ICQ

How to remove ads from IM clients

Ads within instant-messenger or browser clients are rarely welcomed by the user. They can slow down your computer and have the potential to contain harmful content--from adult products you don't want young eyes to see to adware or malware. RemoveAds is a Windows program that can be installed to remove those pesky (and sometimes dangerous) advertisements from just about any IM client or browser.

Step 1: Download and install RemoveAdsRemoveAds. 

Step 2: Launch the program from the Start menu by searching for RemoveAds.

Step 3: Be on the lookout for any ads that made it through the … Read more

All-in-one chat client for Android

IM+ takes all the fuss out of mobile instant messaging by enabling you to connect to your Google Talk, Yahoo Messenger, AIM, Facebook, and other IM accounts, all from a single application window. With its clean design and simple user interface, chatty folks on the go may wonder how they ever lived without it.

Under the Contacts tab, all of your contacts are compiled in a single list. That way, you don't have to bother with switching among accounts in order to chat. In fact, once you're on IM+, you should feel absolutely no distinction between the different … Read more

All-in-one chat client for Android

IM+ takes all the fuss out of mobile instant messaging by enabling you to connect to your Google Talk, Yahoo Messenger, AIM, Facebook, and other IM accounts, all from a single application window. With its clean design and simple user interface, chatty folks on the go may wonder how they ever lived without it.

Under the Contacts tab, all of your contacts are compiled in a single list. That way, you don't have to bother with switching among accounts in order to chat. In fact, once you're on IM+, you should feel absolutely no distinction between the different … Read more

Kaspersky finds fake antivirus program in ads on ICQ

A Kaspersky researcher has discovered a fake antivirus warning linked to ads on ICQ, which is popular in Russia and Eastern Europe.

The ad that showed up in the ICQ window was for a women's clothing company called Charlotte Russe and clicking on the ad directs to the company's Web site, said Roel Schouwenberg, a senior antivirus researcher at Moscow-based Kaspersky.

Around the same time the ad was displayed another pop-up appeared in a new browser from "Antivirus8," that said suspicious activity was detected on the system and it encouraged the user to download the program, … Read more

Russia-based Facebook investor changes name

Digital Sky Technologies, a large Russian Internet company and a major investor in Facebook, has changed its name to Mail.ru Group.

Along with international media group Naspers, Mail.ru Group has been co-owner of Mail.ru, a Russian firm that offers e-mail, social-networking, gaming, and entertainment services. The switch in name from Digital Sky Technologies to Mail.ru Group reflects the changing nature and focus of its business, the company said late yesterday.

Mail.ru Group has already made a name for itself by pouring huge investment dollars into U.S. Internet companies, such as Facebook, Groupon, and Zynga. … Read more

Digital Sky buys AOL's ICQ

AOL clears another asset off its books, just in time for first-quarter earnings: Digital Sky Technologies, the Russian investors with a seemingly insatiable appetite for American Web properties (Facebook, Zynga, etc.), is buying Tim Armstrong's ICQ chat service. They're paying $187.5 million, and AOL expects the deal to close by the third quarter.

AOL has been auctioning off the service since last fall. By February, it had narrowed the field to four buyers, who were looking to pay around $200 million, Kara Swisher reported. Release:

DIGITAL SKY TECHNOLOGIES TO ACQUIRE AOL'S ICQ INSTANT MESSAGING SERVICE

Moscow / … Read more

Bids are in for AOL's sale of ICQ--it's down to 'UN' of 4 buyers

AOL has taken another step closer to selling off its ICQ instant messaging service, culling seven bids to four "serious" ones, said sources close to the situation.

The price for the service is hovering just under $200 million, several sources said, with one bid higher.

An AOL spokeswoman declined to comment.

BoomTown reported news of the sale of ICQ by AOL in November, part of a deleveraging of units from the newly independent Internet company, as it focuses more on its content and advertising business.

While other reports a month later said the sale was closer to completion … Read more

Virus buffer

BufferZone Pro for Vista is security software that functions as its own environment. You can surf the Internet through the program's interface and be protected from threats like viruses and malware.

BufferZone Pro for Vista has an attractive and easy-to-navigate interface with a lot of good features to help enhance your computer's security. You have the option to monitor activity on computer peripherals such as CD-ROM drives, flash drives, and USB hard disks, which is a nice benefit. The program comes with its own Firewall and it also has an Event Log that you can check to see … Read more

Report: Russian investor in talks to buy ICQ

AOL is reportedly in talks to sell its ICQ instant-messaging service to a Russian Internet investment group.

Digital Sky Technologies (DST) is in negotiations to acquire ICQ for between $200 million and $250 million, according to Russian newspaper Vedomosti. ICQ, which AOL purchased in 1998 for $400 million, has about 8.4 million unique monthly visitors in Russia and is the No. 1 instant-messaging service in that country, according to market researcher ComScore.

AOL, which was recently spun off from Time Warner, was rumored last month to have hired investment bankers Morgan Stanley and Allen & Co. to find a buyer … Read more