Impressive and free antivirus and antispyware package
Platform : Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows XP
Type:
Manufacturer: Yahoo!
Size: 322KB
Rating: 4
Verdict: A great antivirus and antispyware program at no cost
System Requirements:
Pentium processor or equivalent
32MB Ram
5MB hard disk space
Internet Explorer 5.5 or Netscape 6
Yahoo Messenger is one of the most popular instant-messaging programs and
it's easy to see why: a simple-to-use program supported by a massive online
community, and it's all free.
All you have to do is get yourself a Yahoo ID (by signing up for one at the
Yahoo
UK website) and download a very small installation program.
The set-up procedure is slightly confusing, as you are presented with several
different options and it's not always obvious which ones to choose. The offer of
a free Yahoo email address, for example, may be appealing to some, but the
set-up procedure also attempts to set your browser's homepage to Yahoo, which
might annoy some users.
You have to make sure you remove the tick from the appropriate box if you
don't want this to happen. Once installed, you'll find evidence of the program
everywhere - your desktop, taskbar and quick launch bar will be littered with
shortcuts and your web browser will have suddenly developed a whole new toolbar.
These are all easily dealt with, but it feels a bit invasive.
The Messenger program itself works just like MSN, with the added bonus of
enormous, thriving chat rooms where you can talk to fellow webcam users as well
as your nearest and dearest. Unfortunately, the service suffers from some very
slow frame rates (about one frame per second) on the basic webcam setting.
If you're directly connected to a friend, the 'Super Webcam' mode becomes
available and you can connect at up to 20 frames per second with 320 x 240-pixel
resolution. Both you and your contact will need to be using broadband and the
use of firewalls may cause some conflicts.
New features in version 7 include free worldwide PC-to-PC phone calls, free
voicemail and easy photo-sharing.