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Communication Links Tips Workplace

Controlling IM Spam

Here at Hosted IM World, we’ve had some problems lately controlling spam comments that are appearing on our blog. Just since Sunday, we have had over 50 spam comments from people trying to sell everything from Viagra to photos of  Megan Fox nude. We have no choice but to spend time clicking ‘Spam’ on each of the 52 comments, hoping for it to die down. In the mean time, researching plugins and steps to take to cut down on the number of spammers may also help.

Just as there are spam emails and spam blog comments, there are also spammers that threaten to bother you on an instant messenger program. The download instant messenger programs I’ve had the most trouble with are MSN Messenger and AIM (although AIM has significantly cut down on this recently).

In order to combat spam IMs, which is the occurrence of random screen names sending you messages that say something along the lines of “Look at this cool new product I’ve found!” or “Still need a job? Visit this site”, you can do 2 things:

  1. Change your privacy settings to make you unsearchable and only give your screen name out to people you trust.
  2. If you have a severe problem with spam, change your screen name and then do step 1.
  3. Download instant messenger programs that are hosted on a secure server, like the new *free* Public Brosix 3 Beta, which is available for Mac, Windows, and Linux. This will close your IM activity from the rest of the internet, eliminating spam.

As technology develops, spam will hopefully decrease, but until that time, download instant messenger programs that have good spam filters and are dedicated to eliminating sketchy users with bad intentions.

Categories
Communication General Workplace

Who Doesn’t Use IM?

In these modern times, it’s hard to find anyone who isn’t using email, internet, or some form of electronic communication. Instant messaging has come to to the forefront of digital and internet communcation and has revolutionized the way that America’s workers and organizations are collaborating together.

Instant messaging is a great way for the workers of America to come together and be able to continuously communicate throughout the day while remaining at their computers to work on projects or stay focused to work on deadlines. 

The use of the internet is basically a job requirement for most office-oriented jobs. And once you know how to use the internet, then using instant messaging is not too far behind. It is so easy to use and simple- anyone who knows how to type can use it! For employees and their managers who want to communicate without ever having to leave their desk, instant messaging can not only boost productivity, but can also help companies stay on the frontier of digital communication. 

Even if you do not want to spend money on providing instant messaging for your employees, there are free hosted and secure messaging programs that can still provide the solution you are looking for. One of these include Brosix Public, which is a secure communication program. Brosix is the sponsor of this blog and is dedicated to providing you options when choosing a hosted IM client provider.

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General

Introduction

Hello, my name is Kelsey Childress and I’m the head blogger for the Hosted IM World. I am a freelance writer and am here to answer any of your questions, respond to your comments, and help you learn more about hosted instant messaging. As a blogger for Brosix, I have sufficient experience in hosted and enterprise instant messaging and what it can do for your organization and/or company.

Even if you are not looking for an instant messaging program for your organization,  there are still several uses for a hosted IM program. These can include using IM for communication with clients, family, and friends.

I can only hope that my background in enterprise IM, along with social media, internet marketing, and communications will help you find the information you need to find what you are looking for. As always, if you have any questions, want to be a guest blogger, or would like to learn more about what I am trying to accomplish, feel free to email me at [email protected].

Thank you very much for your time spent reading my blog posts and I look forward to engaging in conversations with you and other professionals about the power of hosted IM. Look for the Hosted IM World to find a place in popular social media websites- Facebook, Digg, and others.