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AIM (software)

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AOL Instant Messenger
Developer(s)AOL LLC
Operating systemWindows (older versions for Mac and Linux)
TypeInstant messaging client
LicenseProprietary
Websitewww.aim.com/
"AIM" redirects here. For other uses, see AIM (disambiguation).

AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) is an advertisement-supported proprietary freeware instant messaging and presence computer program which uses the OSCAR instant messaging protocol and the TOC protocol. It was released by AOL in May of 1997.

About

AOL Instant Messenger (often referred to as "AIM") is an instant messenging application that allows registered users to communicate in real time via text, voice, and video transmission over the Internet. It is maintained by AOL LLC. The official website is www.aim.com.

History

Since version 2.0, AIM has included person-to-person text messaging, chatroom messaging, and the ability to share files peer-to-peer with one's buddies. Versions 4.3 and later of the client software store one's contact information on AOL's servers, so one can keep track of up to 600 buddies from any computer with Internet access. In addition, somewhere in the 4.x versions, the AIM client for Microsoft Windows added the ability to play games against one another using the WildTangent engine. Stand-alone official AIM client software is available for free for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, Mac OS X, Linux, Windows CE, and Palm OS.

AIM version 5.5 allowed Windows users to video conference with each other and with Apple iChat users (which came out before version 5.5) when it was released in February 2004.

The successor to the AIM 5.9 versions became known as AIM Triton, which began with a complete code rewrite and a brand new UI engine, known as Boxely. The first renaming of the client was seen with the Beta 1 release 0.1.12 on April 25, 2005, and supported only Windows XP.[1] For the first time in AIM's development, these preview releases were made publicly available on the AIM home page for any user to test and provide feedback.

On September 29, 2006, the newest release of the AIM Triton 1.5 Beta was renamed to AIM 6.0, with a Beta 1 release made available. This version again changed the UI (albeit slightly). The final stable version of AIM 6.0 was released on December 15; new features included connection to AIM Pages, updates that make profile, away message, and general user updates into RSS feeds, new customization, the ability to send messages to users who are offline , buddy list capacity being increased to 1000 buddies, and compatibility with address book programs and sites through a "Universal Address Book" powered by Plaxo. The upgrade also added missing features from the first release including the 'Get File' function, global font customization, and a smaller size cache usage. Along with the release of AIM 6.0, AOL opened AIM to developers, allowing anyone to create a plug-in, or custom AIM client for Windows, Macintosh or Linux.

Version AIM 6.1, which was officially released on March 27, 2007 introduces, over the current stable version, Buddy List docking, support for inserting images into Buddy Info, ability to change Buddy List fonts, Color Picker for changing the highlight colors of the UI, improvements to how Linked Screen Names are displayed, the ability to sign on as invisible, several bug fixes, and improved Windows Vista support.

Aim Express

The online version of AIM, AIM Express, is implemented in DHTML and runs in a web browser; it is intended for use by people who are unable or unwilling to install an executable client on their machines but still wish to use AIM. AIM Express supports many of the standard features included in the stand-alone client, but does not provide advanced features like file transfer, audio chat, or video conferencing.

Apple iChat

On another note, Apple's iChat software was released in June 2003 for Mac OS X and was the first AIM-compatible client to allow for audio and video conferencing over the AIM protocol. While introducing it, Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced that iChat was the first AIM client not made by AOL to be officially recognized by AOL.

Protocol

The standard protocol that AIM clients use to communicate is called OSCAR. Most AOL-produced versions of AIM and popular third party AIM clients use this protocol. However, AOL also created a simpler protocol called TOC that lacks many of OSCAR's features but is sometimes used for clients that only require basic chat functionality. The TOC/TOC2 protocol specifications were made available by AOL, while OSCAR is a closed protocol that third parties have had to reverse-engineer.

Weaknesses

AIM is known for security weaknesses that have enabled exploits to be created that use third-party software to perform malicious acts on users' computers. Although most are relatively harmless, such as being kicked off the AIM service, others perform potentially dangerous actions such as harvesting IP addresses and sending viruses over a direct connection. Some of these exploits rely on social engineering to spread by automatically sending instant messages that contain a URL accompanied by text suggesting the receiving user click on it, an action which leads to infection. This approach typically makes use of a security hole in Microsoft Internet Explorer as the method of infection.[citation needed]

Miscellaneous

AIM Pages was released in May 2006, allowing the 63 million AIM users to create an online, dynamic profile. The buddy list serves as the basis for the AIM Page social network. An AIM Page is built using modules following the ModuleT microformat. Anyone may create a module to share with other users.

In the past few years, AOL has also launched the webmail service AIM Mail; it is free and can be accessed by all AIM users.

Configuration

AIM is different from other clients such as MSN Mesenger and Yahoo Messenger in that it does not require approval from one buddy to be added to another's buddy list. As a result, it is possible for users to keep other unsuspecting users on their buddy list to read their profiles or see if they are online (if the other user had blocked them before). However, one can block another user from communicating and also enhance privacy by selecting a menu option allowing communication only with those on one's buddy list.

Terminology

AIM and AOL use several terms for elements of their instant messaging, which are different from other messengers. These include:

  • Away message: A function of some instant messaging applications whereby a user may post a message that appears automatically to other users if they attempt to make contact when the user is unavailable. It is analogous to the voice message on an answering machine or voice mail system.
  • Block: If a user is feeling threatened or annoyed by someone, he can "block" the sender, which prevents the sender from contacting the user with his or her current screenname.
  • Buddy List: The centerpiece of AIM, a list containing the status of up to 1000 buddies stored on an AIM server so you can access this list from any instance of AIM. The status of the buddies can be seen as 'online', 'away', 'idle', 'mobile', or 'offline'.
  • Direct connection: AIM users can connect to each other via this method and send various forms of media.
  • Screenname: Term for user name with AOL origins. These are available for free with registration at the AIM website.
  • Spim: Spam over Instant messaging. The spam problem in e-mail has the potential to spread to Instant Messaging, in the form of on-line advertisements. As a closed network, AOL has been able to block most spim, but some still passes through to users.
  • Rate limiting, which prevents a user from sending too many messages in a short amount of time. Once a user is rate limited, they are temporarily unable to send messages, but may still receive messages.
  • Warning: If a user feels a received instant message is inappropriate, he can "warn" the sender, which increases the sender's warning level. Warning levels reduce the rate at which users can send messages and can eventually cause a given screen name to be unable to sign-on for a period of time. The warning feature is no longer supported in AIM Triton or AIM 6, although warnings have not been disabled serverside, meaning that older AIM clients, third-party clients, or user-written add-ons may still allow users to bypass the "soft" removal of warning capabilities.
  • An AIM Closed List, Allow Only, Buddies Only, or Privacy refers to the option on the AOL Instant Messenger client to allow only users on a user's buddy list to contact them. This is to prevent harassment or spamming and is also a secure way to chat.

Versions

The official versions of the AIM software are as follows:

Note: This list may be incomplete.

Bots

AOL and various other companies supply robots on AIM which can receive messages and send a response based on the bot's purpose. For example, bots can help with studying, like StudyBuddy. Some are made to relate to children and teenagers, like Spleak or AOLSafetyBot, an AOL-run bot that provides information about staying safe online. Some like FashionCF give advice, and some are general purpose, like Smarterchild. Other capabilities include games, calculators, sports results, web search, and much more. Prior to the inclusions of such bots, the bots DoorManBot and AIMOffline provided features provided today by AOL for those who needed it.

For those looking to develop a bot for their own specific purpose, AOL has created the AIM Bots program.

URI scheme

AOL Instant Messenger's installation process automatically installs 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?screenname=notarealuser">Send Message</a>

To specify a message body, the message parameter is used, so that the link location might look like this: 

aim:goim?screenname=notarealuser&message=This+is+my+message

To specify an away message, the message parameter is used, so that the link location might look like this: 

aim:goaway?message=Hello, my name is Bill

When placing this inside a URL link, an AIM user could click on the URL link and the away message "Hello, my name is Bill" would instantly become their away message.

Malware

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 used to uniquely identify an installation of the software.

AOL Instant Messenger has been known to be plagued with an influx of viruses and trojans, which are transmitted when a user clicks a malicious link. When a user is affected, the link may be inserted into the user's profile or away message, with no way to remove it. The worst case is when the Trojan causes the user to automatically send messages containing the malicious link to people on the user's buddy list in an instant message conversation window. These links are often well disguised as links to pictures of the user (i.e.: "Click here to see pics of me from vacation!" or "Is this you?"). Some of these links automatically download a malicious .com file to the user's computer, thus infecting it.

On September 18, 2006, research experts led by Christopher Boyd and Wayne Porter at FaceTime Security Labs, the threat research division FaceTime Communications, identified and reported a new worm known as W32.Pipeline that is propagating over AOL Instant Messenger. The worm delivers an executable file disguised as a JPEG, which in turn calls out to various host computers that download a variety of infection files including rootkits and Trojans that may further propagate the worm through the user's AIM Buddy List.


See also

Other clients

References

  1. ^ http://web.archive.org/web/20050429015433/http://beta.aol.com/projects/tritonbeta/

thank you for your time!!!!

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