TEST Multi-protocol messengers
 
In Detail

The four big instant messengers - AOL, ICQ, MSN and Yahoo - can only connect using their own protocols and are unable to interact with other chat networks. They are therefore not suitable for our PC Pro comparison test. We are also not testing Odigo Windows Messenger 4.0 (www.odigo.org) as it has not been updated since our last multi-protocol messenger test in PC Professionell 7/2004, and more and more functions have stopped working since that time: if you enter login data for the commercial messaging service, you get the error "this feature is not available", and the only sign of the much vaunted changeable skins is a "Coming Soon" message on their tardy download site.

Star Messenger 1.0 (www.starmessenger.net) for Windows is based on Miranda IM, but does not support Internet Relay Chat (IRC). This test is therefore limited to trying out the original program.

Center ICQ 4.20.0 (thekonst.net/centericq) is also not included in the test, as it gave a series of display errors on the test computer. This otherwise interesting program runs in text mode and as well as AIM, ICQ, MSN, Yahoo, IRC, Jabber and Gadu-Gadu can use all the major chat protocols.

Installation and registration

Installation was trouble-free for all the test programs. All of the programs allow the user to choose whether or not to run it when the system is switched on, and all of them can be easily set up using existing account details. Apart from GAIM and Easy Message, all of the clients provide a link for setting up accounts with the various networks, although while Miranda IM does provide links for Yahoo, MSN and ICQ, it doesn't appear to have one for registering for AIM.

Entering existing user details is just as easy as setting up new accounts. The requisite server details are already provided, so it's just a matter of entering your username and password.


Elegant: IM2's buddy list is semi-transparent, meaning the desktop can still be seen
Visually compatible: Trillian's chats look almost identical to those in the official clients

First contact

All six programs connect to the selected accounts on startup and give an overview of active and inactive contacts, which are taken from the buddy lists on AOL, ICQ, MSN and Yahoo. Only Miranda was unable to find the AIM contacts, while IM2 and SIM were unable to connect to ICQ - in IM2's case, an error message appeared stating that it was trying to connect using an outdated version of the protocol, although we were using the most recent version available at the time of testing. The relevant newsgroups are aware of SIM's ICQ issues, but no bugfix is available. SIM also wouldn't connect to Yahoo on the test computer.

SIM's interface, however, is particularly elegant. The buddy list, which is almost transparent, can be positioned anywhere on the desktop, then when the cursor comes near to the window, the window fades back in. This is done using a Quicktime engine. Trillian and GAIM also have similar transparency effects, although they are not as well implemented.

Find new friends

Miranda is especially useful for adding new contacts, with searches based on word fragments available for all protocols. All the other messengers, with the exception of Easy Message, allow new contacts to be added when their full identification is entered. Easy Message has no way of adding new contacts; you need to either use the original Messenger program or wait for the other party to contact you. We were obviously unable to test SIM or IM2 on ICQ and Yahoo.

Look and feel

All of the proprietary messenger programs allow users to choose an avatar - a picture or image used to identify themselves. Only Trillian and GAIM show these avatars correctly for all of the protocols. Miranda, meanwhile, can show these alter egos for ICQ and MSN, while IM2 can display them for MSN and Yahoo. SIM and Easy Message have no avatar capabilities. Conversely, only Trillian is able to send avatars so that they are visible on the four native messenger programs.

Websites are frequently the hot topic in chat rooms, so it makes sense for web addresses also appear as links. All of the instant messengers can do this in both directions. If you want to send, say, a picture or music file, however, you need to be more choosy: only GAIM was able to exchange data over all four networks. Miranda, Trillian and Easy Message will not work with Yahoo, and an installation of the Yahoo Messenger is advised. Although IM2 can transfer files over Yahoo, it has issues with ICQ, whilst SIM gets nowhere with any of them.

Are you ready to talk?

In addition to simple text chat, Trillian also allows users to have a voice chat with contacts on AIM, MSN and Yahoo, which none of the other programs come close to matching. GAIM does have a voice chat function, but this only works if both users are using GAIM to connect. Should both parties have a webcam, however, then they can videoconference - if you want the same functionality in Trillian, you have to splash out $25 for the pro version. IM2 also offers voice chat and videoconferencing, but as with GAIM, it only works with fellow IM2 users.
Carefree (and worm-free) chatting
Installing an instant messenger on your computer opens another potential avenue of attack for others. Computer worms such as Jitux and Kelvir for MSN Messenger send text messages to contacts on your buddy list containing URLs to sites containing exploits. If the recipient clicks on the link, they trigger a worm or some other type of malicious routine.

Viruses such as Choke send themselves via MSN's file transfer function and then infect the target PC's hard drive, installing themselves as an autorun application so that they are executed automatically whenever the computer is restarted.

But as the Bizex worm showed, it's not just MSN - Bizex spread over the ICQ network. Even without such viruses, no-one on is immune to the Internet's less savoury users sending an interesting-sounding file that conceals a spyware trojan.

So follow the golden rule: never open a program that you have received unsolicited over your messenger. Similarly, don't download or run executable files from unfamiliar websites. The best thing to do is to install an active virus scanner such as Avast Home Edition (www.avast.com/eng/free_software.html), which is free to use for private users, or Bitdefender (www.bitdefender.de), which automatically checks all incoming files for viruses.

Even if you do take heed of all the above, you may still fall foul of an attack: vulnerabilities are frequently found in all the known messaging programs. Keeping your chat client up to date should be one of your top priorities.

Online conferencing

If you want - or need - to bring two or more people to your virtual conference table, your only choices of the messengers available are Trillian and GAIM. Neither of these support all of the networks, however. Although both can handle AIM and MSN chatrooms without a problem, only Trillian can manage a multi-user chat on ICQ, and only Gaim can do the same for Yahoo.

The practical alternative to this is Internet Relay Chat (IRC), as the protocol is designed for such multi-user chatrooms. Connect to an IRC server, create a private channel and restrict access to those whom you want to take part. All of the tested programs apart from Easy Message are able to do this.

Live recording

Instant messengers are also able to record chats, almost like an answering machine at a telephone conference. These chat logs can be used, for example, as the basis for the minutes of online company meetings. Miranda has a particularly good logging system that records extensive additional information. Easy Message is the only one of the other contenders that has no way of logging messages.

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