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Understanding the Basics

How Instant Messaging Works

By Erica D. Rowell

(Page 2 of 2)

"Let's say we were doing something illegal and the FBI wanted to go to AOL to find out what we were saying," analyst Tim Bajarin of Creative Strategies hypothesizes. "From a purely technical standpoint, they could do it." That goes for IM as well as e-mail.

The Net was designed for the free flow of ideas, and even though instant messages aren't stored on a server as e-mail messages are, the network records keystrokes.

Instant messaging companies have their own policies regarding privacy and security, and chances are, the companies do not want to give away your IM secrets. But laws governing this type of communications transaction, such as pen and trace and other wiretapping laws, usually allow for law enforcement intervention when there's reason to believe illegal activity is involved.

But, Bajarin says, "They're not in there peeping at you."

Taking a Different Route

Pioneering instant messenger ICQ — pronounced "I seek you" — uses the peer-to-peer model, allowing direct communication from one user's PC to another. (AOL now owns ICQ.)

An ICQ server knows which users are logged on and identifies them through their computers' IP addresses. (An Internet protocol address identifies each sender or receiver of Internet information.) The software lets the users see who is logged on, as well, and when an instant message is sent it goes directly from the sender's PC to the recipient's PC, virtually bypassing the server. This type of one-on-one, direct communication is speedier than most other network traffic that follows the loops and turns of the windy Net highway.

Microsoft's MSN Messenger, on the other hand, uses a centralized network, which connects users through clusters of servers. An MSN instant message is sent to its recipient's PC through the network servers.

The popular AOL Instant Messenger, or AIM, service uses a hybrid approach to sending its messages. Text messages travel through AOL's centralized network, while data files such as pictures and music are transferred directly from one PC to another.

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