AIM (software)

AOL Instant Messenger was initially integrated into AOL Desktop and later also released as a stand-alone download by America Online (AOL) in May 1997 for Microsoft Windows.[5] AIM was an outgrowth of "online messages" in the original platform written in PL/1 on a Stratus computer by Dave Brown. The software, maintained by AOL, Inc., at one time had the largest share of the instant messaging market in North America, especially in the United States (with 52% of the total reported as of 2006).[6] This does not include other instant messaging software related to or developed by AOL, such as ICQ and iChat.

AIM version 4.7 (released 2001)

Its main competitors during its heyday were ICQ (although AOL acquired it in 1998), Yahoo! Messenger and MSN Messenger. AOL particularly had a rivalry or "chat war" with rival Microsoft starting in 1999. There were several attempts from Microsoft to simultaneously log into their own and AIM's protocol servers. AOL were not happy about this and started blocking MSN Messenger from being able to access AIM.[7][8]

AIM version 6.8 (released 2008)

Official mobile versions of AIM appeared as early as 2001 on Palm OS through the AOL application.[9] Third-party applications allowed it to be used in 2002 for the Sidekick.[10] A version for Symbian OS was announced in 2003[11] and others for BlackBerry[12] and Windows Mobile[13]

After 2012, stand-alone official AIM client software includes advertisements and was available for Microsoft Windows, Windows Mobile, Classic Mac OS, macOS, Android, iOS, BlackBerry OS.[14]

The "Running Man"

The AIM mascot was designed by JoRoan Lazaro and was implemented in the first release in 1997. This was a yellow stickman-like figure, often called the "Running Man". The mascot appeared on all AIM logos and most wordmarks, and always appeared at the top of the buddy list. AIM's popularity in the late 1990s and the 2000s led to the "Running Man" becoming a familiar brand on the Internet. After over 14 years, the iconic logo finally disappeared as part of the AIM rebranding in 2011. However, in August 2013, the "Running Man" once again returned.[21]

In 2014, a Complex editor called it a "symbol of America".[22] In April 2015 the Running Man was officially featured in the Virgin London Marathon, dressed by a person for the AOL-partnered Free The Children charity.[23]

The standard protocol that AIM clients used to communicate is called Open System for CommunicAtion in Realtime (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 was 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.

In January 2008, AOL introduced experimental Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) support for AIM,[24] allowing AIM users to communicate using the standardized, open-source XMPP. However, in March 2008, this service was discontinued. In May 2011, AOL started offering limited XMPP support.[25] On March 1, 2017, AOL announced (via XMPP-login-time messages[26]) that the AOL XMPP gateway would be desupported, effective March 28, 2017.

For privacy regulations, AIM had strict age restrictions. AIM accounts are available only for people over the age of 13; children younger than that were not permitted access to AIM.[27]

Under the AIM Privacy Policy, AOL had no rights to read or monitor any private communications between users. The profile of the user had no privacy.[27]

In November 2002, AOL targeted the corporate industry with Enterprise AIM Services (EAS), a higher security version of AIM.[28]

If public content was accessed, it could be used for online, print or broadcast advertising, etc. This was outlined in the policy and terms of service: "... you grant AOL, its parent, affiliates, subsidiaries, assigns, agents and licensees the irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide right to reproduce, display, perform, distribute, adapt and promote this Content in any medium". This allowed anything users posted to be used without a separate request for permission.[27]

The issue of AIM's security was called into question. AOL stated that it had taken great steps to insure that personal information will not be accessed by unauthorized members, but that it cannot guarantee that it will not happen.[27]

AIM was different from other clients, such as Yahoo! Messenger, in that it did not require approval from users to be added to other users' buddy lists. As a result, it was possible for users to keep other unsuspecting users on their buddy list to see when they were online, read their status and away messages, and read their profiles. There was also a Web API to display one's status and away message as a widget on one's webpage.[29] Though one could block a user from communicating with them and seeing their status, this did not prevent that user from creating a new account that would not automatically be blocked and therefore able to track their status. A more conservative privacy option was to select a menu feature that only allowed communication with users on one's buddy list; however, this option also created the side-effect of blocking all users who were not on one's buddy list.

AOL and various other companies supplied robots (bots) on AIM that could receive messages and send a response based on the bot's purpose. For example, bots could help with studying, like StudyBuddy. Some were made to relate to children and teenagers, like Spleak.

Others gave advice, and others were for more general purposes, such as false. The more useful chat bots had features like the ability to play games, get sport scores, weather forecasts or financial stock information. Users were able to talk to automated chat bots that could respond to natural human language. They were primarily put into place as a marketing strategy and for unique advertising options. It was used by advertisers to market products or build better consumer relations.[30]

Before the inclusions of such bots, the other bots DoorManBot and AIMOffline provided features that were provided by AOL for those who needed it. ZolaOnAOL and ZoeOnAOL were short-lived bots that ultimately retired their features in favor of SmarterChild.

AOL Instant Messenger's installation process automatically installed an extra URI scheme ("protocol") handler into some Web browsers, so URIs beginning "aim:" could open a new AIM window with specified parameters. This was similar in function to the mailto: URI scheme, which created a new e-mail message using the system's default mail program. For instance, a webpage might have included 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 was used, so the link location would have looked like this:

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

To specify an away message, the message parameter was used, so the link location would have looked 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.

To add a buddy, the addbuddy message was used, with the "screenname" parameter

aim:addbuddy?screenname=notarealuser

This type of link was commonly found on forum profiles to easily add contacts.

AIM had security weaknesses that have enabled exploits to be created that used third-party software to perform malicious acts on users' computers.[31] Although most were relatively harmless, such as being kicked off the AIM service, others performed potentially dangerous actions such as sending viruses. Some of these exploits relied on social engineering to spread by automatically sending instant messages that contained a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) accompanied by text suggesting the receiving user click on it, an action which leads to infection, i.e., a trojan. These messages could easily be mistaken as coming from a friend and contain a link to a Web address that installed software on the user's computer to restart the cycle.

Users also have reported sudden additions of toolbars and advertisements from third parties in the newer version of AIM. Multiple complaints about the lack of control of third party involvement have caused many users to stop using the service.[31]

On November 4, 2014, AIM scored one out of seven points on the Electronic Frontier Foundation's secure messaging scorecard. AIM received a point for encryption during transit, but lost points because communications are not encrypted with a key to which the provider has no access, i.e., the communications are not end-to-end encrypted, users can't verify contacts' identities, past messages are not secure if the encryption keys are stolen, (i.e., the service does not provide forward secrecy), the code is not open to independent review, i.e., the code is not open-source), the security design is not properly documented, and there has not been a recent independent security audit.[45][46] BlackBerry Messenger, Ebuddy XMS, Hushmail, Kik Messenger, Skype, Viber, and Yahoo! Messenger also scored one out of seven points.[45]

• Comparison of instant messaging clients
• List of defunct instant messaging platforms

• Official website

Official website