Yahoo Messenger Profiles

Facebook Video Chat -- Final Analysis

MANILA, Philippines -- Facebook is now offering to everyone a new service that enable their members to video chat.  The new service came about after Facebook and Microsoft who bought Skype for $8.5 billion dollars arrived to an agreement to put the Skype video chat application into Facebook.  So what’s the big deal?

The biggest impact of this partnership is this:  Skype is not available to all 750 million users of Facebook.  That’s it.  Now you may wonder why I say this.  Simply because video chat has been for a long time.  Video chat is already available in Yahoo Messenger, Gmail, and of course Skype.

Its not a new technology.  I will even go to the point in saying that its already an old technology.  But of course, it became the talk of the town due to one simple reason - Skype is now in Facebook.

Facebook is pressed to have this application as part of Facebook because of its competition.. Google just recently launched Google+ and it comes with Hangout - the video chat application of Google+.  Google+ is the social networking offering of Google.

As early as now, spammers are taking advantage of this Facebook Video Chat.  To my readers who wants to have Facebook Video Chat, simply download a program from the official Facebook Video Calling page.  Spammers are using this situation to lure more victims into their list.

Do not click on a link that comes in a wall post. The link says “Enable video calls.” If you click on the link you won’t be able to video chat, instead it will try to get you to fill out surveys for scammers. It will also expose your friends to the same link.

Positive usage of this new offering, people can now talk to their friends in a more personal manner.  One to one business discussions can now be done via Facebook (although people has been using Skype before to discuss business matters).  Physicians can now see their patients for simple consultations.

Downside is our privacy will get less and less since we will now be seen online.  But while this is a disadvantage to some, it can also be an advantage.  It will be a bit harder for scammers to victimize Facebook subscribers since their would be victims can now ask them to show their faces and not just rely on their Facebook profiles.

Tips to unsuspecting users, make it a point to ask the person on the other line to a video chat - just to make sure you’re talking to the person who he/she claims to be.

How To Make Your Yahoo! Messenger Hack Proof | ShareSummit.Com

How To Make Your Yahoo! Messenger Hack Proof

Avoid P2P file Sharing Through Yahoo! Messenger :

Be it known or unknown, prefer not to receive any file from your friend unless you know what he is sharing and why. Avoid downloading .exe or .zip files from them as they are more likely to attack your computer or install trozans without you being aware of it. Never trust a stranger when he asks you to click on any site you haven’t heard of.

Avoid Clicking on Spammy Links :

If you were chatting with someone else and suddenly a PM box flashes on the screen with a lucrative offer/interesting site which has a spammy look, don’t click on it. These websites have a lot of spyware who get silently installed if you go and surf them. Never download a toolbar unless its as authenticated as Yahoo!’s or Google’s.

Use Ignore Option Effectively :

Yahoo! has an ignore option that lets you ban a person or mark as spam so that he can’t disturb you once again. Use that option effective. Go to Yahoo! Messenger main box -> Preferences -> Ignore List. If you want to avoid talking to strangers (which I always recommend)i.e. wanna talk to your buddies only, Check Ignore anyone.. option. That helps you be safe and block on the unwanted and potential hackers from reaching you. See the screen-shot below.

Use other Chat Clients :

Yahoo! Messenger has too many loopholes. It doesn’t have a strong security to block contents either. So, if you want to get rid of spams and porn contents all under one go, then you should go for some popular and secure Yahoo! chat clients like Yazak. You can also go for Yah-Elite and Yam They may not have the same sophisticated GUI or entertainment features but they will increase the security of the chat sessions by many folds.

Here is a link that can help you with some more chat clients. I don’t recommend any except these.

Always Use Newer Versions of Yahoo! Messenger :

Remember, the more you stay with the older versions and feel lazy to get upgraded, the more you are helping the hackers. Yahoo! or any software, brings out these updates not only to extend features but also due to security reasons. A newer version of Yahoo! messenger 9 is hardly bootable by DoS attack whereas Yahoo! Messenger 7 can be booted out or hacked by a script kiddie.

Cyber spying, tracking your family's (sometimes) secret online lives

User modeling 2005, 10th international conference, UM 2005, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK, July 24-29, 2005 : proceedings

PC pest control, protect your computers from malicious internet invaders

Internet annoyances, how to fix the most annoying things about going online

Ping!, The Yahoo! Messenger Guide to All Things IM