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Yahoo Messenger Security |
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Tuesday, 18 November 2003 |
The email and IM's came in the door thick and fast re
the security side of using Yahoo Messenger and so that we could even up the perspective
we hijacked the a few unsuspecting souls who just popped along for a chat ;) and
let me just say straight off the bat that issues raised are not specific to Yahoo
Messenger… snoops in the house, cyber stalking, just plain old annoying behaviour
and the a desire for privacy are issues faced with just about any Messenger/Chat
program that you choose to use so while this page deals with and highlights certain
features of Yahoo Messenger, in principle it could also be applied to other programs
as well.
Page Navigation...
[Ignore Feature]
[Remove your ID from THEIR list]
[Archive Feature]
[Identities/Aliases/Profiles]
[Yahoo! Report Harrassment/Abuse etc]
[Yahoo! Contact Details]
[Yahoo! Documents...Privacy, TOS etc]
Ignore Feature...
There's bound to come a time when you either fall out with someone or come across
a person whose behaviour you just can't tolerate anymore.. to deal with people
that fall into that category Yahoo has kindly supplied us with a nifty feature
called Ignore and it does exactly that... it'll ignore any ID of your choosing
for whatever reason you decide. (This feature is also available in Chat/Conference)
Note: Once you've ignored a persons ID they
can't send you IM's (either online or offline) and they'll stay ignored until
you remove them from the list...
If someone is on your Friends List you can't ignore them... they must be removed
from your the list first, here's how to do that...
Remove an ID from your Friends List...
Launch Yahoo Messenger
find their ID on the Friends List and right
click it
select Delete
at the confirmation hit OK
Add people to your Ignore List...
Ok.. so you have someone that you want to put on Ignore, you have two ways of
doing this.. if you know their ID then use this way...
Launch Yahoo Messenger
hit Login
hit Privacy Settings
hit the Add button
enter the ID of the person you want to ignore
hit the Ignore button
hit Ok
If you don't know their ID then just sit and wait till they send you an IM then
do the following...
Ignore from IM (Instant Message) Window...
In the IM window..
hit Friend (on the Control Menu)
hit Ignore User
at the Ignore Confirmation hit OK
Ignored your Mother??? whoops! here's how to get her back...
Remove someone from Ignore...
Launch Yahoo Messenger
hit Login
hit Privacy Settings
in the Ignore List find the ID
you wish to restore
click on ID and then hit Remove
So you don't want to get plagued by IM's from people you don't know? Here's how
to prevent that too...
Ignore EVERYONE who isn't on your Friends List...
Launch Yahoo Messenger
hit Login
hit Privacy Settings
check the radio button beside Ignore Anyone Who is Not
on My Friends List
hit Ok
[Back to the Top]
Remove Your ID...
(NOTE: Yahoo has removed this page! Search Google for
other hosted copies of it)
so it all went to custard and Ignore just isn't enough... you want them out of
your life and your life off their Friends List.. here's how... Yahoo has provided
and little known page called [Deny
A Buddy] that you can use to remove your ID from someone elses friends list..
use the [Deny A
Buddy] a link. fill in the fields as detailed below...
ensure your correct ID is entered.. if you enter the wrong ID the following page
(after you submit the request) will state that the named "other person"
does not have you on their friends list. A successful match will result in the
referring page showing a wee "OK" in the top left hand corner. (A
point to note is that you MUST be signed into Yahoo with the ID that you're removing
from someones list) The person whose list you have requested your ID be removed
from will then be sent a similar message as shown below...
having trouble with Deny a Buddy? Invalid cookie sound familiar? Check out [This
Link] send into us by Toby Guy :-) If you're still having trouble log out,
dump your cookies and sign in to
[Yahoo Mail] (or another yahoo service) remember you're default ID and your
alias ID's work differently.. if you're removing someone from your alias ID you
must be logged in with your ALIAS.
If the problem persists swing by our [WackyB
Messenger Forum]
[Back to the Top]
Archiving...
The latest version of Yahoo! Messenger allows for archiving of messages, conferences
and alerts.. so what does this mean? Quite simply put 'archiving' stores detailed
records of all your messages, conferences and alerts... you have a copy of every
single message that you either sent or recieved and it's sorted by the ID and
then date and time of the person you were conversing with . This has it's good
and bad sides...
Good... if you had a conversation with someone
and you've forgotten who said what, where you were meant to meet, what you said
you'd do or you've simply lost a url you were going to check out you can just
go in and pull up the conversation and there it all is. Next excellent 'good'...
if your being harrassed or are being subject to abuse then you have a detailed
record of the users ID, times, dates, what they said, how you handled it etc which
you can of course use to accurately detail, report and send to Yahoo! (We've compiled
a list of links to Yahoo's Report forms and their contact details at the bottom
of this page... or you can hit [HERE] to be taken there
now
Bad... if you've got a snoop in the house
(and judging on the email/IM's we receive there's a lot of you living with them!)
then they too can quite possibly access this information. Every single word you
said, or was said to you, could be sitting right there in front of them... especially
if you've forotten to logout.
To Enable/Disable Archiving...
this first step applies for both options...
Launch Yahoo Messenger
hit Login
hit Preferences
from the Category listings select Messages
then...
To Enable....
put a check beside Enable Archiving
then select which features you want activated...
Instant Messages, Alerts, Conferences
while you're in there set the number of days you want
to keep the archives for by...
putting a check mark beside Automatcially
Delete Files Older Than
then type in the number of days
hit OK
or...
To Disable....
uncheck Enable Archiving
hit OK
View your entire Archive...
Launch Yahoo Messenger
hit Tools (on the Control Menu)
hit Message Archive
If you've chosen to archive Messages, Alerts, and Conferences,
in the left hand frame you will have three folders (named as above) and in each
is a detailed log listed by ID so open the folder concerned
scroll down until you find the ID of the person
the top right hand frame will have a record
of the dates
select the one you wish to view, it'll open
in the bottom right hand frame
View the Archive of a Person on your Friends List...
Launch Yahoo Messenger
locate and right click the ID of the person
on your Friends List
select Message Archive
[Back to the Top]
Identities/Aliases/Profiles...
so you just want some of privacy or are a bit frazzled round the edges and need
a little time out from friends, family or people that you work with but still
want others to be able to contact you? Well fair enough! We all need to be able
to turn ourselves 'off' from the world sometimes and as you can't run multiple
versions of Messenger on the one comp the best way to get around this problem
is to have separate ID's/Aliases... which are dead simple to set up and use
Quick Run down....
Your default Yahoo Identity (ID)... is the username
that you use to sign onto Yahoo Messenger and what other people know you as..
it's also the email address that's assigned
Aliases... just to confuse you these are actually
referred to as ID's and profiles as well but regardless of the reference these
differ in that they tag onto your default ID... this is what allows you to be
online as one Identity yet offline as another :) You can have up to 5 Aliases/Identities
and each can have it's own profile.
Profile... this is your 'spec sheet' that has your
name, age, gender, location, photo, homepage, favourite quote etc etc so that
others can view a little something about you and as mentioned above each ID can
have a different profile. This means that for work associates etc your 'work'
ID can have a totally professional image and outlook on life, throw up a swanky
pic of yourself in your best digs and quote something really profound, then for
the ID you use with your friends you can be more laid back so up goes the pic
of the day you dyed your head blue, throw up your homepage that the boss and Aunty
Dot really shouldn't see and cool link the sites of your friends who aided and
abetted in the head dying escapade... and speaking of Aunty Dot, while your at
it set up a profile for the ID that you use for family, link to G rated material
and up goes the pic of you at last years family christmas bash brandishing your
"I Love Mom" tattoo :) Note:not all the profile
fields are compulsory so DONT put up any information that your uncomfortable posting
for all the world to see.
How To....
Default/Main ID
you already have this as you had to sign up for one when you joined, logged into
Messenger
Alias/Identity
Ok.. start thinking about your new Identities, how many you need, what and who
you want to have associated with them, if your a little lost here's our recommendations...
Default/Main ID... leave this as the default and
try and limit it's use for very close friends because if your logged on to messenger
then the Default ID is on, the only way you turn this off is to log off. It is
possible to change the 'default' to another ID so that you can manage who sees
that your online but this can be a bit of a hassle if you need to change it often
Aliases...
1. If you use Messenger for, or at work then keep
an Identity soley for co-workers etc as it pays to keep business separate from
personal, this also allows you to turn off 'work' when you're in need of a play
and if you change jobs then you don't have to let all your friends know your new
ID
2. Friends... hmm, sometimes well all need a break
away from our friends so throw your friends onto a seperate ID that way if your
at work and can't be disturbed or just a want a break yet still be online then
you can turn off the ID you use for your friends yet still have your 'work' ID
on
3. New Friends... so you've meet someone online and
you decide to start sending IM's but if they turn out to be a nut or a crack pot
you don't want to have them hassling you or even knowing that you're online every
time you log in so your best bet is to create an ID just for this purpose so that
if anything does go wrong and you have to dump the ID to get rid of them you won't
have to loose all your other friends or spend hours notifying everyone that your
ID has changed!
right, that said...
Create an Alias/Identity...
Launch Yahoo Messenger
hit Login
select My Profiles
hit Create/Edit My Profiles
a browser window will pop open (Yahoo Profiles) showing your main
ID as the default
hit Create New Public Profile and go for it :)
Note: remember you can have up to 5 Aliases/ID's
Turning your Aliases/ID's On and Off
hit Login
select My Profiles
Edit My Profiles pops up
A list on your other ID's will be showing... your
Main ID won't be listed as the only way to turn this off is to log off ;)
If a cross is in the box beside the profile this
means your ID is on
Removing the cross will turn the profile
Off
once you have make your selection hit Ok and your
done
NOTE: a good way to manage your ID's is to add them
to your friends list.. that way you can see at a glance what your actual online
status is
Want to check out someones profile...
If it's someone On Your Friends List...
right click their ID/name
select View Proifle
Ta Da up pops a new browser window with their details
if they're not on your Friends List
get their ID or even a partial ID then pop along
to [http://members.yahoo.com]
in Find People on Yahoo enter the ID
or partial ID
select the radio button beside Yahoo ID
hit enter
scroll through the list it gives you until you find the
right ID and click on it to bring up their Profile
[Back to the Top]
Report Harrassment, Abuse etc to
Yahoo!
Ok.. so you've had enough and you just take it anymore? Report it! If the behaviour
is threatening, offensive or abuse then you can and should report it as soon as
possible. These people are not as anonymous as they think they are so take matters
into your own hands and get the ball rolling. Yahoo has many options available...
use the following forms on Yahoo's site:
[Yahoo!
Messenger Abuse Report]
[Yahoo!
Chat Abuse Report]
If it's neither Messenger or Chat related use this form and select the appropriate
category from the drop down menu...
[Yahoo!
Report Member Conduct]
you can also send them an email...
[abuse@yahoo.com]
Note: Keep detailed logs of everything! If
it's a persistant problem then enable the [Archiving Feature],
and if you've reported the problem to Yahoo and you're certain they are dealing
with it then put the offending persons ID on [Ignore]
[Back to the Top]
Yahoo! Contact Details...
some people have had good results with reporting 'hacked' profiles, accounts etc
so if need be and your within a relatively inexpensive calling range then by all
means give them a bell...
Phone (408) 349-3300
or put pen to paper....
Fax (408) 349-3301
Physical Location...
701 First Avenue
Sunnyvale
California 94089
Hours...
8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. PST
[Back to the Top]
Yahoo! Documents.. Privacy Policy,
Terms of Service etc...
so you want to check out some of Yahoo's rules, regulations and policies? Here's
the links...
[Yahoo! Privacy
Policy]
[Yahoo! Terms of Service]
[Yahoo!
DisclaimersLegal Information]
[Yahoo!
Copyright/Intellectual Property Agent Notice]
[Yahoo!
Data Storage]
Family/Children Specific...
[Yahoo!
Children's Privacy Policy (7-12yrs)]
[Yahoo! Family Accounts]
[www.Yahooligans]
[Back to the Top]
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Last Updated ( Friday, 02 January 2004 )
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