Snoopers, begone! Three ways to keep your IM secret - Reviews - Software - Internet

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This story was printed from ZDNet Australia.
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Snoopers, begone! Three ways to keep your IM secret

March 19, 2002
URL: http://www.zdnet.com.au/reviews/software/internet/soa/Snoopers-begone-Three-ways-to-keep-your-IM-secret/0,139023437,120264032,00.htm

Like much of the world, I'm a big fan of instant-messaging programs. But I'm not a fan of snoopers listening in on my conversations. I bet that doesn't sound attractive to you, either.

So how can you keep your IM conversations private? Use these tools I found at ZDNet Downloads They'll encrypt your messages so unfriendly eyes can't read them.

SecureICQ lets you encrypt all messages sent via ICQ. Both you and the person with whom you're communicating need to use the program. But you can't get a better deal: it's free! (Free/Windows)

PGP-ICQ is another free ICQ encryption program. This one uses well-known PGP technology to encrypt and decrypt messages. It's a breeze to get and assign encryption keys, and to encode only certain messages. (Free/Windows)

iGo Incognito is a complete instant-messaging program built with your privacy in mind. It features powerful 128-bit encryption, and will keep secret both your discussion forums as well as your instant messages. (Shareware/Windows)

Try these programs. They'll make sure that next time you talk with friends, family, or co-workers over IM, the whole world isn't listening in.