Industry guru Dave Taylor offers free tech support on a wide variety of technical and business topics, including HTML, Apple iPhone, online advertising, Cascading Style Sheets, Web design, management, Unix, Linux, search engine optimization, online dating, Mac OS X, shell script programming and Microsoft Windows.

How do I block incoming AIM IM messages from strangers?

i have an issue. My daughter is getting im'ed by someone not on her buddy list. How do i stop people not on her buddy list from joining a chat she is part of and how do i find out the identity of thi person?


Dave's Answer:

I can't help you with the latter question about tracking down the identity of someone when you just have their AIM handle, but you might try Googling their handle + "AIM" or similar, and see if something surfaces. I surmise it won't, but you never know what people make available on the public Internet.

In terms of blocking unwanted AIM messages and chats from people who aren't already on your buddy list, that's exactly how I have my own AIM account set up because, well, I don't want to hear from all those weirdoes either!

For reasons I find inexplicable, the default settings in AIM are too permissive and you really do need to go in and fix things. Worse, you have to go to a couple of places to really set things as you want, starting with Edit --> Settings...:

AIM IM Edit Menu: Settings

Once you've chosen that, you'll see a settings window with a ton of tabs running down the left side. Your first stop is "General IM", where you need to change a default setting:

AIM IM Settings: General IM

You unquestionably want to turn OFF "Auto-accept IMs from unknown senders". Really, I have no idea why anyone would want that to be enabled, but that's another story. Make sure it's not checked, then click on the "Privacy" tab:

AIM IM Settings: Privacy and Security

The most important setting is on the top left: I strongly suggest your daughter have hers set to "Only allow users on my Buddy List" to block the IMs from unknown folk. As you can see, I take it even a step further and have an explicit list of who can communicate with me (I've masked their handles to protect their privacy, btw). Honestly, that's a bit of a pain since when I want to IM with someone new on AIM I have to go to this specific window and add them by hand, even if I initiate the chat, but when I can be logged in to AIM all day and never get one stray or unwanted message, it's worth it!

Also note that if it's a single user or small set of users that are bugging your daughter, she can drop them into her "block" list and never be bothered by them again. You can also block someone when you're right there in a chat window: just look for "Block" on the "People" menu:

AIM IM: People: Block

That should help your daughter gain some privacy in the chaos rave that is AIM chat. Good luck to both of you!



Help others find this article at Del.icio.us, Digg, Netscape, Reddit, and Stumble Upon    

Subscribe!

Never miss another useful Q&A article again! Subscribe to AskDaveTaylor with Google Reader.

Comments

how do you block people from IMing you i have yahoo!

Posted by: patrice at December 17, 2007 6:04 PM

can u tell meh how i do it in skewll how do i go on aim.com so that way i can cheack mi stufff thanx u cassandra wader pce

Posted by: cassnadra at February 27, 2009 10:15 AM

Hey Dave,

I've recently noticed that when I go to My Computer, my "Presario (C:)" is highlighted in blue. And when I click on it to further investigate there are other file that are highlighted in blue as well.

What does this mean? And what should I do? Should I delete the highlighted blue files in My Computer, or what?

Thanks alot.

Posted by: Arvin at March 16, 2010 1:11 PM

I have something to say, now that you mention it, but ...
Starbucks coffee cup I do have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but first I'd like to say thank you for all your efforts on this Web site by buying you a cup of coffee!

I do have a comment, now that you mention it!











Remember personal info?


Please note that I will never send you any unsolicited email. Ever.

While I'm at it, please note that by submitting a question or comment you're agreeing to my terms of service, which are: you relinquish any subsequent rights of ownership to your material by submitting it on this site.








Ask Dave Taylor: The iPhone App: Advertisement



Follow me on Twitter @DaveTaylor

Search
Find just the answers you seek from among our 2300+ free tech support articles by using our Lijit search engine.


Help!





Subscribe to
Ask Dave Taylor!

Add to Google Reader
Add to My Yahoo!
Subscribe in NewsGator Online

RDF   XML

Free Updates!
Sign up and get free weekly updates and special offers on books, seminars, workshops and more.


Recent Entries
Book Links
© 2002 - 2010 by Dave Taylor. All Rights Reserved.

Note: This web site is for the purpose of disseminating information for educational purposes, free of charge, for the benefit of all visitors. We take great care to provide quality information. However, we do not guarantee, and accept no legal liability whatsoever arising from or connected to, the accuracy, reliability, currency or completeness of any material contained on this web site or on any linked site.

[whiteboard marker tray]
"Ask Dave Taylor®" is a registered trademark of Intuitive Systems, LLC.