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AIM Update Adds Bundled AOL Browser

By David Worthington, BetaNews

May 4, 2005, 7:56 AM

(continued from previous page)

Detecting socially engineered phishing scams poses different challenges than scanning for spyware. To that end, AOL has integrated a "Who Is" lookup that displays exactly who owns the Web site a user is visiting. Separately, AOL has begun to block access to known phishing Web sites, working internally and with partners.

Explaining the reasoning behind its decision to bundle AOL Explorer, a spokesperson told BetaNews, "We're employing the AOL Explorer browser software as a better platform for the delivery of the AIM Today page, which is our users' portal of entry into AIM.com and the content and services that can be accessed there."

"If users don't want to see the AIM Today panel or experience AOL Explorer they are able to adjust those settings in their AIM preferences. We aren't mandating that AIM users adopt AOL Explorer as their Web browser of choice, but rather, we're upgrading our service and utilizing the software that helps us best deliver the AIM experience," the spokesperson added.

Users can uninstall the AOL Browser through the Add/Remove Programs tool in the Windows Control Panel. When this is done, AIM Today will revert back to the faceless IE browser window. Despite having welded in AOL Explorer, AOL has removed third party software from WildTangent and Weatherbug, and has replaced the AIM Toolbar with an optional installation of the AOL Toolbar.

Aside from the AOL Explorer, the new AIM release bundles the final version of AIM Sync by Intellisync. The software integrates AOL Instant Messenger presence awareness into Microsoft Outlook. Reciprocally, AIM Sync will provide users with the option of adding their Outlook contacts to their AIM Buddy List.

AIM 5.9 will get some new features aside from external applications. Answering a longstanding user grievance, the beta adds the ability to send messages while in the "away" mode.

As first reported by BetaNews, AIM 5.9 is slated to be replaced by the upcoming "Triton" client. Triton is completely rewritten from the ground up and introduces a new, simplified user interface that corrals open chat sessions into a tabbed window dubbed "IM Catcher." Triton also features a "Quicknote" dialog window that provides a snapshot of contact information and lists available ways to communicate with a buddy, including voice and video.

The AOL Instant Messenger 5.9 Beta and AIM Triton may be downloaded via FileForum.

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By banderson46

edited May 22, 2006 - 4:54 PM

Thank you for this informative article. I have been wondering why the AIM explorer window opens upon my going on line. I was wondering if anyone knows how to disable this feature, as I don't really want two browser windows opening up.

Score: 0

By alex118

edited Oct 11, 2005 - 1:39 PM

I like AOL Explorer. I'm thinking of switching from Firefox.

Score: 0

By surfbum4fun

posted May 5, 2005 - 3:45 PM

simple way to fix this problem. use Miranda or Gaim or Trillan im's. use these software and you hook up to AOL's,Msn's, or even Yahoo's servers.the software is not installed on your system.

Score: 0

By Dark

posted May 4, 2005 - 7:23 PM

{Sigh} Another desperate attempt to obtain more customers using brute methods. Opt out? No! You cannot opt out! We're gonna shove our crappy software down your throat whether you like it or not! Fear us! We are the almighty AOL!

Score: 0

By The-Ancestor

posted May 4, 2005 - 6:22 PM

Lol...Minor update.
hate to see what a major one would be...
maybe your whole OS would be aolified :-)

Score: 0

By joshjones

posted May 4, 2005 - 4:23 PM

Unbelievable. Or actually, better yet, this is very believable for AIM. AOL has always been the pushy type. Same with Quicktime and all the others. The fella before me said it best when he spoke of the 1% of the 1% that fiends for these things. The "blind users" as we call them. They click, click, install (sometimes unknowingly), and then call us to fix their shat. HA! AOL is making millions for the tech industry. I'll take my share. "Ma'am, that'll be 75 dollars for the call. Your computer runs great now. See ya next week, you indiscriminate clicking towny."

Joke, but almost not. :)

Score: 0

By Pipewrench

posted May 4, 2005 - 12:23 PM

Seriously. I wish we could get back to having software just include itself. When I install a piece of software I don't want it to ask me if I also want to install these 5 other things. I don't want it to install these things without asking either. If I wanted a browser or a pop-up stopper I would have downloaded them. All I want is a chat program. When will people learn?

I guess it's turned into a money thing. How much crap can we cram onto a person's computer that they didn't ask for?

AOL is a joke. I'll stick to Trillian for now (all though it's getting bloated too).

Score: 0

By spiffyjeff

posted May 4, 2005 - 2:13 PM

hmm, there is finally something we both agree on! and give GAIM a try... Open Source, no spyware/adware/malware, works on Linux too :-)

Score: 0

By DarkHound

posted May 4, 2005 - 9:57 AM

I still use Trillian 2.0 and Gaim, not only do I get rid of the spyware/adware, but I can combine multiple service access in 1 system. (and yes I am a paying Trillian customer, and no I don't use the new version because it's too bloated)

Score: 0

By Kamika007z

posted May 4, 2005 - 10:39 PM

Enough of this Trillian 3.0 "bloated" crap. How is it bloated? People wanted features for a long time such as audio and video and now they got them. Stop being rediculous. Give it a try, it's actually quite nicer than Trillian 2.0. They used the same coding methodology and just created everything as an extension, even the mediums are plug-ins (like miranda handles it). So please quit it with the "bloated" non-sense.

Score: 0

By mrp-

posted May 4, 2005 - 8:51 AM

"tear-off tabs?"

::cough::Opera::cough::

Anyway, i still run AIM 4.8 because the 5.x releases are bloated and full of useless addons, and now itll have a web browser? Jeez looks like im sticking to 4.8 forever

Score: 0

By joeshmoe7

posted May 4, 2005 - 9:00 AM

what really scares me is that there are a few people out there who actually think this stuff is wonderful. I know i have experienced it first hand when i installed the AIM client for someone, along with a program to remove the ads and then disabled the today window from popping up, and their response was "EWW". So what did they do? After i left, they went right ahead and installed the full bloated version along with all the bundled adware options clicked happily. It's kind of like, the reason there is junkmail is because 1% of 1% of people actually try the dumb offers. Same idea, the rest of us suffer for it.

Score: 0

By athome

posted May 4, 2005 - 8:16 AM

All I have to say is that this is really funny! I hate AOL, but love the customers that call me to fix their machines.

All AOL shoud concentrate on now is their own OS, and that way they cannot blame incompatibility issues on MS. How much more RAM is this going to suck from your machine? As with 98SE users, the standard reply from AOL, was you needed more RAM. Machines being purchased today, by the public, is already at minimum. The norm of 256mb is super low now with SP2 and even slow with 512mb. New machine purchases have now seemed to trend the 512mb minimum, but for all the current 2001 - 2004 computers - I am going to be raking in the dough. I love them for that alone, but would never install AOL on any machine I own.

Score: 0

By joeshmoe7

posted May 4, 2005 - 8:16 AM

im thankful there are aim hacks out there for this type of garbage. What a load of fecal matter the AIM becomes with time.

Score: 0

By athome

edited May 4, 2005 - 10:20 AM

Great name!

I agree totally. I wonder how this new mix is going to sit with a lot of my customers? Not given the opportunity to select which programs you want installed and run on your computer should be a violation, and called destruction of personal property.

I tried downloading Macromedia player the other day and it came bundled with the Yahoo toolbar. I was not given the opportunity to unselect it. For that, I refused to download and install it. I also read in an article right here on BetaNews that Macromedia and Sun were developing updates to their current platforms to support the delivery of Adware.

It is only going to get worse.

Score: 0

By dougdude

posted May 4, 2005 - 8:42 AM

I think you should look again on the Flash Player. I just installed it last night, and there was, on the page you click to download it in IE, a checkbox that said Install Yahoo! Toolbar (which was already checked). Maybe if you read it then you would have gotten no toolbar, like I did.

They do try to trick you to install things you don't want, but most of the time there was an option that lets you opt-out, but it is sometimes not ovious (but it was ovious on the Macromedia page, it even had a Yahoo! image). READ CAREFULLY before you cllick things.

Score: 0

By athome

posted May 4, 2005 - 10:19 AM

There was nothing like that there the day that I tried about a month ago. They may have changed it since, as you have notice now.

Score: 0

By tc

posted May 4, 2005 - 12:05 PM

..makes me want to go back to Staff AIM.

Score: 0

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