Instant Messaging is a form of real-time direct text-based chatting communication in push mode between two or more people using personal computers or other devices, along with shared clients. The user's text is conveyed over a network, such as the Internet...
computer program
Computer program
A computer program is a sequence of instructions written to perform a specified task with a computer. A computer requires programs to function, typically executing the program's instructions in a central processor. The program has an executable form that the computer can use directly to execute...
, which was first developed and popularized by the Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i company Mirabilis
Mirabilis (company)
Mirabilis is an Israeli company that developed the ICQ instant messaging program, a pioneer of online chatting that revolutionized communication over the Internet.-History:...
, then bought by America Online
AOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
, and since April 2010 owned by Mail.ru Group
Digital Sky Technologies
Digital Sky Technologies or Mail.Ru Group is an international investment firm focused solely on the Internet sector. The firm was founded by Yuri Milner and emerged out of Mail.ru Group...
. The name ICQ is a homophone
Homophone
A homophone is a word that is pronounced the same as another word but differs in meaning. The words may be spelled the same, such as rose and rose , or differently, such as carat, caret, and carrot, or to, two, and too. Homophones that are spelled the same are also both homographs and homonyms...
for the phrase "I seek you". This is an adaptation of the Morse code
Morse code
Morse code is a method of transmitting textual information as a series of on-off tones, lights, or clicks that can be directly understood by a skilled listener or observer without special equipment...
callout "CQ
CQ (call)
CQ is a code used by wireless operators, particularly those communicating in Morse code, but also by voice operators, to make a general call . Transmitting the letters CQ on a particular radio frequency is an invitation for any operators listening on that frequency to respond...
", which means "calling any station".
The first version of the program was released in November 1996 and ICQ became the first Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
-wide instant messaging
Instant messaging
Instant Messaging is a form of real-time direct text-based chatting communication in push mode between two or more people using personal computers or other devices, along with shared clients. The user's text is conveyed over a network, such as the Internet...
service, later patenting the technology. AOL acquired Mirabilis on June 8, 1998, for US$407 million.
In April 2010, AOL sold ICQ to Digital Sky Technologies
Digital Sky Technologies
Digital Sky Technologies or Mail.Ru Group is an international investment firm focused solely on the Internet sector. The firm was founded by Yuri Milner and emerged out of Mail.ru Group...
for $187.5 million. According to Time Warner, ICQ has over 100 million accounts registered.
History
MirabilisMirabilis (company)
Mirabilis is an Israeli company that developed the ICQ instant messaging program, a pioneer of online chatting that revolutionized communication over the Internet.-History:...
was first established in 1996 by five Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
is: Yair Goldfinger, Sefi Vigiser, Amnon Amir, Arik Vardi, and Arik's father Yossi Vardi
Yossi Vardi
Joseph Vardi , is one of Israel's first high-tech entrepreneurs. For over 40 years he has founded and helped to build over 60 high-tech companies in a variety of fields, among them software, energy, Internet, mobile, electro-optics and water technology.-Biography:Joseph Vardi was born in Tel...
. They recognized that many people were online
ONLINE
ONLINE is a magazine for information systems first published in 1977. The publisher Online, Inc. was founded the year before. In May 2002, Information Today, Inc. acquired the assets of Online Inc....
accessing the Internet through a non-UNIX
Unix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
, and that there was no software that enabled an immediate connection between them.
What was missing was the technology for locating and connecting the users of the Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
.
The technology Mirabilis developed for ICQ was distributed free of charge. The technology's success caused AOL
AOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
to acquire Mirabilis on June 8, 1998, for US$407 million. At the time, this was the highest price ever paid to purchase an Israeli technology company.
ICQ's management changed at the end of 2003. Under the leadership of the new CEO, Orey Gilliam, who also assumed the responsibility for all of AOL's messaging business in 2007, ICQ resumed its growth and turned into a highly profitable company, and one of AOL's most successful businesses.
Eliav Moshe replaced Gilliam in 2009 and became ICQ's managing director.
Features
- ICQ features include sending text messages, offline support, multi-user chats, free daily-limited SMSText messagingText messaging, or texting, refers to the exchange of brief written text messages between fixed-line phone or mobile phone and fixed or portable devices over a network...
sending, resumable file transferFile transferFile transfer is a generic term for the act of transmitting files over a computer network or the Internet. There are numerous ways and protocols to transfer files over a network. Computers which provide a file transfer service are often called file servers. Depending on the client's perspective the...
s, greeting cards, multiplayer gameMultiplayer gameA multiplayer video game is one which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time. Unlike most other games, computer and video games are often single-player activities that put the player against preprogrammed challenges and/or AI-controlled opponents, which often...
s and a searchable user directory. - ICQ6 was launched on April 17, 2007, and offered a single communication platform that combines the various user options: instant messagingInstant messagingInstant Messaging is a form of real-time direct text-based chatting communication in push mode between two or more people using personal computers or other devices, along with shared clients. The user's text is conveyed over a network, such as the Internet...
services, free SMSText messagingText messaging, or texting, refers to the exchange of brief written text messages between fixed-line phone or mobile phone and fixed or portable devices over a network...
from ICQ to mobileMobile phoneA mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
, voice and videoVideoVideo is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...
communication. The software's new sound gallery was orchestrated by the Israeli psychedelic trance duo Infected MushroomInfected MushroomInfected Mushroom is an Israeli psychedelic trance DJ act and electronic group originally formed in late 1997 as a duo by producers Erez Eisen and Amit Duvdevani in Haifa...
. Among the new additional features in ICQ6 are Quick IM, which allows users to send a short message without opening a conversation window, a "follow me" service directly to the user’s mobile, a multi-chat service and support for ZlangoZlangoZlango is an icon-based "language" built for web and mobile messaging. Zlango Ltd., the Israeli company which created and owns Zlango, has released a Java and Brew application for mobile phones which uses the Zlango icon language to create a new form of SMS, called ZMS, using Zlango's icons...
, the animatedAnimationAnimation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
icons language.
Additional products
ICQ provides all users additional services and content products:- ICQ TV—An online video magazine. The magazine broadcasts content for teens 24/7.
- ICQ SIMSubscriber Identity ModuleA subscriber identity module or subscriber identification module is an integrated circuit that securely stores the International Mobile Subscriber Identity and the related key used to identify and authenticate subscriber on mobile telephony devices .A SIM is held on a removable SIM card, which...
Card (together with United MobileUnited MobileUnited Mobile was a Swiss company, operating in Kloten as a "branch" of a company based in Liechtenstein and providing prepaid SIM cards offering low roaming costs, based on call back business approach....
)—A SIM card that enables users traveling across Europe to use their cellular telephone while paying a discount price. - ICQ Game Center—A games platform that enables the user to play with and/or against other users.
- ICQ2Go—A web instant messagingInstant messagingInstant Messaging is a form of real-time direct text-based chatting communication in push mode between two or more people using personal computers or other devices, along with shared clients. The user's text is conveyed over a network, such as the Internet...
option for users who cannot download the program onto their computer (for various reasons, like firewallFirewall (computing)A firewall is a device or set of devices designed to permit or deny network transmissions based upon a set of rules and is frequently used to protect networks from unauthorized access while permitting legitimate communications to pass....
for instance). ICQ2Go uses a ‘port-80’ browser for this type of communication feature. - ICQ for Mac (Beta)—Released in February 2010, a version of the client that was developed using the Adobe AIR platform, making it usable on additional operating systems which support the AIR runtime, such as Linux.
UIN
ICQ users are identified by numbers called UIN, distributed in sequential order. The UIN was first invented by MirabilisMirabilis (company)
Mirabilis is an Israeli company that developed the ICQ instant messaging program, a pioneer of online chatting that revolutionized communication over the Internet.-History:...
, as the user name assigned to each user upon registration. The meaning is either Universal Internet Number or Unified Identification Number. Issued UINs started at number 10000 (5 digits) and every user receives a UIN when first registering to ICQ. As of ICQ6, users are also able to log in using the specific e-mail
E-mail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
address they associated with their UIN during the registration process.
Unlike other instant messaging software or web applications, on ICQ the only permanent user info is the UIN, although it is possible to search for other users using their associated e-mail address or any other detail they have made public (by updating it in the public profile). In addition, the user can change all of his or her personal information, including screen name
User (computing)
A user is an agent, either a human agent or software agent, who uses a computer or network service. A user often has a user account and is identified by a username , screen name , nickname , or handle, which is derived from the identical Citizen's Band radio term.Users are...
and e-mail address, without having to re-register. Since 2000, ICQ and AIM
AOL Instant Messenger
AOL Instant Messenger is an instant messaging and presence computer program which uses the proprietary OSCAR instant messaging protocol and the TOC protocol to allow registered users to communicate in real time. It was released by AOL in May 1997...
users are able to add each other to their contact list without the need for any external clients. As a response to UIN theft or sale of attractive UINs, ICQ started to store email addresses previously associated to a UIN. As such, UINs that are stolen can sometimes be reclaimed. This applies only if (since 1999 and onwards) a valid primary email address was entered into the user profile.
First versions
ICQ was developed in 1996 by MirabilisMirabilis (company)
Mirabilis is an Israeli company that developed the ICQ instant messaging program, a pioneer of online chatting that revolutionized communication over the Internet.-History:...
. The company was founded by four young Israelis: Yair Goldfinger, Arik Vardi, Sefi Vigiser and Amnon Amir. After AOL bought it, it was managed by Ariel Yarnitsky and Avi Shechter.
America Online acquired Mirabilis on June 8, 1998, for $407 million ($287 million in cash and $120 million over a three-year period based on growth performance levels).
Later versions
- ICQ 2000 incorporated into Notes and Reminder features.
- ICQ 2001 included server-side storage of the contact list, allowing for its synchronization on multiple computers.
- On December 19, 2002, AOL Time Warner announced that ICQ had been issued a United States patentPatentA patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
for instant messaging. - ICQ 2002 was the last completely advertising-free ICQ version.
- ICQ Pro 2003b was the first ICQ version to use the ICQ protocol version 10. However, ICQ 5 and 5.1 use version 9 of the protocol. ICQ 2002 and 2003a used version 8 of the ICQ protocol. Earlier versions (ICQ 2001b and all ICQ clients before it) used ICQ protocol version 7.
- ICQ 4 and later ICQ 5 (released on Monday, February 7, 2005), were upgrades on ICQ Lite. One addition was Xtraz, which offers games and features intended to appeal to younger users of the Internet. ICQ Lite was originally an idea to offer the lighter users of instant messaging an alternative client which was a smaller download and less resource-hungry for relatively slow computers.
- ICQ 5 introduced skinsSkin (computing)In computing, a skin is a custom graphical appearance achieved by the use of a graphical user interface that can be applied to specific software and websites to suit the purpose, topic, or tastes of different users....
support. There are few official skinsSkin (computing)In computing, a skin is a custom graphical appearance achieved by the use of a graphical user interface that can be applied to specific software and websites to suit the purpose, topic, or tastes of different users....
available for the current ICQ 5.1 at the official website; however, a number of user-generated skins have been made available for download. - ICQ 6, released on April 17, 2007, was the first major update since ICQ 4. The user interfaceUser interfaceThe user interface, in the industrial design field of human–machine interaction, is the space where interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and feedback from the...
has been redesigned using Boxely, the same rendering engine used in AIM Triton. This change adds new features such as the ability to send IMs directly from the client's contact list. ICQ has recently started forcing users of v5.1 to upgrade to version 6. Those who do not upgrade will find their older version of ICQ does not start up. Although the upgrade to version 6 should be seen as a positive thing, some users may find that useful features such as sending multiple files at one time is no longer supported in the new version. At the beginning of July 2008, a network upgrade forced users to stop using ICQ 5.1 - applications that identified themselves as ICQ 5, such as PidginPidgin (software)Pidgin is an open-source multi-platform instant messaging client, based on a library named libpurple. Libpurple has support for many commonly used instant messaging protocols, allowing the user to log into various services from one application.The number of Pidgin users was estimated to be over 3...
, were forced to identify themselves as ICQ 6. There seems to be no alternative for users other than using a different IM program or patching ICQ 5.1 with a special application. - ICQ 7.0, released on January 18, 2010. This update includes integration with FacebookFacebookFacebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
and other websites. It also allows custom personal status similar to Windows Live MessengerWindows Live MessengerWindows Live Messenger is an instant messaging client created by Microsoft that is currently designed to work with Windows XP , Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Mobile, Windows CE, Xbox 360, Blackberry OS, iOS, Java ME, S60 on Symbian OS 9.x and Zune HD...
(MSN Messenger). ICQ 7.0 does not support traditional Chinese on standard installation or with the addition of an official language pack. This has made its adoption difficult with the established user base from Hong Kong and Taiwan where traditional Chinese is the official language.
Criticism
According to security analyst Jeffrey CarrJeffrey Carr
Jeffrey Carr is a cybersecurity analyst and expert. He lives in Seattle Washington. He is founder and CEO of Taia Global inc. He is also the founder and principal investigator of Project Grey Goose, an open source investigation into cyber conflicts including the Russian cyber attacks on Georgia,...
, use of ICQ may cause security problems because it was purchased by Russian investment company Digital Sky Technologies. ICQ has fallen out of fashion in US and Britain, but it remains popular in eastern Europe and Russia. Carr says the new ownership may be used by Russia's powerful secret service, the FSB (formerly the KGB) since Russian law requires ICQ to open its logs "whenever the spooks want". But so are other IMs too (see Skype security, YIM SPIM, AIM vulnerabilities etc.).
Spam
ICQ is often used for distribution of unwanted advertisement and spamSpam (electronic)
Spam is the use of electronic messaging systems to send unsolicited bulk messages indiscriminately...
. This is facilitated by ICQ's use of usernames consisting of multiple-digit numbers.
Privacy and copyright
When accepting "ICQ Terms Of Service — Acceptable Use Policy" (2000), a user gives all the copyrightCopyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
in the posted information to ICQ Inc. This implies that ICQ Inc. may publish, distribute etc. any messages sent through the system that could be meant to be private:
"You agree that by posting any material or information anywhere on the ICQ Services and Information you surrender your copyright and any other proprietary right in the posted material or information. You further agree that ICQ Inc. is entitled to use at its own discretion any of the posted material or information in any manner it deems fit, including, but not limited to, publishing the material or distributing it."
It is not possible to cancel or delete an ICQ account.
Pressure on alternative clients
AOLAOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
pursued an aggressive policy regarding alternative ("unauthorized") ICQ clients.
- In July 2008 changes were implemented on ICQ servers causing many unofficial clients to stop working. These users received an official notification from "ICQ System".
- On December 9, 2008, another change to the ICQ servers was made. The clients that were sending Client IDs not matching ICQ 5.1 or higher stopped working.
- On December 29, 2008, ICQ press service distributed a statement characterizing alternative clients as dangerous.
- On January 21, 2009, ICQ servers started blocking all unofficial clients in Russia and Commonwealth of Independent StatesCommonwealth of Independent StatesThe Commonwealth of Independent States is a regional organization whose participating countries are former Soviet Republics, formed during the breakup of the Soviet Union....
countries. Users in Russia and Ukraine received a message from UIN 1:
"Системное сообщение
- ICQ не поддерживает используемую вами версию. Скачайте бесплатную авторизованную версию ICQ с официального web-сайта ICQ.
System Message
- The version you are using is not supported by ICQ. Download a free authorized ICQ version from ICQ’s official website."
On icq.com there is an "important message" for Russian-speaking ICQ users: "ICQ осуществляет поддержку только авторизированных версий программ: ICQ Lite и ICQ 6.5." ("ICQ supports only authorized versions of programs: ICQ Lite and ICQ 6.5.")
- On February 3, 2009, the events of January 21 have repeated.
Clients
AOLAOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
's OSCAR
OSCAR protocol
OSCAR or Open System for CommunicAtion in Realtime is AOL's flagship instant messaging and presence information protocol. Currently, OSCAR is in use for AOL's two main instant messaging systems: ICQ and AIM....
network protocol used by ICQ is proprietary
Proprietary software
Proprietary software is computer software licensed under exclusive legal right of the copyright holder. The licensee is given the right to use the software under certain conditions, while restricted from other uses, such as modification, further distribution, or reverse engineering.Complementary...
and using a third party client is a violation of ICQ Terms of Service, nevertheless a number of people have created more or less compatible, third-party clients, by using reverse engineering and protocol descriptions available on the net. These clients include:
- AdiumAdiumAdium is a free and open source instant messaging client for Mac OS X that supports multiple IM networks, including Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, Google Talk, AIM, ICQ, and XMPP. It supports many protocols through the libraries libezv , MGTwitterEngine , and libpurple...
: supports ICQ, Yahoo!Yahoo! MessengerYahoo! Messenger is an advertisement-supported instant messaging client and associated protocol provided by Yahoo!...
, AIMAIM- Aeronautics :* Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere, NASA satellite* Aeronautical Information Manual- Business :* Alternative Investment Market, operated by the London Stock Exchange* AIM Investment Management, Australian financial planning company...
, MSN.NET Messenger ServiceThe .NET Messenger Service is an instant messaging and presence system developed by Microsoft in 1999 for use with its MSN Messenger software and used today by its current instant messaging clients, Windows Live Messenger and Microsoft Messenger for Mac...
, Google TalkGoogle TalkGoogle Talk is a freeware voice over Internet protocol client application offered by Google Inc. The first beta version of the program was released on August 24, 2005...
, XMPPExtensible Messaging and Presence ProtocolExtensible Messaging and Presence Protocol is an open-standard communications protocol for message-oriented middleware based on XML . The protocol was originally named Jabber, and was developed by the Jabber open-source community in 1999 for near-real-time, extensible instant messaging , presence...
, and others, for Mac OS XMac OS XMac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
; - AyttmAyttmAyttm is a multi-protocol instant messaging client. It is the heir of the EveryBuddy project.- Services :Ayttm primarily supports one to one and group chatting on MSN, Yahoo!, ICQ, AIM, XMPP and IRC. It also has support for sending rudimentary emails via SMTP, which may be used to send SMS via...
: supports ICQ, Yahoo!, AIM, MSN, IRCInternet Relay ChatInternet Relay Chat is a protocol for real-time Internet text messaging or synchronous conferencing. It is mainly designed for group communication in discussion forums, called channels, but also allows one-to-one communication via private message as well as chat and data transfer, including file...
, and XMPP; - bitlbeeBitlBeeBitlBee is a cross-platform IRC instant messaging gateway, licensed under the terms of the GNU General Public License.BitlBee communicates with the user via the IRC protocol, providing a gateway to popular chat networks such as AIM and ICQ via OSCAR, .NET Messenger Service, Yahoo! and XMPP and the...
: IRC gateway, supports ICQ, Yahoo!, AIM, MSN, Google Talk, and XMPP; - centericqCentericqCentericq is a text mode menu- and window-driven instant messaging interface that supports the ICQ, Yahoo!, AIM, MSN, IRC, XMPP, LiveJournal, and Gadu-Gadu protocols. It allows you to send, receive, and forward messages, URLs, SMSes , contacts, and email express messages, and it has many other...
: supports ICQ, Yahoo!, AIM, MSN, IRC and XMPP, text-based; - climm (formerly mICQ): text-based;
- DigsbyDigsbyDigsby is a freeware proprietary multiprotocol instant messaging application developed by dotSyntax, LLC. Digsby is written in Python and uses wxPython as its widget toolkit and WebKit for rendering...
: supports ICQ, AIM, MSN, Yahoo!, Google Talk, XMPP, and social networking updated for WindowsMicrosoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
; - Easy messageEasy messageEasy Message is an instant messaging application that supports MSN Messenger, AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, and ICQ. Although it does not have all of the features of other messengers it is known for its extremely small size and low use of system resources....
: supports MSN, AIM, ICQ, and Yahoo!; - eBuddyEBuddyeBuddy is a privately held company which owns a browser-based web and mobile messenger service supporting various instant messaging services. eBuddy was launched in 2003 under the name e-Messenger, located at www.e-messenger.net, before rebranding itself in 2006 to eBuddy.eBuddy supports Windows...
: web-based, supports MSN, AIM, Yahoo!, ICQ, Google Talk and MySpace Chat; - FireFire (instant messaging client)Fire is the first instant messaging client for Mac OS X , that can access IRC, XMPP, AIM, ICQ, MSN, Yahoo! Messenger, and Bonjour. All services are built on GPL’d libraries, including firetalk, libfaim, libicq2000, libmsn, XMPP, and libyahoo2. Fire supports OS X v10.1 and higher.The latest version...
: supports ICQ, Yahoo!, AIM, MSN, IRC, and XMPP, for Mac OS XMac OS XMac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
; - fring: supports ICQ, Yahoo!, AIM, MSN, Skype, Twitter, and others mobile devices;
- iChatIChatiChat is an instant messaging software application developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its Mac OS X operating system. It has audio, video and screen-sharing capabilities as well as text messaging...
: uses ICQ's UIN as an AIM screenname, for Mac OS XMac OS XMac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
; - JimmJimmJimm is an alternative open source instant messaging client for ICQ network. It is written in Java ME and should work in most of mobile devices that follow MIDP specification.Jimm is licensed under the terms of the GNU General Public License.-History:...
: supports ICQ, for Java ME mobile devices - KopeteKopeteKopete is a multi-protocol, free software instant messaging client. Although it can run in numerous environments, it was designed for and integrates with the KDE desktop environment...
: supports AIM, ICQ, MSN, Yahoo, XMPP, Google Talk, IRC, Gadu-Gadu, Novell GroupWise Messenger and others, for Unix-like; - MeeboMeeboMeebo is a social platform connecting users with their friends across the web. It began in 2005 as a browser based instant messaging program which supported multiple IM services, including Yahoo! Messenger, Windows Live Messenger, AIM, ICQ, MySpaceIM, Facebook Chat, Google Talk, CafeMom and...
: AJAXAjax (programming)Ajax is a group of interrelated web development methods used on the client-side to create asynchronous web applications...
-based, supports ICQ, AIM, Yahoo!, MSN, Google Talk and XMPP; - MeetroMeetroMeetro was a multi-network social messenger with location-based services . It was compatible with AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, MSN Messenger, GTalk, XMPP, and ICQ. Meetro's features made it useful for meeting people with similar interests in a given area, as well as bundling multiple...
: IM and social networking combined with location; supports AIM, ICQ, MSN, Yahoo!; - Miranda IMMiranda IMMiranda IM is an open source multiprotocol instant messaging application, designed for Microsoft Windows. Miranda is free software distributed under GNU General Public License.- Architecture :...
: supports ICQ, Yahoo!, AIM, MSN, IRC, Google Talk, XMPP, Gadu-Gadu, BNet and others, for WindowsMicrosoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
; - Naim: ncursesNcursesncurses is a programming library that provides an API which allows the programmer to write text user interfaces in a terminal-independent manner. It is a toolkit for developing "GUI-like" application software that runs under a terminal emulator...
-based; - PalringoPalringoPalringo is a server-based instant messaging client for various platforms. It supports several protocols such as AOL Instant Messenger , Yahoo! Messenger, Windows Live Messenger, XMPP/Jabber, Google Talk, Gadu-Gadu, ICQ, MobileMe/iChat and Facebook IM....
: Supports various protocols such as AIM, Yahoo!, MSN, XMPP, Google Talk, Gadu-Gadu, ICQ, Facebook IM, as well as its own proprietary IM protocol under the same name; - Pidgin (formerly Gaim): supports ICQ, Yahoo!, AIM, Gtalk, MSN, IRC, XMPP, Gadu-Gadu, SILC, Meanwhile (IBM Lotus SametimeLotus SametimeIBM Sametime is a client–server application and middleware platform that provides real-time, unified communications and collaboration for enterprises. Those capabilities include presence information, enterprise instant messaging, web conferencing, community collaboration, and telephony capabilities...
) and others; - PlayXpertPlayXpertPLAYXPERT is an in-game tool set targeted towards gamers. It was built by former Xfire users, who felt it could use improvement. It features several in-game widgets, such as multi-protocol instant messaging, web browsing, a media manager, and others, all of which can be opened in-game, eliminating...
: supports ICQ, AOL Instant Messenger, Google Talk, Sony Station Friends, MSN, Yahoo! Messenger, and Xfire; - ProteusProteus (instant messaging client)Proteus is an instant messaging client for Mac OS X that supports multiple protocols through the libpurple library. It is written using OS X's Cocoa API.-History:Proteus was originally developed by Justin Wood, then in 2004 Defaultware took over development...
: supports ICQ, Yahoo!, Yahoo! Japan, AIM, MSN, XMPP and iChat Rendezvous, for Mac OS XMac OS XMac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
; - QIPQuiet Internet PagerQIP is a multiprotocol instant messaging client. It is a closed source freeware program originally developed by Ilgam Zyulkorneev. In 2008 it was bought by RosBusinessConsulting media group and named most popular RBC service in 2009.- Features :...
: supports ICQ, AIM, and partially XMPP and XIMSS; - SIM-IM: works on MS Windows, GNU/Linux, FreeBSD; supports Jabber/XMPP, Google Talk, ICQ and AIM (Oscar), Yahoo! Messenger and Microsoft Messenger (MSN);
- stICQStICQstICQ is an ICQ client for mobile phones with symbian OS.StICQ has been written by Russian programmer Sergey Taldykin. StICQ is a native Symbian application for instant messaging over Internet for the ICQ network ....
: supports ICQ, for Symbian OS; - Trillian: supports ICQ, Yahoo!, AIM, MSN, IRC, Google Talk, XMPP and others;
AOL has recently begun making its ICQ software more AIM
AOL Instant Messenger
AOL Instant Messenger is an instant messaging and presence computer program which uses the proprietary OSCAR instant messaging protocol and the TOC protocol to allow registered users to communicate in real time. It was released by AOL in May 1997...
-like by adding AIM
AOL Instant Messenger
AOL Instant Messenger is an instant messaging and presence computer program which uses the proprietary OSCAR instant messaging protocol and the TOC protocol to allow registered users to communicate in real time. It was released by AOL in May 1997...
Smilies, as well as introducing cross AIM–ICQ communication. Such capability made it to beta
Development stage
A software release life cycle refers to the phases of development and maturity for a piece of computer software—ranging from its initial development, to its eventual release, and updated versions of the released version to help improve software or fix bugs still present in the software.- Pre-alpha...
stages, but AOL announced discontinuation of cross AIM-ICQ communication on November 5, 2010.
See also
- Comparison of instant messaging clientsComparison of instant messaging clientsThe following tables compare general and technical information for a number of instant messaging clients. Please see the individual products' articles for further information. This article is not all-inclusive or necessarily up-to-date...
- Comparison of instant messaging protocols
- LAN Messengers
- Online chatOnline chatOnline chat may refer to any kind of communication over the Internet, that offers an instantaneous transmission of text-based messages from sender to receiver, hence the delay for visual access to the sent message shall not hamper the flow of communications in any of the directions...
- Windows Live MessengerWindows Live MessengerWindows Live Messenger is an instant messaging client created by Microsoft that is currently designed to work with Windows XP , Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Mobile, Windows CE, Xbox 360, Blackberry OS, iOS, Java ME, S60 on Symbian OS 9.x and Zune HD...